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NPGA corner

CFATS Cybersecurity Incident
On Friday, June 21, the Department of Home-
land Security (DHS) notified stakeholders that the
Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT), adminis-
tered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Agency (CISA), was the target of a cybersecurity intru-
sion by a malicious actor. CISA informed NPGA that
while its investigation found no evidence of extraction
of data, the cybersecurity intrusion may have result-
ed in the potential unauthorized access of Chemical
Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program
and personnel data. Consequently, CISA’s notification state government entities on NPGA’s member dash-
to stakeholders was out of an abundance of caution. board under the Propane Buses tab.
Register for here for a CISA webinar at 2: 30 PM ET on
July 9. Questions? Contact NPGA Director of Regula-
tory Affairs Kate Gaziano.■
Questions? Please contact Vice President of
Regulatory & Industry Affairs Benjamin Nussdorf.■ Groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court Decision
Sharply Limits the Power of Federal Regulatory
CFI Grant Application Still Open
Agencies
The Federal Highway Administration has In a major decision Friday, June 28, 2024, the
announced the availability of $1.3 billion through United States Supreme Court in Loper Bright Enterpris-
the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretion- es v. Raimondo sharply limited the power of federal
ary Grant Program to strategically deploy alternative regulatory agencies to interpret Congressional stat-
fueling infrastructure projects (including propane) in utes, finding that courts may not defer to an agency’s
urban and rural communities in publicly accessible lo- interpretation of the law simply because a statute
cations, including downtown areas and local neighbor- is ambiguous. In doing so, the 6-3 Supreme Court
hoods, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged majority overturned the Chevron v. Natural Resources
communities. Additionally, more than $520 million is Defense Council case and decades-old legal precedent
reserved for some unselected first-round applicants that required courts to defer to the expertise of federal
who may now be reconsidered for the current round administrators in interpreting laws passed by Congress.
of funding. FHWA will contact unselected round 1 Chevron required courts to defer to the agency if it
applicants but please feel free to pass this information had offered “a permissible construction of the statute,”
along to any entities that applied last year. Previously even if it was not “the reading the court would have
unselected applicants needed to request that FHWA reached if the question initially had arisen in a judicial
reconsider previously submitted applications by July 1, proceeding.”
2024.
As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, the Chev-
New applications must be submitted electron-
ically through Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m., ron framework was “unworkable” and “fundamentally
Eastern Time, on August 28, 2024. Eligible applicants misguided” and allowed federal agencies to change
include states, local governments, special purpose course even without direction from Congress.
districts or public authorities with a transportation This decision will spur extensive legal chal-
function, including port authorities, Indian tribes, and lenges to regulations issued by federal agencies across
U.S. Territories. industries all across the country. Going forward, the
Supreme Court’s decision will only afford federal
NPGA has compiled a list of every federal- agencies a diminished level of deference by courts in
ly-designated Autogas refueling corridor in each state, an agency’s interpretation of laws, where courts will
an FAQ on the program, and letter to send to local and
only follow agency interpretation after independently

32 Alabama Propane Gas Association | July / August 2024