Declaration of disaster following summer storms

O n August 16, 2024, severe thunderstorms and strong winds occurred in Northwest Arkansas, causing danger, hardship, and suffering which now warrants this executive action.

The damage resulting from these storms includes numerous downed power lines, which have created the need for commercial vehicles to haul heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, and other transmission and distribution equipment to line crews working to restore power to the citizens of Arkansas.

To ensure the safe and efficient restoration of power throughout the state, it is important to maintain a safe distance from these downed power lines, line crews, and related equipment. Pursuant to 49 CFR §390.23, the Governor is authorized to declare a regional emergency for the duration of emergency conditions, not to exceed fourteen (14) days, and during that time motor carriers and drivers operating commercial vehicles to provide emergency relief are temporarily exempt from federal regulations governing maximum drive time; and pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §12-75114(e)(1), the Governor is authorized to suspend any regulatory statutes or rules that in any way prevent, hinder, or delay actions necessary in coping with an emergency.

Now, therefore, I, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas and pursuant to Act 511 of 1973, as amended, do hereby declare that a state of emergency exists in the State of Arkansas as applied to:

■ ■ Commercial vehicles hauling heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, and other transmission and distribution equipment to line crews for the purpose of restoring power to the citizens of the state; and

■ ■ Emergency response vehicles such as, but not limited to, utility vehicles, bucket trucks, and electric utility supply trucks actively responding to the storms and related damage. These emergency response vehicles are authorized to bypass all Arkansas Department of Transportation weigh station facilities through August 31, 2024. This authorization does not include vehicles that require permits to operate on Arkansas’ roadways. This authorization does not relieve size and weight restrictions. This declaration only applies to weigh stations and to vehicles traveling in convoy.

Furthermore, I hereby invoke the emergency executive powers vested in me under Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-75-101 et seq., as amended, and suspend all provisions of regulating statutes prescribing procedures for the conduct of the Office of State Procurement, the Arkansas Building Authority, the Office of Personnel Management, and all other state departments and agencies to render maximum assistance to the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment and the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, through the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, relative to any potential impediment to the rapid and orderly rendering of assistance to affected political subdivisions.

Gov. Sarah Sanders