Transportation

By Max Fisher, Vice President of Economics and Government Relations NGFA and a coalition of food and agricultural organizations on Jan. 7 sent the transition team of President-elect Joe Biden a statement outlining major transportation policies and initiatives that would enhance the efficient and cost-effective transport of agricultural and food products. The letter provided recommendations for each of the three primary freight transportation modes: motor, rail and waterborne. Motor Carrier: For motor carrier transportation, NGFA and its coalition partners said exemptions to ... Read More

The House unanimously on Dec. 7 passed a water resources bill that includes major NGFA policy priorities designed to expedite the funding of projects to rehabilitate the locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Waterway. The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA) (S. 1811) amends the cost-share formula for inland waterway projects to provide that 65 percent of the funding would be derived from taxpayer revenues and 35 percent from user fees deposited in the Inland Waterway Trust Fund. Currently, the funding formula is split 50:50. The policy change would be in place for ... Read More

In a decision issued Dec. 2, the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) invited qualified persons to apply to be listed on its roster of arbitrators for resolving rail disputes under the agency’s voluntary arbitration system. In addition, the STB requires persons currently listed on its roster of arbitrators – which include several NGFA members – to notify the agency of their continued availability, confirm that their biographical information remains accurate and to update such information if warranted. New applicants are to submit their experience with rail transportation and ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President and CEO The federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Nov. 24 announced it will initiate a rulemaking in coming months on whether to establish a voluntary rail rate arbitration program within the agency’s existing rail arbitration system. The agency did not issue a proposal nor a timeline for obtaining public comment on such a program, indicating instead that it would do so “in a subsequent decision.” The NGFA on Aug. 20 had submitted a 14-page statement to the STB recommending that it initiate a rulemaking and seek further public comment on a joint ... Read More

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) announced that for the period of Dec. 1 through Feb. 28, it is granting relief from Parts 390 through 399 of its federal motor carrier safety regulations, arguably the most important of which is its hours of service regulations for truck drivers under Part 395. Those regulations affect transporters of the following freight: livestock and livestock feed; medical supplies and equipment related to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19; vaccines, constituent products, and medical supplies and equipment ... Read More

By Max Fisher, Vice President of Economics and Government Relations The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Nov. 19 released an interim final rule on the definition of agricultural commodity for use in determining which agricultural products are eligible to be hauled under the agricultural exemption to the hours-of-service (HOS) rules for commercial truck drivers. Under the agricultural exemption, HOS regulations do not apply to the transportation of agricultural commodities by truck drivers operating completely within a 150 ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President and CEO The Senate, by separate voice votes on Nov. 18, confirmed the nominations of Robert Primus and Michelle Schultz to become members of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal agency whose responsibilities include regulatory oversight of freight railroads. Primus, a Democrat, most recently served as chief of staff to Rep. Nanette Barragάn, D-Calif. A native of Madison, N.J., he spent 20 years as a staff member for former Rep. Mike Capuano, D-Mass., four of those as his legislative director and the last 16 as chief of staff while Capuano ... Read More

NGFA and 45 other food and agricultural organizations sent a joint statement on Nov. 9 to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) expressing strong support for a pilot program allowing drivers 18, 19 and 20 years old to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. The statement noted that currently, in 49 states (all except New York state), the minimum age for intrastate CMV operation is 18 (or under), while the federal minimum is 21 for interstate CMV operation. The pilot program has the potential to remove the ... Read More