# Cognis Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 05-0249 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2005-12-07 05-0249 response to Cognis Corporation concerning 177.834. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Pipeline cind lazardous Materials Safet Administration DEC - 7 2005 Ms. Maureen Haller Ref No.: 05-0249 SHE Manager Cognis Corporation 2525 S. Kensington Kankakee, IL 60901 Dear Ms. Haller: This responds to your September 28, 2005 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask if the cargo tank attendance requirements in § 177.834(i) apply to a shipper who loads a cargo tank prior to the arrival of the carrier and attachment to the motive power. The answer is no. The filling of a cargo tank or other bulk packaging by a shipper is regulated as a pre-transportation function under the HMR. A pre-transportation function is a function specified in the HMR that is required to assure the safe transportation of a hazardous material in commerce. Thus, a shipper must comply with applicable HMR requirements concerning compatibility of lading with the packaging, outage and filling limits, securing of valves and closures, venting, and similar provisions. The attendance requirements in § 177.834(i) apply to loading and unloading operations conducted by carrier personnel. Shipper personnel filling a cargo tank prior to the onset of transportation in commerce (i.e., the arrival of the carrier and the attachment of motive power) need not comply with the attendance requirements in § 177.834(i). I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, 18Sa Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 177.834 ( 050249 <<>> Betts, Charles Loading Unloading Sent: From: Quillinan, Robert Tuesday, October 04, 2005 10:09 AN 05-0249 To: HH12 Subject: FW: HM-223, Applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations to Loading, Unloading Please respond to Ms. Haller with a copy to me. Thanks. From: Maureen Haller [mailto:maureen.haller@cognis.com] -----Original Message- To: Quillinan, Robert < PHMSA> Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 1:39 PM Unloading Subject: HM-223, Applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations to Loading, Dear Mr. Quillinan, Ka refresh your memet during the last Manage ter theis corporati nap at le regarding HM-223 that I was hoping to get your insight on as a DOT Enforcement We met during your last visit here on April 15, 2005. I have a question Specialist.... motive power was not This question is specific to cargo tank loading. Prior to HM-223, when the carrier's not considered to be "in transportation". Therefore, attendance requirements in Part 177 present at the loading (filling) of a cargo tank, the cargo tank was did not apply. However, in summaries I've read of HM-223 it seems it does not make a difference who loads when performed by any person, be it the shipper or carrier. (fills) a bulk package, such as a cargo tank. The loading/filling function is regulated loading (filling) function prior to the carrier's arrival, it is a pre-transportation If a shipper performs a function and is subject to all applicable regulatory requirements. Section 173.30 states hazardous materials into or from a transport vehicle in conformance with applicable that a person who is subject to the loading/unloading regulations must load or unload your insight on whether this means the attendance requirements of 177.834 (i) apply when loading and unloading requirements of parts 174, 175, 176, and 177. the carrier's motive power is not present. If the attendance requirements do apply when the carrier's motive power is not present, then can remote cameras be used to monitor these filling operations? I look forward to your reply. Sincerely, SHE Manager Maureen Haller Kankakee, Cognis Corporation 815-939-6083 IL 2525 S. Kensington KanKakee IL 60901 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `c0c51e37ea8deb699c4ab1b1602ee17ee5ef86249b4c8c18885269c520c6e25d` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T17:28:15.062Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-05-0249` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Cognis Corporation" ], "individuals": [ "Ms. Maureen Hailer" ], "refIds": [ "05-0249" ], "catalogDates": [ "2005-12-07" ], "catalogParts": [ 177 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/55086" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "177.834", "177.834(i)", "173.30" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/177834" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050249.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050249.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050249.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/05-0249-23fab53f95.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "282b81f09ba01a1ce74741d8042ef67ee8f45f3ef0a6c5270a65d4a0c92066c4", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/05-0249-23fab53f95.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "e3b4c2862581f2cf408e0b29e98f26047ad58763ca08cc3c94965dd76b8ac14e", "pageCount": 2, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```