More States Claim Hurricane Ida Emergency

The interesting thing about news in contrast with government is that news moves fast while government moves slowly. In the past few days, more states have entered the fold of declaring a state of emergency due to Hurricane Ida, bringing the total number to seven.

Details

The first declarations were covered previously, so we will focus on what is new with Hurricane Ida.

Kentucky

Of all the states, Kentucky has by far the most impact on truckers. Not only is there the typical suspension of hours-of-service regulations, but there are other waivers:

• Requirement of stopping at weigh stations.
• Permit fees for overweight/oversized vehicles (permit presumably still required).
• International Registration Plan requirements.

If you drive for Kentucky under this Executive Order from Jim Gray, you are required to have a copy of it in the cab. For more information, see the FMCSA webpage.

Pennsylvania

Not much is directly mentioned about trucks, however, $2,000,000 from the state’s General Fund is being assigned for goods and services to deal with the disaster, which could include shipments.

Such contracts might be lucrative. Read more at the FMCSA webpage.

Virginia

Allows agencies to waive fees, but does not list the specific fees waived. Additionally, it prohibits price gouging and appropriates $1,000,000 of the General Fund, much like with Pennsylvania. $300,000 is earmarked for the Department of Military Affairs. You can learn more about Virginia’s State of Emergency at the FMCSA webpage.

West Virginia

The shortest of the declarations, it says nothing about truckers. It is also hard to say that it falls under the jurisdiction of the Southern and Western Service Centers of the FMCSA, so we advise traveling within hours-of-service when helping West Virginia just to be sure. Here is the informational webpage from the FMCSA.

Conclusion

The eastern half of the United States has too much water; the western half cannot get enough. Perhaps an infrastructure project to funnel water from east to west is in order, such as the building of an artificial river. Such an extensive project might cost a lot of money, but the government has spent plenty of money on worse!