NAAA eNewsletter - 12/17/2020

Over the past few weeks, NAAA and operators and staff of the Arkansas Agricultural Aviation Association (AAAA) have been in communication with U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to allow states, at their discretion, to waive the requirement for a holder of a Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) to obtain a hazardous materials (HazMat) endorsement to transport 1,000 gallons or less of Jet A.

NAAA originally made this request of the FMCSA in 2018, but the request was held up at the Transportation Security Administration. AAAA scheduled a virtual meeting with Sen. Boozman’s office, and his team conferenced in top leadership from the FMCSA to urge them to consider NAAA’s 2018 request. Matthew Woolard, an aerial application operator in Arkansas and NAAA board member, underscored the difficulties of finding potential employees to transport commercial motor vehicles for agricultural aircraft operators due to the drivers leaving for year-round work once they receive their CDL and hazardous endorsement from a seasonal aerial application business. Woolard also mentioned the difficulties of finding Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) locations and scheduling testing times to take the knowledge and skill tests required for a CDL in rural areas, where most aerial application businesses are, since the closest DMV could be several hundred miles away.

NAAA and Katherine Holstrom, AAAA’s executive director, stated that Jet A has nearly identical chemical properties as diesel. States are allowed to grant CDL drivers a hazardous materials exemption for diesel fuel for custom harvesters, farm retailers and other businesses similar to aerial application operations.

Later, the FMCSA stated to NAAA that finalizing a regulation can take considerable time. In the interim, the agency suggested a temporary relief measure could be granted by requesting a waiver and an exemption while the FMCSA works on finalizing a regulation. The FMCSA also emphasized that an alternative and equal level of safety and security should be offered for a request to be granted. A waiver is granted more quickly and lasts 90 days. An exemption takes more time to finalize but less time than a regulation change and can last as long as five years.

NAAA followed up with a new request for a waiver and an exemption for aerial application CDL drivers to legally transport limited quantities of Jet A without a HazMat endorsement as the agency considers making a regulatory change. NAAA emphasized in its waiver and exemption request that safety will not be jeopardized by this request since aerial application operators with CDLs are driving on similar rural roads and for shorter distances, mostly less than 20 miles, to go from one satellite strip to another. They also drive when the weather is favorable to make applications, not in foggy, rainy and cold and snowy weather.

Regarding an equivalent level of safety, NAAA mentioned that all commercial pesticide applicators must comply with the EPA’s Worker Protection Standards (WPS), which require annual mandatory training to inform workers and handlers of pesticides about reducing exposure from pesticides. Drivers of commercial vehicles used for aerial application businesses typically are pesticide handlers. Employers of commercial pesticide applicators must ensure their employers are at least 18 years of age and are trained annually to use pesticides safely and consistently according to their label before they perform tasks involving pesticide use. The training is crystal-clear about the risks pertaining to these chemicals and the safety precautions necessary for their use. The WPS training is similar in nature to the risks associated with and safety precautions necessary for transporting chemicals required for a hazardous materials endorsement.

NAAA stated that an equivalent means of security aerial applicators would implement to be exempt from the HazMat endorsement is to contact local law enforcement to conduct a criminal background check on all of their CDL drivers before hiring them. This would ensure the prospective driver does not have a criminal record that might compromise road safety or national security. They also obtain Motor Vehicle Reports (MVRs) as part of their background screening process for new applicants and renewals, which checks for DUIs, traffic violations and parking tickets.

NAAA will keep the membership abreast of these waiver, exemption and regulatory change requests for the FMCSA to grant states the authority to legally allow aerial applicators to transport limited quantities of Jet A fuel without a CDL HazMat endorsement.