An urgent fertilizer supply shortfall is affecting 35 states, according to a May 26 FMCSA waiver.
Drivers and motor carriers in the affected states transporting straight or blended fertilizer products for commercial farming and agricultural purposes, including ranching, are granted relief from hours of service and the requirement to use an ELD to record duty status.
This relief will remain in effect through Aug. 26 in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The FMCSA waiver does not apply to hazardous materials.
“Fertilizer is a vital resource that is critical to American agriculture, food supply, and national security,” the FMCSA waiver said. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a full-scale, all-of-government effort to strengthen the country’s fertilizer supply, including efforts to lower shipping costs, expand fertilizer production, and cut red tape so that fertilizers reach America’s farmers.”
Circumstances surrounding the waiver are unique due to the timing of the fertilizer supply crisis during the critical spring application season, FMCSA added.
Conditions of the waiver include:
- The total driving time for any driver operating under this waiver must not exceed the 16-hour limit.
- A driver must take a minimum of a six-hour consecutive break in the sleeper berth during each 24-hour period. If there is no sleeper berth, the driver must take a minimum eight consecutive hour break each 24-hour period.
- Drivers who do not use an ELD must use paper records of duty status, maintain those documents for 6 months from the prepared date and make those documents accessible to FMCSA and law enforcement upon request.
- Motor carriers and drivers must comply with all applicable federal and state requirements and obtain any necessary authority to load, transport, and deliver the fertilizer products, and carry all required documentation.
Those operating under the declaration, which applies to interstate commerce, are not required to carry a copy. LL
More Land Line news is available.
Credit: Source link
