Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam issued Executive Order #56 on Friday waiving federal hours of service requirements for petroleum transporters to prevent any fuel supply disruptions for Tennesseans from the Colonial pipeline leak in Shelby County, Ala.
“This is a precautionary measure as we are not currently seeing any widespread unavailability of petroleum in Tennessee,” Governor Haslam said. “We urge Tennesseans to maintain their normal fuel purchasing and driving patterns to help prevent any potential impacts on our fuel supply while the pipeline undergoes repairs.”
Governor Haslam’s executive order only relates to fuel transportation for this state of emergency and waives only the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 390 and 395 rules related to hours-of-service suspensions, and pipeline repair and fuel transportation.
The emergency declaration will allow drivers to work longer hours to ensure petroleum is available to convenience stores, fuel retailers, and fuel wholesalers in Tennessee.
The Tennessee departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Insurance, Environment and Conservation, Safety and Homeland Security, Transportation, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and private sector energy partners are monitoring the petroleum supply issue and collaborating to alleviate and address any petroleum disruptions in Tennessee.
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation requested, and received, a fuel blend waiver from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), covering five counties in Middle Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture then issued its own emergency waiver for fuel quality standards consistent with the EPA’s.