National Tank Truck Carriers hosted an October meeting with representatives of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assist the agency in conducting the wetlines study mandated by Congress through MAP-21. Also attending the meeting were representatives of the American Trucking Associations and the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association.
The Department of Transportation was forbidden to publish a final wetlines rule for two years pending review of this study. The GAO must report back to Congress by October 2013.
GAO officials said they were looking at three main areas in their study:
1. What is the risk of a wetlines incident? What does the data show?
2. What are options to address the wetlines issue?
3. How have the Department of Transportation and the tank truck industry addressed the wetlines issue?
In addition to addressing these questions and other issues, industry participants at the meeting gave the GAO representatives a detailed history of the wetlines ban efforts and pointed out that the DOT was under intense political pressure from certain members of the last Congress, and had essentially reissued the proposal it withdrew in 2006 as a means of self-defense.
“We were impressed by the questions asked by the GAO representatives and offered to take them on a field trip to visit a petroleum carrier, loading rack, and repair facility,” Dan Furth, NTTC president. “We also encouraged the GAO representatives to meet with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and other associations that represent petroleum marketers and other industry segments.”