LANSING, Mich. -- Fuel-supply woes in Michigan have triggered a state of energy emergency for the Memorial Day weekend.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) issued an executive order this week that suspends regulations governing hours of service for fuel truck drivers, citing two supply issues that already are causing shortages and raising gasoline prices. One is the shutdown of the West Shore petroleum pipeline, which runs from Milwaukee to Green Bay, Wis., and has been undergoing emergency repairs since March. The pipeline moves petroleum products to six terminals in Green Bay, where trucks then transport it to gas stations in the upper peninsula of Michigan.
With the pipeline out of commission, distributors have been especially busy moving fuel, while their drivers have been driving longer distances, clocking more hours and reaching their weekly maximum driving and on-duty limits faster than usual.
Meanwhile, an unexpected outage at Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in Detroit has further pressured supply in the state.
“The difficulties with the shutdown of the only pipeline between Milwaukee and Green Bay, combined with what we hope will be a short-term outage of the Marathon refinery, are affecting prices at the pump and leading to long wait times at fueling terminals,” said Valerie Brader, executive director of the Michigan Agency for Energy. The agency works with other state agencies in recommending state of energy emergency declarations.
Snyder’s executive order suspends state and federal regulations governing hours of service for transportation fuel carriers and drivers, allowing them to surpass the maximum number of hours and consecutive days of operating a commercial motor vehicle. Distributors are not allowed to let ill or fatigued drivers operate a vehicle, and they must give any driver who requests rest at least 10 consecutive off-duty hours before he or she must return to work.
Fuel truck drivers working under the order must have a copy of the declaration with them. The order went into effect May 24, remains in effect through June 6, or until it is rescinded.
“We want to make sure the fuel Michiganders need for their travels to work, school or a long weekend trip is available,” Snyder said in a statement. “This executive order will help ensure there are no artificial shortages of fuel impacting the state’s residents or visitors.”
According to data from Boston-based GasBuddy, gas prices in Michigan were up more than 14 cents per gallon (CPG) week over week and 38 CPG month over month to hit an average of $2.54. However, compared to this same time period a year ago, they were more than 17 CPG lower.
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