Page 26 - ATR 2 2012 web 2

since September, 2010.
No Oilfield Exemption for You Salt water is a common by-product
of the fracturing process. The water is
Truck drivers that serve the Arkansas natural gas industry by hauling such pumped back underground using injec-
commodities as sand or waste water must comply with the same federal hours-of- tion wells. Such wells, which went into
service rules as all other truck drivers. No exemptions apply, as some trucking use around Greenbrier in 2009, were
companies apparently told their drivers.
blamed for the earthquake swarm and
Reports have circulated that several Arkansas trucking companies have been cited and subsequently the Arkansas Oil and Gas
penalized by federal and state authorities for wrongly telling their drivers they could Commission imposed a moratorium on
exceed the maximum driving time allowed under federal law, claiming their trucks new injection wells in the area in order
were exempted under the federal government’s exemption for oilfield operations. to study the issue.
Robbins freely pointed out the
Apparently, the confusion stems from a reference to an oilfield exemption in the moratorium while also underscoring the
federal rules promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
The exemption applies to drivers who deliver “vehicles that are specially constructed fact it wasn’t “fracking” itself that was
to service oil wells” to the actual site where the equipment then becomes essentially seen as possibly causing seismic activ-
stationary. ity but a handful of injection wells to
dispose of the salt water. He added that
Drivers who deliver those special pieces of equipment are not required to log their there were 40,000 registered cases of
waiting time at the site when waiting for the equipment to be offloaded. But even in seismic activity from the 1980s to 2000,
those cases, these drivers are not exempted from the 14-hour rule, meaning that once before hydraulic fracturing was used in
the driver goes on-duty he must go off-duty 14 hours later.
the area.
So, pass the word—trucking companies that specialize in serving natural gas “It’s not a brand-new technology,”
producers by delivering sand or shipping waste water from the oil field must comply he said. “The technology has gotten
with hours-of-service rules and all other requirements of a trucking company licensed much, much better to make it more safe
to engage in interstate commerce. and sound.”

aUToS aNd TrUCkS
burns while emitting less carbon diox- add to an already positive situation. Another knock on natural gas is
ide than gasoline. “Who knows what other technolo- that it gives off methane when burned
Robbins said safely extracted natu- gy and energy sources will come along,” but the environmental concerns are so
ral gas should be part of a big picture he said before turning back to natural far secondary to the potential the fuel
in which America uses a number of gas. “We’ve got it. We’ve got the tech- has as an alternative energy source for
available energy sources, including nology to extract it safely.” cars and trucks. The carmakers have
renewable energy when the technology certainly noticed and the major U.S.
comes along to make it happen. And he CoNNECTEd or CoINCIdENCE automakers, with Ford leading the way,
believes it will. Natural gas has a growing list of are all producing alternative fuel vehi-
“As a country our energy policy opponents, especially those who ques- cles, including those that run on several
needs to look at all kinds of options,” tion the techniques being used to different forms of natural gas.
Robbins said. “Just a few years ago extract natural gas, known as hydraulic Compressed natural gas is pressur-
we couldn’t imagine walking around fracturing, or “fracking”—which forces ized and stored like gasoline in a car or
with a telephone in our pocket, talk- pressurized fluid into the rock with tractor truck’s tank. Liquefied natural
ing to friends and family and using the enough velocity that it creates fissures gas is obtained by freezing the gas to
Internet. which, in turn, allow the natural gas to close to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit.
“We would all agree that we want escape. In Europe, the preferred form is lique-
to become more self-reliant on our Just as fracking became the method fied petroleum gas, typically a mixture
energy needs than sending money over- of choice in north central Arkansas in of butane and propane that comes from
seas. What’s great about natural gas is 2009, so too began a spate of seismic refined crude oil or natural gas.
that it’s very abundant now.” activity, including Arkansas’ largest Chrysler, controlled by Fiat and the
New oil and natural gas discoveries earthquake in 35 years, in 2011. The smallest U.S. automaker, rolled out a
are pushing U.S. domestic energy sup- 4.7 magnitude quake was centered pickup truck for sale in June that uses
plies well beyond 100 years, doubling near Greenbrier, about 40 miles north liquefied natural gas. Compressed natu-
supply estimates. Should something like of Little Rock. Although the largest, it ral gas (CNG) is seen as desirable for
solar or wind power become viable on a was part of a swarm of earthquakes in
large scale, Robbins said, it would only the area that numbered more than 800  41

26 ArkAnSAS trucking report | issue 2 2012