The Associated Press
BISMARCK (AP) -- Gov. John Hoeven has extended until July 28 an executive order dealing with commercial truck drivers who haul fuel, to help deal with an ongoing shortage caused by refinery problems in the Midwest.
The order, which had been set to expire at midnight Wednesday, waives the 15-hour work shift limit for fuel haulers and allows them to drive to pipeline terminals in South Dakota and Minnesota in search of fuel.
"Reduced supplies owing to slowdowns and shutdowns at major petroleum refineries in the region have combined with increased fuel demand to create a potential gasoline shortage in North Dakota and regionally," Hoeven said in a statement.
Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association, said the extension of Hoeven's order was appreciated.
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"In the busy travel season, wherever you can go to get product ... that's a big deal at this point in time," he said. "We'd be in a lot worse shape if we didn't have this."
Rud said even though fuel also is in short supply in Minnesota and South Dakota, drivers from North Dakota stand a better chance of finding it if they have a wider area in which to search.
"It's still a crap shoot in a lot of ways," he said.
Hoeven issued his initial executive order extending service hours for fuel haulers on June 29. It has been expanded or extended twice since then.
South Dakota and Minnesota have similar service-hour waivers in place for truck drivers. Montana -- which has four refineries and retail gas prices about 20 cents a gallon cheaper than North Dakota -- does not.
"We do have people sitting in line for periods of time (at terminals), but the situation is not so critical or drastic that our members feel it necessary to get an hours-of-service waiver at this point, because there is another side to that," said Ronna Alexander, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.
"If (drivers) are working 20 (hours) and they get in a wreck, it's a liability issue," she said.
Hoeven's order says "carriers ... shall not require or allow fatigued drivers to operate a motor vehicle."
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The tight fuel supplies have led to higher prices at the pump in North Dakota, though they have dropped slightly from last week. On Wednesday, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in the state was about $3.25, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report. The national average was about $3.03.
Rud said the terminal in Grand Forks got some gas in Wednesday morning but had no guarantee of more anytime soon. The terminal in Fargo was not due to get any fuel again until July 27, he said.
"We're coming into the harvest season here shortly. We'll go from the heavy travel time for tourism into the heavy harvest time," Rud said. "That's going to put another squeeze on us."
