Include North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum among those opposing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) latest rule aiming to shrink the regulatory relief window during emergency exemptions.
Scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 12, the rule proposes reducing the allowable period for emergency exemptions to just 14 days, more than halfway down from the existing 30-day window.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) expressed its concerns in October when the FMCSA initially introduced a rule proposing a mere five-day relief window. After reviewing comments from OOIDA and others, the FMCSA settled on the 14-day timeframe.
Governor Burgum outlined the reasoning behind his opposition to this new regulation, emphasizing the success of a common-sense approach in North Dakota.
“Sometimes you have to ask yourself what problem is the federal government trying to fix,” Burgum said. “In this case, I don’t even see a problem. It certainly doesn’t exist in our state.”
He also feels that this regulation is an overreach and cannot be fairly applied to every state in the U.S.
“Let’s start at the top, which is federal overreach,” he said. “The idea that the federal government thinks it can come up with these more restrictive, heavy red tape and heavy-handed regulations when there’s no basis from a safety standpoint or any other standpoint. What we see is this constant encroachment of more and more federal regulations.”
Governor Burgum highlighted North Dakota’s vast landscape and significant agricultural sector, pointing out that the rule would disproportionately impact the state.
“We’re the size of all six New England states,” he said. “We’re very rural but highly productive in terms of energy and agriculture. If we get a late blizzard in the fall and have a wet crop, we have to haul propane. There’s no pipeline in the state to move that propane around, so it has to be hauled by truck. This is just one example of why we have to have flexibility on a state-to-state basis.”
He shared that, during his seven years in office, 19 out of the 28 emergency waivers issued exceeded the proposed 14-day limit, underscoring the practical challenges posed by the new ruling.
“One thing we’ll be doing is reaching out to other governors to make sure they’re aware of this and it’s on their radar,” Burgum said. “Our industries don’t operate unless our trucks are moving and we’re giving truck drivers a chance to do their job. It affects our economy almost instantly.”
Source: Land Line
