# Big Creek Media — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 12-0094 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2012-07-16 12-0094 response to Big Creek Media concerning 172.504, 172.516. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 JUL 1 6 2012 Mr. Nelson Lemmond Big Creek Media 516 Chillingworth Lane Charlotte, NC 28211 Reference No.: 12-0094 Dear Mr. Lemmond: This is in response to your April12, 2012 email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) as they pertain to placard visibility. Specifically you ask if the placarding placement shown in the photo you provided in your email is in compliance with §§ 172.504 and 172.516. The answer to your question is yes. Section 172.504 provides general pla€arding requirements and exceptions and is not applicable to a discussion on placard placement. Section 172.516 requires placards on a motor vehicle to be clearly visible from the direction it faces. The placard location in the picture you provide is clearly visible. Due to the low hanging location of this proposed placarding location; extra care may need to be taken by the driver to ensure that the placard is maintained in accordance with§ 172.516(c)(6) to ensure that the visibility of the placard will not be substantially reduced due to obscurement by dirt or other matter. I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. 01~· . Delmer Billings ~ Senior Regulatory Advisor Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) From: Sent: To: Subject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Friday, April 13, 2012 11:36 AM Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) Letter request Hi Carolyn, Mr. Lemmond requested that this e-mail be submitted as a formal letter of interpretation. Thanks, Victoria Victoria Lehman Hazmat Information Center (HMIC) http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/info-center (202) 366-1035 . From: Hillman, Kenetha erR (PHMSA) On Behalf Of Approvals (PHMSA) Sent: Friday, April 13, 2012 9:29 AM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: FW: Approvals/Competent Authority Approvals Please read below. Best Regards, Kenetha L. Hillman UniSpec Enterprises, Inc. DOT /PHMSA Contractor (202) 366-5758 phone (202) 366-7342 fax http: f/www. unispecl.com I From: Nelson Lemmond [mailto:nlemmond@me.com] Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 3:27 PM To: PHMSA HM Approvals Subject: Approvals/Competent Authority Approvals To whom this may concern, We wanted to obtain written confirmation that the attached proposed placard placement on the trailers lower rail is in compliance with both§§ 172.504 and 172.516. Thank you, Nelson R. Nelson Lemmond nlemmond@me.com 704-451-5891 CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information and all attachments contained in this electronic communication are legally privileged and confidential information, 1 <<>> subject to the attorney-client privilege and intended only for the use of the intended recipients. If the reader of this message is not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review. use dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. 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Therefore, you may wish to contact us to confirm that your email has been received if it contains important or time-sensitive information. 2 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `03fdf993540bae71a0f5d8f16df57eb23c65ec3813eb3e68ba56be49ff7cb55d` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T21:54:00.836Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-12-0094` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Big Creek Media" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Nelson Lemmond" ], "refIds": [ "12-0094" ], "catalogDates": [ "2012-07-16" ], "catalogParts": [ 172 ], "catalogRowCount": 2, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/61786" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "172.504", "172.516" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172504", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172516" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120094.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120094.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120094.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0094-738b6f0f2a.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "8f10a9bf52a9075d9a5bda399b2e09492dda61dc8f08974eec025f9210ae793b", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0094-738b6f0f2a.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "79f5246eb063c28b906a8708aa799bd1153ee0f9e90d94be33a078aeaac81c8d", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```