FEATURED NEWS
� INDUSTRY GROUPS LOBBY FOR FUNDING OF LIHEAP
Gov. Ned Lamont’ s budget spokesman, Chris Collibee, confirmed that the administration would pay deliverable fuel vendors for LIHEAP deliveries until the federal shutdown has been resolved, reported CEMA Pipeline, the newsletter of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, in its Oct. 30 issue.
Earlier in October, CEMA sent a letter to Lamont requesting that the state fund the energy assistance program / LIHEAP until the federal government shutdown ends.
The funding commitment will ensure that heating oil, propane, and kerosene dealers who participate in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program are paid for deliveries made until the federal government reopens, and federal dollars are available again to pay for future deliveries, the newsletter reported.
On Oct. 29, Energy Marketers of America’ s( EMA) heating oil state associations as well as the National Energy and Fuels Institute( NEFI), National Propane Gas Association( NPGA) and other groups sent a letter to Congress requesting continued funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program( LIHEAP) during the ongoing government shutdown. The letter highlighted delays in processing applications and payments as cold weather arrives, affecting low-income households and small fuel retailers.
State and local agencies administering LIHEAP are experiencing delays in issuing payments and authorizing deliveries due to the lapse in appropriations. This impacts approximately 6-8 million households annually that rely on the program for heating assistance. Most fuel retailers are small, family-owned businesses serving rural areas, and interruptions in funding could strain their operations, which depend significantly on LIHEAP payments during the winter season. Additionally, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services( HHS) is operating with reduced staff, limiting program administration.
The letter urges Congress to authorize LIHEAP operations using prior-year
FEATURED NEWS
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funds during any funding lapse; ensure accessibility of FY 2025 and FY 2026 appropriated funds and require HHS to maintain adequate staffing levels.
The above report is reprinted from the Oct. 30 issue of CEMA Pipeline, the newsletter of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
� ED BURKE RECEIVES ALTWHEELS AWARD FOR BIODIESEL LEADERSHIP
AltWheels named Ed Burke, Chairman of the Board of Dennis K. Burke, Inc., the 2025 recipient of the AltWheels Green Fleet Award, honoring his trailblazing leadership in biodiesel. For more than two decades, Ed Burke has been at the forefront of clean fuel innovation in Massachusetts, AltWheels organizers said in honoring Burke.
Long before‘ renewable’ became a household word, Burke was opening doors that would change how fleets, universities, and the federal government thought about energy, AltWheels organizers said. In the early 2000s, he worked hand-inhand with Harvard University, piloting some of the first biodiesel programs in the
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Ed Burke speaking at the opening of E-85 retail pump at the Burke Biofuels Center, Chelsea MA, in 2008.( PRNews / Dennis K. Burke Inc.)
region. Recognizing the need for standardization, Burke also played a critical role in the development of an ASTM specification for biodiesel, helping to set national benchmarks for quality and performance.“ Ed was the foundation that gave us the opportunity to use biodiesel,” said David Harris, Jr, Director of Harvard University Transit and Fleet Management.“ His energy and enthusiasm for this fuel, the support provided by Dennis K Burke, Inc, and our joint efforts with the National Biodiesel Board, were instrumental in the adoption of biodiesel in Boston and the region.”
His family’ s service station in Chelsea, Massachusetts, became the birthplace of new fuels in the state, becoming the first retailer of both biodiesel and E-85 ethanol. At that station, the EPA announced its
6 NOVEMBER 2025 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www. fueloilnews. com