# Jacobus Energy — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 10-0115 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2011-11-07 10-0115 response to Jacobus Energy concerning 178.320, 180.403, 180.413. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration NOV? 2011 Mr. John Klein Jacobus Energy 11815 West Bradley Road Milwaukee, WI 53224 Ref. No. 10-0115 Dear Mr. Klein: I This responds to your request for clarification on § 180.413 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). You ask if an "R" stamp is required when perfonning welding repair on the discharge and inlet piping to a MC306 or MC406 cargo tank. Further, you state that the repair or replacemen~ could be part of routine maintenance or as part ofreplacement during a truck mounted tank chlmgeover to a new cab and chassis. Additionally, you also ask if this piping is considered to be part ofthe laden retention system ofthe cargo tank. The answer to both of your questions is no. Repair is defined in § 180.403 as any welding on a cargo tank wall done to return a cargo tank or acargo tank motor vehicle to its original design and construction specification, or to a condition prescribed for a later equivalent specification in effect at the time ofthe repair. Cargo tank wall is defined in § 178.320 as, those parts ofthe cargo tank that make up the primary lading retention structure, including, shell, bulkheads, and fittings and, when closed, yield the minimum volume ofthe cargo tank assembly. Section 180.413 requirements include the "R" stamp when repairing specification cargo tanks. The piping is not nonnally considered part ofthe cargo tank walL Therefore, any welding that occurs on the piping is generally not considered a repair nor would it require an "R" stamp. I hope this answers your inquiry. If you need further assistance, please contact this office. 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington. DC 20590 BenSupko Acting Chief, Standards Development Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) From: Supko, Ben (PHMSA) Sent: Wednesday, May 26,201012:56 PM To: Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) (0:'" 01/5 Subject: FW: Letter of Interpretation Importance: High Cay-~o !2u1~ From: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 20104:41 PM To: Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) Subject: FW: Letter of Interpretation Importance: High Carolyn, Thanks, Rob Attached is a request for written interpretation. From: JohnKlein@jacobusenergy.com [mailto:JohnKlein@jacobusenergy.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 4:36 PM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: Letter of Interpretation Importance: High February 23,2010 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration East Building, 2nd Floor 1200 New Jersey Ave., NE Washington, DC 20590 Re: Formal Letter of Interpretation Dear Sir/Madam We are requesting a formal letter of interpretation as to whether or not we are required to have an "R" stamp when performing work (welding - repair) on the discharge and inlet piping to a MC306 or MC406 cargotank. The repair or replacement could be part ofroutine maintenance or as part of replacement during a truck mounted tank changeover to a new cab and chassis. In connection to this request we would also like clarification as to whether or not this piping is considered to be part of the laden retention system of the cargo tank. Please contact me if you need additional information. Thank you in advance for your response. J.D. Klein Jacobus Energy 11815 West Bradley Road Milwaukee, WI 53224 1 <<>> John Klein District ManagerlWisconsin Jacobus Energy 800-522-6287 414-359-0565 Direct 414-840-3395 Cell 414-359-1666 jklein@jacobusenergy.com 2 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `694e2240c35a2243cac70c1adb17c0e0f3aa4450699d1b05a79afe8f36cd68e1` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T17:45:06.648Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-10-0115` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Jacobus Energy" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. John Klein" ], "refIds": [ "10-0115" ], "catalogDates": [ "2011-11-07" ], "catalogParts": [ 178, 180 ], "catalogRowCount": 3, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/63981" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "178.320", "180.403", "180.413" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/178320", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/180403", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/180413" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100115.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100115.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100115.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/10-0115-2871b7684d.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "390c962f335d0be767c7b91653ca99b52daa6716d1934b8267ada38b224efcc7", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/10-0115-2871b7684d.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "88ff72c57cf3d1df01a795250d9e9e39e0fac837317b19c8608da99fd81f0239", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```