WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced a final rule that employs the latest research in driver fatigue to make sure truck drivers can get the rest they need to operate safely when on the road.  The new rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revises the hours-of-service (HOS) safety requirements for commercial truck drivers.

“Trucking is a difficult job, and a big rig can be deadly when a driver is tired and overworked,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This final rule will help prevent fatigue-related truck crashes and save lives. Truck drivers deserve a work environment that allows them to perform their jobs safely.”

As part of the HOS rulemaking process, FMCSA held six public listening sessions across the country and encouraged safety advocates, drivers, truck company owners, law enforcement and the public to share their input on HOS requirements. The listening sessions were live webcast on the FMCSA Web site, allowing a broad cross-section of individuals to participate in the development of this safety-critical rule.

“This final rule is the culmination of the most extensive and transparent public outreach effort in our agency’s history,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro.  “With robust input from all areas of the trucking community, coupled with the latest scientific research, we carefully crafted a rule acknowledging that when truckers are rested, alert and focused on safety, it makes our roadways safer.”

FMCSA’s new HOS final rule reduces by 12 hours the maximum number of hours a truck driver can work within a week. Under the old rule, truck drivers could work on average up to 82 hours within a seven-day period. The new HOS final rule limits a driver’s work week to 70 hours.

In addition, truck drivers cannot drive after working eight hours without first taking a break of at least 30 minutes. Drivers can take the 30-minute break whenever they need rest during the eight-hour window.

The final rule retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit.  FMCSA will continue to conduct data analysis and research to further examine any risks associated with the 11 hours of driving time.

The rule requires truck drivers who maximize their weekly work hours to take at least two nights’ rest when their 24-hour body clock demands sleep the most – from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule’s “34-hour restart” provision that allows drivers to restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. The final rule allows drivers to use the restart provision only once during a seven-day period

Companies and drivers that commit egregious violations of the rule could face the maximum penalties for each offense. Trucking companies that allow drivers to exceed the 11-hour driving limit by 3 or more hours could be fined $11,000 per offense, and the drivers themselves could face civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense.

Commercial truck drivers and companies must comply with the HOS final rule by July 1, 2013. The rule is being sent to the Federal Register today and is currently available on FMCSA’s Web site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/HOSFinalRule.

By Nick Sambides Jr.

EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine — Exactly a week after he said that Great Northern Paper Co. LLC didn’t regard Roxanne Quimby’s proposed 70,000-acre national park a threat to his industry, Peter Hanson is no longer GNP’s president, company officials announced Tuesday.

Read the full story in the Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA, Maine — Many Maine employers will see a slight increase in the taxes they pay to fund the state’s unemployment system come January. But even a small increase has employers upset, although not surprised…

[snip] The amount of the increase ranges from $2.40 per year per worker to $18 per worker for the year. Employers pay the tax on the first $12,000 in wages they pay for each worker. The unemployment system in Maine is entirely funded by employers…

Read full story on BangorDailyNews.com

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)

The U.S. Senate, tonight, approved the Fiscal Year 2012 Transportation funding bill that includes a provision, written by Senator Susan Collins, that will allow the heaviest trucks to travel on federal interstates in Maine for 20 years instead of forcing them off the highways and onto Maine’s secondary roads and downtown streets.

Click Here to View Senator Collins’ statement following passage of the legislation.

While the Senate originally approved Senator Collins’ provision to make this change permanent, the House never approved a similar provision.  As the top Republican on the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, and a member of the conference committee charged with working out the differences between the two bills, Senator Collins successfully negotiated this 20-year compromise agreement. This bill will now be signed by the President.

Senator Collins has led the effort to allow trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine’s federal interstates –including I-95, 195, 295, and 395.  Senator Collins has worked closely with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), also a member of the Transportation Subcommittee, and this agreement for Maine is paired with a similar change for Vermont.

“This is a major accomplishment and I am delighted to have successfully negotiated this agreement.  Moving these trucks from our downtown streets and onto the federal interstates where they belong has always been one of my top transportation priorities,” said Senator Collins.  “The agreement that I negotiated to allow the heaviest trucks on the highway for the next 20 years will help shippers, truckers, and Maine’s job creators.  More important, it will improve safety for Mainers who live, work, and go to school along the secondary roads, and busy downtowns where these trucks are currently forced to travel.

“I appreciate the strong support I received from so many public safety groups, including the Maine State Police, the Maine Department of Public Safety, and the Bangor Police Department, as well as education and industry groups like the Maine Motor Transport Association.  Together, we were able to achieve a major victory that will make a real difference to many Mainers and our economy,” Senator Collins continued.

Senator Collins’ effort is supported by the Association of Police, the Maine State Police, the State Troopers Association, the Maine Department of Public Safety, the Chiefs of Police, the Maine Motor Transport Association, the Parent Teacher Association, and the Bangor School Department, who have all expressed the importance of safety in getting these heaviest trucks off our local roadways and onto the interstates where they belong.

Currently, the heaviest trucks in Maine are diverted onto secondary roadways that cut through our downtowns on narrow streets, creating a major safety concern.  In most of the surrounding New England states and nearby Canadian provinces, the heaviest trucks are free to use the interstates, but not in Maine and Vermont.  This puts Maine businesses at a distinct competitive disadvantage.  Heavy trucks already operate on some 22,500 miles of non-interstate roads in Maine, in addition to the approximately 109 miles of the Maine Turnpike.  But the nearly 260 miles of non-Turnpike interstates that are major economic corridors are off limits.

In 2009, a pilot project that Senator Collins wrote, was included in the 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill.  This one-year pilot project allowed trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine’s federal interstates.  According to the Maine Department of Transportation, during the one-year period covered by the pilot, the number of crashes involving trucks on Maine’s local roads was reduced by 72 compared to a five-year average.

Today, the House passed a provision that would allow heavier trucks on the Maine Interstate. Passage by the Senate, which is expected later today or tomorrow, will clear the bill for the President’s signature.

Congressman Michaud spoke in favor of the provision on the House floor.  Click Here to watch Congressman Michaud’s remarks

The provision was included as part of a conference report on a measure that funds the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the space program. The bill also contains a Continuing Resolution, which will fund the government until December 16, 2011.

Congressman Mike Michaud’s top priority was making sure that a fix for Maine’s truck weight problem was contained in the bill, and he worked with Democratic and Republican leaders in the House to make sure that the provision survived. Senator Collins worked to ensure that the provision was included in the original Senate bill to provide funding for transportation programs. Additionally, Senator Snowe and Congresswoman Pingree have been strong supporters of making this change.

“Mainers already know the benefits of this commonsense provision,” said Michaud. “Letting heavier trucks use the Interstate reduces fuel consumption, cuts emissions, reduces travel times and reduces the competitive disadvantage between Maine and our neighbors. I would like to thank House leaders for supporting my efforts to ensure that this provision was included in the final bill.”

Michaud is continuing to push forward with a bill he authored that will give Maine and other states the authority to make these changes. Michaud’s bill, the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act, currently has 57 bipartisan cosponsors and has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID).

By Clarke Canfield, The Associated Press

PORTLAND — When Brian Souers’ trucks haul logs from northern Maine to mills in other parts of the state, they often drive through small towns on two-lane state highways, even when four-lane Interstate 95 is nearby…

Read Full Story on Portland Press Herald.com

Senator Collins convinces House-Senate negotiators to approve plan to allow heavier trucks to use Maine’s federal interstates for at least 20 years

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, has successfully negotiated an agreement that would allow the heaviest trucks to travel on federal interstates in Maine for at least 20 years instead of forcing them off the highways and onto Maine’s secondary roads and downtown streets.

While the Senate originally approved Senator Collins’ provision to make this change permanent, the House never approved a similar provision.  As a member of the committee charged with working out the differences between the two bills, Senator Collins successfully negotiated this 20-year compromise agreement. Final votes in the House and Senate are expected next week.  The bill would then be sent to the President for his signature.

Senator Collins has led the effort to allow trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine’s federal interstates –including I-95, 195, 295, and 395.  Senator Collins has worked closely with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), also a member of the Transportation Subcommittee, and this agreement for Maine is paired with a similar change for Vermont.

“We faced significant opposition to our plan to permanently allow the heaviest trucks to drive on our federal interstates in Maine and Vermont,” said Senator Collins.  “But moving these trucks from our downtown streets and onto the federal interstates where they belong has always been one of my top transportation priorities.  The agreement that I negotiated to allow the heaviest trucks on the highway for at least the next 20 years is a major accomplishment that will help shippers, truckers, and Maine’s job creators.  More important, it will improve safety for Mainers who live, work, and go to school along the secondary roads, and busy downtowns where these trucks are currently forced to travel.”

Senator Collins’ effort is supported by the Association of Police, the Maine State Police, the State Troopers Association, the Maine Department of Public Safety, the Chiefs of Police, the Maine Motor Transport Association, the Parent Teacher Association, and the Bangor School Department, who have all expressed the importance of safety in getting these heaviest trucks off our local roadways and onto the interstates where they belong.

Currently, the heaviest trucks in Maine are diverted onto secondary roadways that cut through our downtowns on narrow streets, creating a major safety concern.  In most of the surrounding New England states and nearby Canadian provinces, the heaviest trucks are free to use the interstates, but not in Maine and Vermont.  This puts Maine businesses at a distinct competitive disadvantage.  Heavy trucks already operate on some 22,500 miles of non-interstate roads in Maine, in addition to the approximately 167 miles of the Maine Turnpike.  But the nearly 260 miles of non-Turnpike interstates that are major economic corridors are off limits.

In 2009, a pilot project that Senator Collins wrote, was included in the 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill.  This one-year pilot project allowed trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine’s federal interstates.  According to the Maine Department of Transportation, during the one-year period covered by the pilot, the number of crashes involving trucks on Maine’s local roads was reduced by 72 compared to a five-year average.



Governor LePage & Logging Contractors Discuss Prosperous Future for Loggers

New Gloucester – The Board of Directors of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine met with Governor LePage today to discuss concerns they have about the future of Maine’s logging industry. PLC is a trade organization of loggers serving loggers. “Our Board was excited to meet with Governor LePage today (Tuesday, November 8^th) in Augusta to talk about our concerns”, stated, Tom Cushman, the group’s President.

“This was a great opportunity for these business owners to reach out to Governor LePage, and provide him with a background of the logging business and the challenges and changes we have seen over past two decades. We highlighted our serious concern for the future of our logging contractor’s business viability and the negative impact their exiting the business would have on the entire forest products industry here in Maine. We want to make certain our industry is vibrant for future generations of loggers and we are convinced this is what the Governor wants too,” explained Beardsley, PLC’s Executive Director.

“We are grateful that the Governor agreed to meet with us, this is the first Governor to consent to meet with our Board, it was an honor”, remarked Brian Souers, PLC’s 2^nd Vice President. Souers continued, “We discussed the ‘bonded labor issue’ and the factors contributing to overall capacity issues from the logger’s perspective.  Healthy logging contractors will add capacity in terms of employees and equipment, if their logging operations are profitable and the potential financial rewards outweigh the potential financial risks. We discussed the challenges logging contractors face, possible solutions, and how the administration can help.”

“Governor LePage made it clear that Maine needs to create more jobs and better jobs. Logging contractors provide well paying jobs with benefits.  We met with the Governor, as private enterprises, to discuss ways the state can be more responsive to loggers as business owners, to allow loggers to prosper and serve as a catalyst for job creation in Maine” said Bob Linkletter, PLC’s 1^st Vice President.

PLC was created in 1995 by a group of Maine Loggers to provide loggers a voice in a rapidly changing industry. We continue this effort today, representing loggers that harvest 75% of the actively harvested land in Maine. From the outset, PLC has focused on advocacy, safety, quality operations and business innovation. Our Members realize that harvesting is more than just cutting trees. They are highly skilled, business professionals and are an integral part of Maine’s economic engine. Our Members are dedicated to maintaining a safe work environment, a healthy forest and industry, as well as being efficient and profitable. Always have been, always will be. PLC of Maine is standing strong for loggers, yesterday, today and tomorrow. For more information visit our website www.maineloggers.com or call our office 207-688-8195.

By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff

EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage heralded the revival of the Main Street paper mill on Monday as its owners announced plans to hire another 220 workers when they start to make torrefied wood, a coal substitute, there and at the Millinocket mill as early as 2013.

Standing among huge rolls of finished newsprint destined for a Connecticut newspaper, LePage complimented Cate Street Capital of Portsmouth, N.H., for creating the new Great Northern Paper Co. as company officials discussed their ambitious plans to produce 500,000 tons of torrefied wood between the East Millinocket and Millinocket paper mill sites annually.

Source: Bangor Daily News

By Jonathan Riskind jriskind@mainetoday.com

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)

WASHINGTON – The Senate is on the verge of passing legislation that would allow trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to exit Maine’s side roads and use all Maine interstate highways.

The truck weight measure has been long sought by the Maine congressional delegation, state officials and many local residents worried about big rigs rumbling through intersections,  past homes and schools.

Currently, trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds can use only the Maine Turnpike.

Read full story on PortlandPressHerald.com