From EMA
Following EMA’s advocacy, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has amended its Hours-of-Service (HOS) waiver for fuel transportation to expand product coverage to include ethanol and denatured ethanol as key motor fuel products. The expansion also covers heating oil under certain split load conditions. The terms, conditions, and restrictions of the waiver did not change.
FMCSA’s amended waiver addresses the ethanol products and heating oil request. EMA’s additional requests — coverage of propane and jet fuel for agricultural operations were not included in the amendment.
The amended waiver extends HOS relief to cover heating oil when transported as part of a compartmentalized split load, subject to one condition: the volume of heating oil in the split load must not exceed 75% of the total shipment.
While the waiver is in effect, states may not enforce interstate rules that conflict with it for drivers and carriers operating under the waiver. States may adopt matching relief for intrastate operations. The federal waiver does not itself cover intrastate deliveries. Unless a state adopts matching relief, intrastate operations remain subject to that state's hours-of-service rules.
EMA is reviewing the amended waiver and has multiple questions about the modifications, especially the new heating fuel language. Once we have the answers, we will get out a Regulatory Alert
The amended waiver is in effect until December 16, 2026. To read FMCSA’s Amended Grant of Waiver, click here.
