Chairman Capito Asks Witnesses About Impacts of Diesel Engine Derates on Public Safety, Agriculture

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led a hearing to examine S. 3135, the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act.

During the hearing, Chairman Capito asked Ryan Anderson, Commissioner at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, about the impacts of diesel engine derates on public safety in Alaska and other rural and cold-weather areas. She also asked Todd Fornstrom, President of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, about the ways that engine derates can affect farmers and their willingness to purchase newer equipment for crop harvesting.

HIGHLIGHTS:

PUBLIC SAFETY IMPACTS

Chairman Capito:

"My first question is for Mr. Anderson. I think many of us […] in the lower 48 […], I don't think we can fully grasp what cold weather really is. […] So, you want to make sure that we have safe, efficient, reliable transportation for the people and goods in your state. What is different, with respect to public safety, between a diesel engine derate that might occur in Washington, D.C. and one that could occur in the North Slope? […] How would you say that occurs differently in Alaska?"

Ryan Anderson, Commissioner at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities:

"I'll use an example just from last night. We got informed last night that the Dalton Highway, north of the Arctic Circle, closed again because of a powerful storm, wind, snow, and it'll be closed for probably well over 24 hours […]. So, our crews immediately go to work, and, for us, that's mobilizing the equipment that we have. We can't bring equipment from other locations. It'll take us six, twelve, even eighteen hours if it's coming from Fairbanks. So, the real difference here is that what we have, and the resources that we have to work with for an event that happens, and the response that's expected of us-of course, the Dalton Highway is that lifeline for the oil and gas industry for the North Slope. It's our support arterial for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. And so, there's a lot of pressure on us by industry and that public safety piece. When people are stuck, it's not just our folks working, but it's the people that are trying to get through and get these materials and supplies delivered, and then the people on the other end that are waiting for them that all get delayed. And so, when we have equipment fail, there's a cascading impact across the state, across all of those industries, and the public."

Chairman Capito:

"How frequently are you hearing from people that are concerned or directly impacted by this?"

Ryan Anderson, Commissioner at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities:

"Absolutely. […] As […] the Cold Weather Diesel [Reliability] Act has become more known in Alaska, we've had enormous amounts of people reach out. […] So, we have our state-wide equipment fleet, which is thousands of pieces of equipment, but we also have the commercial trucking industry, enormous outreach from those companies. […] We're making significant investments in our older vehicles because we don't want to move forward with the newer vehicles. We've had fire departments come forward, saying, 'this is a problem for when we're trying to do active response activities.' The school bus companies have come forward. They're concerned. In rural Alaska, we're moving kids, and it's 40 below. And they have examples of when failures have occurred. And so, it really has been just across the board. The Alaksa Railroad reached out […] and said, 'this is impactful for our operations as well.'"

Chairman Capito:

"[…] You mentioned school buses, emergency vehicles, your trucks. This can also be personal vehicles if they're powered by diesel. Is that correct? […]"

Ryan Anderson, Commissioner at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities:

"Senator, that's correct. And then a lot of folks in Alaska, when they have small pieces of heavy equipment […]. Yesterday somebody reached out to me, and they had a cabin out in rural Alaska, and they had a small piece of diesel equipment out there. And, of course, the system failed, and they had to fly someone in with a helicopter to fix it. It's happening to people all across Alaska."

CONSEQUENCES OF DIESEL ENGINE DERATES

Chairman Capito:

"Mr. Fornstrom, […] you rely on a successful yield for each growing season, and these yields are directly impacted by […] planting and harvesting and when that can occur. So, could you say a little bit about the potential consequences of a [diesel engine] derate for farmers during these kinds of seasons when you're planting or harvesting?"

Todd Fornstrom, President of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation:

"[…] I was at an auction looking for a piece of equipment. And the farmer that was selling the tractor, I asked him how good it was and told him what I wanted to use the tractor for. And he was like, 'well, you don't want this one because if it goes into the derate mode, you won't be able to run your grain cart like you're wanting to.' And that just halts harvest to a stop. So, it is eliminating some of this equipment from different operations that farmers don't want to deal with. And they're choosing not to buy newer equipment."

Click HERE to view Chairman Capito's questions.

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