Trucking news and briefs for Monday, May 10, 2021:
Hours regs waived for fuel haulers in Southeast, East Coast
Following a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline company that has temporarily shut down much of the company’s operations, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued an hours of service waiver for drivers hauling fuel throughout Colonial’s market.
The waiver applies to those transporting gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products to Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
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The waiver applies when drivers are providing direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts hauling the fuels in the affected states. Direct assistance ends when a driver or commercial vehicle is used in interstate commerce to transport cargo or provide services not in support of emergency relief efforts related to the shortages of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other refined petroleum products due to the shutdown, partial shutdown, and/or manual operation of the Colonial Pipeline system in the covered states, or when the motor carrier dispatches a driver or vehicle to another location to begin operations in commerce.
Colonial Pipeline is the largest refined products pipeline in the U.S., transporting more than 100 million gallons or 2.5 million barrels per day. Colonial transports approximately 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast, the company says.
"We continue to evaluate product inventory in storage tanks at our facilities and others along our system and are working with our shippers to move this product to terminals for local delivery," Colonial said in its Monday update. "Actions taken by the federal government to issue a temporary hours of service exemption for motor carriers and drivers transporting refined products across Colonial’s footprint should help alleviate local supply disruptions and we thank our government partners for their assistance in resolving this matter."
