Carney calls on PennDOT to seek extension to avoid farm vehicle requirements
Published: March 4, 2010
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"Our family farms are the lifeblood of our regional economy and these changes would impose unnecessary and burdensome new rules," Congressman Carney said. "What farmers need right now are fewer – not more – regulations as they look to get back on their feet in this tough economy." The proposed regulations were spurred by a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit of the Pennsylvania Intrastate Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code in March 2007. The audit determined that several provisions of Pennsylvania’s intrastate transportation regulations were "less stringent" than federal interstate standards. In response, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would replace a body of intrastate regulations that have been in place for more than 15 years and provided local agricultural transportation with common-sense exemptions from regulatory requirements. The new rules would blindly impose the same Federal standards that apply to interstate commercial trucking companies to short-haul farm trucks necessary to conduct daily farm activities. "We write today addressing a crucial issue that will impact nearly every farm family in Pennsylvania," Carney and other members wrote in the letter. "The proposed changes will place unworkable requirements on farmers in ‘legally’ managing the operation and use of agricultural vehicles around the farm, with essentially no improvement to vehicle or driver safety."
Congressman Chris Carney (PA-10) has urged the Pa. Department of Transportation to seek an extension to a March 31 deadline in order to avoid burdensome new rules for Pa. farmers. The proposed requirements would set the same federal standards to short-haul farm trucks that currently apply to commercial trucking companies. The changes would put in place a series of new rules and fees. They would come at time when family farms are already struggling under the weight of historically low milk prices and significant reductions in agricultural imports.
In a letter to PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler, Congressman Carney and other members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation urged the department to apply for an extension to the federal deadline until lawmakers have the opportunity to fully investigate the impacts of the proposed rules.
