Chapter §9.2 - Hazardous Materials Regulations

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§9.2 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATIONS

Regulations governing transportation of hazardous materials are discussed below.

(1) Shippers duties

Within the HMTA's implementing regulations, 49 C.F.R. pts. 171-180, a "person" is defined as an "individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company; or a government, Indian Tribe, or authority of a government or Tribe, that offers a hazardous material for transportation in commerce, transports a hazardous material to support a commercial enterprise, or designs, manufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions, repairs, or tests a package, container, or packaging component that is represented, marked, certified or sold as qualified for use in transporting hazardous material in commerce." 49 C.F.R. § 171.8. Although the term shipper is not specifically defined in the hazardous materials regulations, it does appear in several subpart and section titles, and in practice the shipper is the person who offers a hazardous material for transportation in commerce. The shipper is also analogous to the RCRA generator, see40 C.F.R. §260.10, and has the responsibility of classifying and packaging the hazardous material in the proper containers in accordance with 49 C.F.R. pts. 172, 173, 178, and 179. Furthermore, persons causing certain quantities and types of hazardous materials, including hazardous wastes, to be transported in commerce are required to file annual registration statements with the U.S. DOT and pay a registration fee. 49 U.S.C. §5108; 49 C.F.R. §107.608.

A shipper may obtain a special permit or temporary exemption from duties to conform to the U.S. DOTs specifications under very limited circumstances. 49 U.S.C. §5117; 49 C.F.R. §§107.101-107.127. Special permits and temporary exemptions may be effective for up to two years and must be renewed thereafter. 49 U.S.C. §5117(a)(2); 49 C.F.R. §107.105. The applicant must provide a detailed safety analysis to justify an exemption. 49 U.S.C. §5117(b); 49 C.F.R. §107.107.

(2) Carriers duties

The carrier is the person who transports passengers or goods in commerce. A private carrier, as opposed to a common carrier, is one engaged solely in transporting loads for its owner. The duties expected of the carrier extend beyond those of ensuring proper identification, marking, labeling, and packaging, and include reporting hazardous materials incidents. 49 U.S.C. §5110(c); 49 C.F.R. §171.15. A private carrier who is also the shipper must certify that the load conforms to the hazardous materials regulations if the load is to be reshipped or transferred from one carrier to another. 49 C.F.R. §172.204.

A carrier, private or common, who has accepted a load of hazardous waste must use the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest required by the RCRA regulations, 40 C.F.R. §262, as the shipping paper. 49 C.F.R. §172.205. When accepting a load of hazardous waste, a carrier must sign and date the original copy of the manifest, as must each subsequent carrier. 49 C.F.R. § 172.205. Along with the shipping papers, the carrier must receive and keep during transportation a copy of the hazardous waste manifest that contains all appropriate dates and signatures. Id. Additional requirements apply when a load is transferred to a rail carrier. 49 C.F.R. § 172.205(f). During transportation, the carrier must also carry emergency response information that can be used to mitigate incidents involving the specific hazardous materials being transported. 49 C.F.R. §172.602. In practice, this is usually done by classifying manifest line items according to the Emergency Response Guidebook published by U.S. DOT. See U.S. Dept of Transp., Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Admin., 2012 Emergency Response Guidebook, http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/Files/Hazmat/ERG2012...