South Dakota Declares State of Emergency Regarding Fuels

It has been a while since there has been a State of Emergency anywhere in the country that trucking could help with, as things seemed to be moving smoothly throughout the nation. That has finally changed, however, as Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota, has declared a State of Emergency regarding the dearth of fuel within the state.

Details

This Declaration is very run of the mill, and can be read in its entirety on the relevant FMCSA webpage. The Mount Rushmore State is currently in short supply of various petroleum fuels, including but not limited to:

• Diesel.
• Gasoline.
• Propane.
• Jet fuel.

In response, the state’s government is temporarily loosening the regulations regarding the delivery of these fuels so that truckers can deliver more in a quicker manner and bolster the state’s supply. South Dakota is suspending what is known as “49 CFR Parts 390 to 399” of the U.S. Department of Transportation motor carrier safety regulations, which limits the number of hours a driver can travel in a single day. A driver must be delivering a relevant form of fuel in order to be protected by this Executive Order from the Governor.

As with a good portion of State of Emergency Declarations, this temporary waiver only applies to the hours-of-service regulations. Drivers delivering fuel are fully expected to still follow every other aspect of the law, including having a proper Commercial Driver’s License and not operating a machine under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Conclusion

The Declaration was announced on June 10th and will run until the 9th of July, but may be extended if the need for more fuel makes itself apparent.

The irony of using diesel-powered trucks to deliver diesel and other fossil fuels is not lost on us, either. As the trucking industry slowly but surely makes its way to a zero-emission future, powered by hydrogen fuel cells instead of diesel fuel, regulators on both the state and federal level will have to make sure there is still an adequate supply of petroleum products to make sure that the transition is as seamless as it can possibly be.

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