Proposed hauling rules will hurt business, AK Steel says
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
MIDDLETOWN — Local steelmakers may have thought they won their fight at the Statehouse when House Bill 30 passed, allowing them to haul three steel coils at a higher weight, but that was only the tip of the iceberg.
The bill contained an amendment to raise the weight limit for truckers hauling three steel coils at a time in Ohio to 120,000 pounds, up from a 92,000-pound limit. Gov. Ted Strickland signed the bill into law on June 12, according to state officials.
A stipulation of that law was for the Ohio Department of Transportation to conduct a study on how the heavier loads impact roadways to be delivered to Strickland in February.
ODOT has taken the survey one step further by presenting the Ohio Joint Commission on Agency Rule Review with several rules to include in addition to the amendment. The rules including increasing the fee for oversized load permits, eliminating 365-day permits and mandating companies report the number of times they plan to use a permit, according to the proposal.
The idea behind the rules, said ODOT spokesman Scott Varner, is to better track heavy loads and the impact on roads.
But steelmakers and trucking companies have submitted testimony to JCARR attesting the rules go beyond the scope of the permit and would unjustly burden companies as they transport products.
By discontinuing 365-day permits, ODOT will prevent steelmakers from making just-in-time deliveries to customers, costing them needed business, said Alan McCoy, AK Steel spokesman.
"AK Steel does not own or operate trucks which operate on Ohio roads and highways, and thus we question the regulatory or statutory authority that would permit ODOT to revoke our ability to timely ship steel to our customers under the most cost-and-fuel-efficient method allowed by Ohio law," McCoy said.
Permit fees would increase 900 percent, businesses contend, though the agency is not sure how much the trucks damage roadways.
But since current fees do not pay for roadwork, the increase would help recoup that cost now, Varner said.
"We agree that yes the study when it's done ... will give us the best sense of that cost or impact to the roads but it started at not being any amount for that impact," he said. "It's clear that a truck that weighs 120,000 pounds has significantly more impact on an asphalt road than a car that you or I drive."
The rules are still waiting for review, but ODOT already has stopped issuing 365-day permits.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.
