Orlando, Florida – In April, the American Trucking Associations’ Safety Management Council honored a number of fleets and industry leaders for their commitment to safety on the highway and in the workplace.

“Trucking is a safety-first industry, and the professionals being recognized today have made it their mission to build strong safety practices into the culture of their companies,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. Through their dedication to safety, they provide a tremendous example to our industry, and I congratulate them on receiving these important honors.

The winners were recognized at ATA’s 2022 Safety, Security & Human Resources National Conference & Exhibition.

They include:

• The ATA President’s Trophy, sponsored by Great West Casualty Company
• • Under 25 Million Miles: Fortune Transportation, Windom, Minnesota;
  • 25-100 Million Miles: A. Duie Pyle Inc., West Chester, Pennsylvania;
  • Over 100 Million Miles: FedEx Freight, Harrison, Arkansas
• ATA National Safety Director, sponsored by Great West Casualty Company: Jeff Mercadante, vice president of safety, Pitt Ohio;
• ATA National Driver of the Year, sponsored by EROAD: Robert Rossi, FTC Transportation Inc.
• ATA Excellence in Safety, sponsored by Great West Casualty Company: Colorado Motor Carriers Association.
• PMTA was awarded the Cum Laude Excellence in Safety Award for its Safety Management Council's program and events throughout the year. 

“SMC is pleased to honor this year’s winners – all of whom play an important role in building our industry’s safety culture,” said SMC Executive Director Jacob Pierce. “Motor Carriers, safety directors, drivers and our state association executives do critical work in promoting and improving safety across our industry and we thank them all for their commitment.”

PMTA is providing the update below on the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP's) now-final Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) from the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association. Though energy costs are important to all businesses, as trucking companies move further to electric and no-emissions vehicles, policies related to the cost of electricity are even more critical. PMTA will continue to track challenges to RGGI and will update members as appropriate. 

Wolf’s destructive electricity tax is now official

Despite rising inflation, sluggish pandemic recovery, war in Europe, and global supply chain struggles, Governor Wolf is going into overdrive to impose his crippling electricity tax, which became official last week.

Wolf’s go-it-alone effort started with an executive order in October 2019, which called for Pennsylvania’s entry into a multi-state compact of 11 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The final rule was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on April 23 after two-and-a-half years of intense public scrutiny, and damning assessments from business, organized labor, and consumer groups, as well as opposition from a large bipartisan majority of state lawmakers.

The RGGI cartel requires power plants to pay a tax for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit. A report by the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) said Pennsylvania electricity generators could spend upwards of $781 million annually on emissions credits at the RGGI auctions, nearly four times the amount the Wolf administration used when rolling out the RGGI scheme in 2020. The IFO also warned lawmakers that “those costs would be pushed through to final customers.”

The RGGI electricity tax will also force the closure of older power plants, even though those plants are fully compliant with all DEP and EPA regulations. Because Pennsylvania is the top electricity exporting state in America, those plant closures could destabilize the electrical grid for the entire PJM market serving thirteen states and the District of Columbia.

Lawmakers from both parties tried numerous times and in different ways to block Wolf’s plan. The most recent being an attempt earlier this month by the Senate earlier to override a Wolf veto of a concurrent resolution (SCRRR1) to stop RGGI. The two-thirds majority required for override failed by one vote.

Unless the plan is stopped in court -- a critical hearing in the Commonwealth Court that could delay it, is set for Monday -- Pennsylvania is looking at the potential loss of over 20,000 jobs, and a 30 percent jump in electricity rates for consumers and businesses. Almost all emission reductions will be reimported from Ohio and West Virginia (both outside RGGI), when electricity production moves to those neighboring states. Governor Wolf has not yet shared any plans to redirect the Jet Stream from its current west-to-east path.

“Pennsylvania should be a national energy leader, supercharging our economy and lowering monthly bills for consumers,” said PMA President & CEO David N. Taylor. “Instead, under Governor Wolf’s RGGI cartel, Pennsylvanians will have more expensive energy, more inflation from higher business costs, and fewer good-paying jobs for our skilled tradesmen and power plant workers. Because all taxing authority rests with the General Assembly, Wolf’s RGGI tax is unconstitutional. PMA looks forward to vindicating that principle in court.”

Power generators could begin paying the fees required for entry into the compact starting July 1st unless the Commonwealth Court acts to at least delay implementation. It did delay publication of the rule in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, but that brief expired on April 18.

The broader argument before the court is that the governor has enacted a tax without legislative approval; the Constitution authorizes only the General Assembly to enact or raise taxes.

With a victory in the Commonwealth Court, the fight will almost certainly end up in the state Supreme Court, predicts state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, and a vocal opponent of the plan.

“What [Wolf’s] doing is handing over our economic and environmental future to 11 other states,” Yaw said. “But he seems hell-bent on getting us into this.”

“I wish more people understood how serious this really is,” he added. “That consumers are going to get hit hard from both sides.”

The hope is that court actions can delay implementation until a new Governor is elected in November, assuming, of course, that the new Governor supports leaving the compact. All Republican candidates have stated their opposition, and even the lone Democratic candidate, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, has expressed reservations about RGGI in a bid to retain support from organized labor.

In Virginia, newly elected Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has vowed to remove his state from RGGI. There, the Democratically controlled legislature approved entry, so he and Republican lawmakers are trying a variety of strategies to get the state out. A new Pennsylvania Governor could withdraw with a simple executive order because the legislature never approved, or was even asked to approve, Wolf’s plan.

Pennsylvania electricity generators support tens of thousands of high paying jobs and provide millions in additional tax revenue. Wolf’s RGGI tax and the Biden Administration’s continued attacks on domestic energy production have those generators on the ropes. President Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry recently said that “no one should make it easy for gas interests to be building out 30- or 40-year infrastructure.”

By next January, Wolf will be gone, and the November elections will reveal what consumers think about the Radical Greens’ destructive anti-energy agenda.

Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association | (717) 232-0737 | 225 State Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101

In pursuit of controlling the spread of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu, the Department of Agriculture is requiring permits to move poultry or other poultry related cargo into, with or from the established quarantine area.

Here’s the quarantine zone map: https://padeptag.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a9066a3d68a443a08043766cb84bf4ae

Here’s the permit application: https://pacedcitpowerapps.powerappsportals.us/services/AG-Permit-to-Move-Poultry/

From the Pennsylvania Bulletin:

9. Permit Required. No poultry shall move into, within, from or out of the Quarantine Area or off or onto a premises within the Quarantine Area without a Permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and no conveyance, vehicle, container, materials or live or unprocessed goods or products of poultry or other domestic animals shall move into, within, from or out of the quarantine area or off or onto a premises within the Quarantine Area on which any poultry is present without a Permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. A prerequisite for the issuance of any Permit is a biosecurity plan approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Permit forms, standards and requirements are established on the Department's website at padls.agriculture.pa.gov or at direct link padls.agriculture.pa.gov/InnerPages/HPAI.html, and are incorporated into this Order by reference, as if fully set forth herein. Any person without access to the internet or the Department's website may call the Department at (717) 772-2852 and request a copy of the Permit requirements. Restricted movements include:

 a. Transport poultry, poultry waste, poultry manure, containers or materials or live or unprocessed goods or products of poultry or other domestic animals or any combination of those into, within, from or out of the Quarantine Area, and

 b. Deliver or distribute poultry, poultry waste, poultry manure, containers or materials or live or unprocessed goods or products of poultry or other domestic animals or any combination of those into, within, from or out of the Quarantine Area, and

 c. Pickup poultry, poultry waste, poultry manure, containers or materials or live or unprocessed goods or products of poultry or other domestic animals or any combination of those into, within, from or out of the Quarantine Area, and

 d. Transport, deliver, pickup or distribute poultry, poultry waste, poultry manure, containers or materials or live or unprocessed goods or products of poultry or other domestic animals or any combination of those into, within, from or out of the Quarantine Area, and

 e. With regard to poultry waste and poultry manure or the waste or manure of any other domestic animal on the same premises as poultry this Order shall apply to any vehicle, conveyance or container utilized in the movement or application thereof.

 f. Feed or feed products or materials shipped onto a premises containing poultry within the Quarantine Area.

PennDOT is continuing to move forward with its proposal to toll nine interstate bridges through its Major Bridge P3 Initiative despite pushback in local communities, the state legislature, and the courts.

Though they haven’t specified the exact toll for trucks crossing these bridges (or even how they plan to define “truck”), it's anticipated that a toll on a single bridge will add $5000 per year to the cost of each truck crossing twice a day.

PMTA has fought the bridge tolling initiative ever since it was first proposed in late 2020, arguing that the disproportionate impact on the trucks will hurt the trucking industry, local businesses, and Pennsylvania’s economic competitiveness (see details of PMTA’s activities ).

Over the past few months, several events have occurred on which PMTA wishes to update its members.

• On November 16, the state House of Representatives voted to approve Sen. Langerholc’s SB 382, which requires public-private partnerships to through a more thorough public deliberation, including approval by the legislature when there are tolls involved. (See how your representative voted.) SB 382 already passed the state Senate, but because it was amended in the House, it must be approved by the Senate again. It has not yet been brought up for a vote. There's still time to contact your senator.

•  On February 15, PMTA filed an amicus brief in the lawsuit South Fayette Township et. al v. PennDOT, a challenge by several municipalities near the I-79 Bridgeville bridge arguing that PennDOT did not follow the requirements of the law in its P3 process. An oral argument has been scheduled in the case on May 18 before a panel of Commonwealth Court judges. In the meantime, a similar case has been filed by a group of county and municipal officials in Cumberland County.

• On March 9, PennDOT announced that Bridging Pennsylvania Partners (BPP) was selected as the Apparent Best Value Proposer to administer the bridge tolling projects.

•  Also in March, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) said it will require PennDOT to through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for each bridge it is considering tolling. The NEPA process evaluates the environmental and related social and economic effects of proposed action and, importantly, includes citizen involvement. As a result, for each bridge project, PennDOT is scheduling a public comment period and an in-person public meeting, at which members of the public are invited to testify.

PMTA strongly encourages its members to take part in this public comment process. Now is the time to convey the impact of bridge tolling on your business, on Pennsylvania’s trucking industry, and on economy! You may do so in one of three ways:

• Provide in-person testimony at a public hearing.
• Submit comments on proposed tolling project(s) at the email address provided.
• Mail comments to the address provided.

Please see the below list of bridge projects, along with public meetings scheduled, comment periods, and other information. Click on the project name link to see the project information page.

It is very important during this process to state clearly the impact you believe tolling these bridges at an estimated $10-12 per crossing will have on your business. Please state the cost increases you will be forced to deal with, how this will affect your competitiveness with other companies, and how you think tolling will affect your local community. Specific comments are always more effective than general comments.

If you’d like some ideas about how to frame your comments or testimony please see the information on PMTA’s website, including several previous testimonies provided by the association. You may also contact PMTA for assistance.

PennDOT Major Bridge P3 Initiative Proposed Bridges to Be Tolled – Public Comment

5/10/22

Proposed Bridge	Construction Start	Next Public Hearing Date	Public Hearing Location	Testimony	Send Written Comments	Comments Due By
I-81 Susquehanna River Susquehanna County	2023-2025	TBD
I-80 Nescopeck Creek Luzerne County	2023-2025	Thurs, May 12, 2022, 3:30 pm – 7 pm	Nescopeck Township Social Hall, 510 Zenith Rd, Nescopeck	Sign up	[email protected]	May 27
I-78 Lenhartsville Bridge Berks County	2023-2025	May 19, 2022, 3:30 - 7 pm	Kempton Community Center, 83 Community Center Dr., Kempton	Sign up	[email protected]	June 3
I-80 Lehigh River Carbon/Luzerne Counties	2023-2025	May 18, 2022, 3:30 - 7 pm	Mountain Laurel Resort, 81 Treetops Circle, White Haven	Sign up	[email protected]	June 2
I-95 Girard Point Bridge Philadelphia	TBD	TBD			[email protected]
I-83 South Bridge Dauphin/Cumberland Counties	2024	Wed, May 25, 2022, 3:30 - 6:30 pm AND Thurs, May 26, 2022, 3:30-6:30 pm	Penn Harris Hotel AND Hilton Garden Inn - Harrisburg East	Sign up	[email protected]	June 9
I-80 Canoe Creek Clarion County	2023-2025	Wed, May 4, 2022, 3:30 pm – 7 pm	Wolf’s Den Banquet & Conference Facility, 291 Timerwolf Run, Knox, PA	Sign up	[email protected]	May 19
I-80 North Fork Jefferson County	2024	Tues, May 3, 2022, 3:30 pm – 7 pm	Chateau d’Argy, 345 Main St., Brookville, PA	Sign up	[email protected]	May 18
I-79 Bridgeville Interchange Allegheny County	2023-2025	TBD			[email protected]

 

On Wednesday, South Central PA Highway Safety hosted a Safe Driving Competition for Youth at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School. Members of PMTA and the Pennsylvania Road Team assisted in the driving course test portion of the competition and gave presentations. 

The competition consisted of four parts: a driving course, a written test, a driving perception test and a pre-trip inspection. The event was limited to 18 students for this year. 

The overall winner was given $1,000 while second and third place won $500 and $250, respectively. The top scorer for the three tests earned $125 and second place won $75.

The South Central Chapter of PMTA was among the sponsors of the event. 

For more photos, click here.

The PMTA Road Team and other members visited the Pennsylvania State Police Academy on Friday for a Commercial Motor Vehicle Familiarization program.

Special thanks to PMTA Members Fedex, TForce, New Enterprise Stone and Lime, Walmart and Sheetz/CLI Transport. 

Also thank you to Pennsy Supply. 

Click the photo below for more shots from Friday.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is seeking the public's feedback on winter services through an online survey.

"Winter operations are among our core services and our team takes pride in their mission," said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. "Through this survey, the public can help us measure expectations and identify education opportunities."

The survey is available through April 29 and should take about five minutes to complete. All responses are completely anonymous.

The 17-question survey asks respondents about their timeline expectations for safe and passable roadways, how they rank snow-removal priorities, and how they rate PennDOT's winter services.

Respondents are also asked how they receive PennDOT roadway information, and whether or how they use the state's 511PA traveler information services. During the winter, www.511PA.com offers its standard traffic and incident information while adding PennDOT plow-truck locations, winter roadway conditions, and other services.

At any time, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts. 

As construction season begins, information on projects occurring or being bid this year is viewable at www.projects.PennDOT.gov. Subscribe to travel alerts in a specific area on the Regional Offices page or subscribe to statewide PennDOT news.

On March 23, 2022, Angie Singer Keating, CEO of Reclamere presented the Top 10 Cybersecurity Threats in Transportation. As you are all aware, cyber security is a major issue for the transportation sector. Regardless of the size of your company, you are at risk for cyber incidents. As a way to support the members of PMTA Reclamere is offering the members a no-cost network scan to help determine their level of cyber risk. In order to take advantage of this offer, please email [email protected] or call Joe Harford at 814-599-0242 to schedule your no-cost network scan.

You can watch the webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKAVJwGPNuA

On March 30, 2022, the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association recognized its 2021 Drivers of the Month and presented the 2021 Driver of the Year Award at a banquet in Camp Hill.

PMTA’s Safety Management Council (SMC) Driver of the Month/Year program recognizes outstanding drivers for their achievement in highway safety.

To be eligible, a driver must be employed by a member company and reside or be domiciled in Pennsylvania. The selection committee considers a nominee’s driving record, customer service, and commitment, as well as letters of recommendation and other supporting documentation.

The program runs annually from January to December, and the Driver of the Year is selected from the 12 monthly awardees. The winning Driver of the Year for Pennsylvania is then submitted for nomination for the National Driver of the Year Award in the American Trucking Associations’ program.

The awardees were presented plaques during the program last week, which was sponsored by Sentry Insurance. The Driver of the Year Awardee received a trophy. PMTA board and SMC board members were in attendance to recognize these exceptional drivers, along with the drivers’ companies and families.

Between them, the 2021 Drivers of the Month have over 325 combined years of driving and more than 21 million miles. They embody the professionals who deliver America’s goods safely and efficiently every day.

Congratulations to the 2021 Pennsylvania Drivers of the Month!

January: David Bathurst, Jr., Lester R. Summers, Inc.

February: Ken Bucher, Sauder Transport Company / Sauder’s Eggs

March: Matthew Davis, R.H. Crawford, Inc.

April: Timothy McClure, PITT OHIO

May: Michael Johnson, Klapec Trucking

June: David Stuckey, Ward Trucking

July: Russell Pannebecker, Lester R. Summers, Inc.

August: Terry Molkenthin, Lester R. Summers, Inc.

September: Marlin Shirk, NHT Logistics

October: Clint Smith, Vorzik Transport

November: Anthony Scerbo, S & H Express

December: Stephen Barron, Vorzik Transport

And congratulations to the 2021 Pennsylvania Driver of the Year, Ken Bucher of Sauder Transport Company / Sauder’s Eggs! Best of luck in the National Driver of the Year competition, Ken!

SMC is currently seeking nominees for 2022 Drivers of the Month program.

PMTA asks that women in the industry consider applying or nominating a colleague to represent Pennsylvania on USDOT's Women of Trucking Advisory Board.

Women of Trucking Advisory Board (WOTAB)

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/wotab

Chartered by the Secretary of Transportation on February 11, 2022, the Women of Trucking Advisory Board (WOTAB) is charged with reviewing and reporting on policies that provide education, training, mentorship, or outreach to women in the trucking industry and recruit, retain, or advance women in the trucking industry. WOTAB will be composed of members whose backgrounds, experience, and certifications allow them to contribute balanced points of view and diverse ideas regarding the coordination of functions of trucking companies, nonprofit organizations, and trucking associations. WOTAB’s work will support women pursuing careers in trucking, expand scholarship opportunities for women in the trucking industry, and enhance trucking training, mentorship, education, and outreach programs for women.

How to Apply for WOTAB

Members serve without pay and are chosen from a field of qualified candidates for two-year terms. Should you wish to apply or nominate someone for membership, please email the following materials to [email protected] by Friday, April 8, 2022.

A letter expressing your interest and qualifications to serve on the committee, specifying one of the following membership categories:

A large trucking company (more than 100 power

units).

A mid-sized trucking company (11-100 power units).

A small trucking company (1-10 power units).

A nonprofit organization in the trucking industry.

A trucking business association.

An independent owner-operator.

A female professional truck driver.

An institution of higher education or trucking trade school.

Other related role within trucking industry (please specify).

A resume of relevant work experience.

One letter of recommendation from someone who knows you and your professional accomplishments first-hand. This can be a supervisor or a colleague.

For questions concerning WOTAB, please e-mail [email protected].