DES MOINES – Gov. Terry E. Branstad on Wednesday approved an emergency declaration suspending the regulatory provisions pertaining to hours of service for drivers of commercial motor vehicles transporting propane. The order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, December 19th, 2013 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, January 2nd, 2014.
According to the proclamation, the action was taken because of the late harvest and the recent high demand for petroleum products throughout the upper Midwest portions of the United States, leading to extremely low supplies of propane. Adequate supplies of propane are necessary to provide residential and agricultural heating to citizens in rural portions of the state, and the effects of this propane shortage are being felt throughout the State of Iowa. The limited suspension of certain hours of service regulations for drivers of commercial motor vehicles transporting propane in Iowa will increase the amount of propane transported throughout the State of Iowa, thereby reducing the potentially damaging effects of the shortage.