# Teton Transportation, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 04-0103 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2004-06-03 04-0103 response to Teton Transportation, Inc. concerning 173.159. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 Research and Special Programs Administration JUN 3 2004 Mr. Walter D. Smith Director of Safety and Compliance Ref. No. 04-0103 Teton Transportation, Inc. Post Office Box 909 Seymour, TN 37865 Dear Mr. Smith: This is in response to your April 9, 2004 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to non-spillable wet batteries. According to your letter, your company transports batteries containing corrosive battery fluid from one shipping point without additional products loaded on your trucks. You state these shipments are excepted from subchapter C of the HMR as provided by § 173.159(e). You state that you placard your trucks for information purposes although not required by the HMR to do You ask whether your shipments of wet batteries meet the criteria found under § 173.159(e). You ask whether your company is required to comply with subchapter C of the HMR when transporting these materials. You ask if your company can require a hazardous materials endorsement on commercial drivers licenses for your drivers even if these shipments are excepted from the HMR. You also ask whether placarding is allowed when not required. Your understanding is correct. Batteries containing corrosive battery fluid that are transported by highway or rail are excepted from the HMR provided they are transported in accordance with the conditions in § 173.159(e). Even though placarding is not required, under § 172.502(c), you may 173.159 (e) 040103 <<>> than § 173.159 (e), if you transport only batteries that are excepted from the HMR requirements You ask if your company is required to comply with any of the requirements of the HMR, other under § 173.159(e) and no other hazardous materials. The answer is no. I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards <<>> Foster $173.159 (e) Teton Batteries Tran por 04-0103 April 9, 2004 Director Edward Mazullo Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Research and Special Programs Admin. 400 Seventh Street, SW U.S. Dept. of Transportation Washington, DC 20590-0001 Re: 173.159 (e) Dear Sir: We request your opinion on two matters. This company is registered as a hazmat carrier and we require drivers in our van division to maintain a CDL hazmat endorsement. However, the only typical Exide loads. Exide marks wet battery loads HM, labels the cargo and placards our trailers. hazmat loads we pull are for our customer, Exide Technologies. The enclosed bills represent the trailer. These are truckload deliveries originating at one shipping point with no other product loaded on We assert that these loads meet the requirements of 173.159 (e) and are exempt from Title 49, placards are not required to pull these loads, the permissive placarding rule allows placarding for Subchapter C. We also assert that even though, therefore, a CDL hazmat endorsement and in response to our customer's requirement. Further, that neither of these conditions, however, information purposes, and we can require the hazmat endorsement as a matter of company policy affects the exempt status of the loads. Piss, we would precite your option as to wether hen yes or ad me 13m and and., We would be pleased to provide any additional information that you may need. Your guidance on these issues is important to us and would be very much appreciated. Yours truly, Walter D. Smith Director of Safety and Compliance Post Office Box 909 • Seymour, Tennessee 37865 • Phone (615) 546-3846 FAX (615) 546-2675 • 1-800-956-3846 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `8dbd8cf2c8fb7c162e87390f217b5dbb012d9b9aaba34119180b6ad4d6a5f231` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-24T09:21:31.375Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-04-0103` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Teton Transportation, Inc." ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Walter D. 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