With oil from a massive explosion and fire on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico threatening the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is granting a reprieve in the Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules. For now, these exemptions will extend through May 30 at 11:59 P.M. ET and apply to carriers hauling emergency supplies, such as booms, skimmers, chemical dispersants, flammable liquids and oil containment equipment, to the region. Prior to this extension, the FMCSA had lifted HOS rules for carriers directly assisting the clean up through May 14 at 11:59 P.M. ET.

HOS Rules Lifted by FMCSA for Carriers Responding to Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the extension of its temporary lifting of hours-of-service rules for haulers of some emergency supplies to four southeast coastal states because of the oil spill off Louisiana’s coast. Haulers of certain loads are exempt from HOS through May 30 at 11: 59 ET if transporting to or from the states, both within the affected region and outside it.

FMCSA had declared a regional emergency affecting Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida for April 30 through May 14 at 11:59 p.m. ET. “However, the need for emergency relief has not abated,” Darrell Ruban, FMCSA field administrator, wrote this week in FMCSA’s amended declaration of regional emergency.

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