BY: MORGAN CHILSON
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Fuel shortages in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska spurred a federal agency to issue an emergency declaration this week that gives leeway to commercial drivers hauling fuel.
The emergency order by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association extended an April 30 state of disaster emergency proclamation from Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly. The state-level declaration expired on May 13, said Linda Berry, spokesperson for the Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates gas and oil production in the state.
Areas in Kansas and surrounding states are experiencing a fuel shortage, causing long lines at fuel stations, delivery delays and a need for truck drivers to increase the number of hours they can drive to deliver fuel, said an April 30 press release. The short-term changes only apply to drivers who are part of the fuel delivery system.
Under the declaration, drivers can temporarily work longer hours to ensure fuel supplies are going through, the release said.
“This declaration is in response to the widespread fuel shortages in affected states impacting agricultural operations and the national food supply, and their effects on people and property, including immediate threats to human life, public safety, or public welfare,” the federal declaration said.
Berry said planned pipeline and refinery maintenance and higher demands among farmers and drivers during planting season were likely sources of the supply chain disruption.
Primarily, the impact has been on diesel fuel and has not affected consumers.