(The Center Square) – Iowa regulations governing the hours of service, as well as permit and fee requirements for the movement of oversize and overweight loads for trucking crews and drivers hauling motor fuels have been temporarily suspended by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The executive order is effective through August 28. Motor fuels included in the executive order include gasoline, diesel #1 and #2, as well as ethanol and biodiesel.
“Increased demand, along with above average wait times at petroleum product terminals, have created challenges to timely access of these fuels,” the announcement of the temporary suspension said.
The proclamation noted that drivers transporting fuels are experiencing long wait times at terminals and are having to transport the fuels “long distances due to outages at select terminals.” Suspending the regulations for truckers transporting the fuels will increase the amount of the products transported throughout Iowa “reducing the damaging effects of this access constraint,” the proclamation said.
“The issue isn’t the supply of gasoline or diesel fuel coming into the state of Iowa, it really is the issue of logistics and driver availability to shuttle the product to retail locations across the state,” FUEL IOWA spokesman John Maynes told Radio Iowa.
South Dakota and Wyoming governors both recently signed similar executive orders and were among the Republican governors who signed a statement criticizing the Biden Administration for energy policies that have “punished consumers still recovering from the pandemic.”
Reynolds did not sign the statement.
As of July 30, the average gas price in Iowa for a regular gallon of gas is $3.00, the American Automobile Association (AAA) reported.
Winneshiek County’s average cost, $3.113, is the highest, and Henry County’s average cost, $2.792, is the lowest. The average cost a year ago in Iowa was $2.07 per gallon. The state’s record-high average price was $4.026 on July 16, 2008.
The national average July 30 was $3.168 per gallon. California’s average cost, $4.356, was the highest, and Mississippi’s, $2.785, was the lowest.
