Opinion: Trucks + Shale = Energy Independence

By John L. Conley

Past President

National Tank Truck Carriers

This Opinion piece appears in the July 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

With apologies to Charles Erwin Wilson of General Motors in 1919, “What is good for trucking is good for America.” The responsible development of North America’s shale oil and gas reserves has been very good for trucking — especially for the tank truck segment — and represents our nations’ best chance to achieve energy independence. Shale oil and gas producers, transporters and the law enforcement community are responsible for ensuring that we develop and maintain the same trucking safety culture in the shale fields that we strive for and achieve in other areas.

The potential benefits of the well-managed harvesting of the shale natural resources are clear. We have been given an abundant and less expensive energy bounty that can help us meet our energy needs for the next century.

The “re-shoring” of job-creating industrial plants already has started because of lower energy costs. These “you can come home again” jobs are in addition to the real jobs already created from the Marcellus to Eagle Ford and from the Gulf Coast to across the Canadian border.

Most important, sustainable energy independence will lessen the loss of our most precious resource in the battlefield sands of the Middle East.

Nothing moves into or out of the shale fields without trucks. From drilling equipment to silica sand into the fields to petroleum products and wastewater headed for proper disposal out of the fields, trucks run 24/7.While our industry provides the essential people and tools to move the shale industry, trucking companies that fail to meet the necessary safety performance standards can give fodder to the usual suspects who are fighting shale development.

As Transport Topics pointed out in its June 10 edition, “Energy-Rich Colorado Becomes Setting for Fracking Fight,” shale opponents are active and well-financed. The same type of story could have been written for other parts of the country where shale recovery efforts are under way — or even just being contemplated.

To most communities across the country, trucks are the most visible reality of shale development — we are the billboards of the shale industry. Trucks bring this expanding and sometimes new industry through towns and over roads not used to seeing heavy truck traffic.

While performing an essential energy mission, trucks are viewed as an inconvenience at best and unsafe or disruptive at worst. In a special enforcement focus during Roadcheck 2012, CVSA found significantly higher vehicle and driver out-of-service violations in the shale areas than elsewhere. We have been told by industry and law enforcement that safety has improved in shale areas. There was, however, legitimate concern within our industry about the performance of some carriers when the shale boom began, and that concern continues.

Last summer, National Tank Truck Carriers and American Trucking Associations began working together to bring the safety message to all in the shale fields. We found a very effective organization to help develop and spread the message in the Consumer Energy Alliance, which represents many commercial and government interests involved in responsible shale development.

The American Petroleum Institute soon joined with NTTC and ATA to lead a Safe Energy Trucking Task Force through CEA.

One tangible result of that effort is a new eight-page safety booklet that is available at no cost. The booklet includes recommendations for energy transporters, producers and the public.

ATA and NTTC members Quality Distribution, Trimac Transportation, Dupré Logistics and Schneider National bulk carriers attended task force meetings and provided input based on their experiences in the shale fields.

For transporters, the information is almost Trucking Safety 101. The importance of proper hiring, training and maintenance, and the need for regulatory compliance is stressed. For some new entrants into trucking, these basics might be news. Carriers are encouraged to work with local communities to reduce traffic during peak periods or special events. Websites are provided to obtain safety and regulatory information.

Producers are told the importance of vetting carriers they will use and are provided the tools and basic questions they should use in that review. They are told to verify that their carriers are properly registered, that they have insurance and that drivers have the proper credentials. They are encouraged to provide safe working conditions for drivers and to minimize delays that can cause driver fatigue and frustration.

We also wanted to reach out to the driving public and local officials in shale-development areas. The booklet includes graphics developed by ATA to educate the public about driving close to trucks.

We hope trucking companies and producers will make these publications available to organizations in their operating areas. The initial response from industry and law enforcement has been positive.

We next will conduct research in the Eagle Ford region of Texas and other areas to try to measure the effectiveness of the safety booklet and other initiatives to improve trucking safety in those locales. We believe the road to energy independence can and must be traveled by the safest trucking services we can provide.

The Safe Energy Trucking booklet can be reviewed and downloaded at www.tanktruck.org

John Conley joined NTTC, based in Arlington, Va,. in 1989. He  will retire at the end of this year.