# University of Minnesota — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 14-0128 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2014-11-21 14-0128 response to University of Minnesota concerning 171.1, 171.8, 173.6. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Materials Safety Pipeline and Hazardous Administration Mr. Michael Maurer NOV 2 1 2014 Department of Environmental Health and Safety University of Minnesota W-140 Boynton Health Service 410 Church Street S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455 Ref. No. 14-0128 Dear Mr. Maurer: This is in response to your June 3, 2014 letter regarding the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180) materials of trade (MOTs) exception. You state that the University of Minnesota-owned Umarket Services (UMS) wants to ship hazardous materials to its warehouse, which operates as a shipment consolidation hub between two campuses with various laboratories and facilities involved in the business of research and education. Shipments of hazardous materials will be transported to and from the warehouse in UMS motor vehicles in support of university work. You ask whether such transportation may be defined in accordance with § 171.8 as MOTs and thus eligible for the MOTs exception under § 173.6. It is our understanding that the University of Minnesota is a state-run university. As provided in § 171.1(d)(5), the HMR do not apply to the transportation of a hazardous material in a motor vehicle, aircraft, or vessel operated by a Federal, state, or local government employee solely for noncommercial Federal, state, or local government purposes. A state agency (such as a state university) that transports hazardous materials for its own use, using its own personnel and vehicles, is not engaged in transportation in commerce and thus, the HMR do not apply. For an operation considered in commerce, the scenario you describe would meet the § 171.8 definition of a MOT, in that a hazardous material, other than a hazardous waste, is carried on a motor vehicle by a private carrier in direct support of a business that is other than transportation by motor vehicle. Thus, UMS warehouse transport activities as described above and conducted for commercial purposes would be eligible for the MOTs exception under $173.6. I trust this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, Acting Chief, Standard Development Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Stewart 1*3.30 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Materiese Tone. Twin Cities Campus Environmental Health and Safety Office of Vice President for W-140 Boynton Health Service University Services Minneapolis, MN 55455 410 Church Street S.E. Ujjice: 612-626-6002 Fax: 612-624-1949 Email: dehs@umn.edu www.dehs.umn.edu Date: June 3, 2014 TO: U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Office of Hazardous Materials Safety 400 7" St., S.W. Washington, DC 20590 FROM: Micheal Maurer Public Health Specialist Department of Environmental Health and Safety University of Minnesota RE: Materials of Trade Dear Sir/Madame: The University of Minnesota owned central stores operation, Umarket Services (UMS), is formally requesting an interpretation of the Materials of Trade exception as published in 49 CFR section 171.8. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities has two campuses located within 5 miles of each other. Each campus houses laboratories and teaching facilities involved in the business of research and education. Often, it is necessary for the labs and facilities to use limited quantities of hazardous materials in support of these activities. The hazardous materials are ordered from suppliers and shipped via UPS or FedEx to the campus addressees. The University of Minnesota is asking for a letter of interpretation stating that FedEx, UPS and various other carriers may ship hazardous materials to the UMS warehouse as a their final destination in UMS vehicles. shipment consolidation hub: It is proposed they will be received, held and then transferred to The University of Minnesota is a private motor carrier transporting materials solely for our primary business of research and education and not commercial transportation. No shipments will be repackaged and UMS does have drivers that are trained to transport hazardous goods. I am requesting an interpretation to determine if the materials that will be transported from the UMS warehouse to the campus research laboratories and teaching facilities meets the definition of the Materials of Trade as listed in 49 CFR 178.8. Specifically paragraph 3 which states "By a private motor carrier in direct support of a principal business that is other than transportation by Page 1 of 2 <<>> UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA motor vehicle." It is my belief that the hazardous materials transported by UMS to the campus laboratories and teaching facilities meets the definition of Materials of Trade based upon the statements I have made above. Ilook forward to your response and interpretation to this rule. Thank you, Mike Maurer Public Health Specialist Department of Environmental Health and Safety University of Minnesota Page 2 of 2 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `f89a47e2880938696198b4c09165170cb35568036d688d8ef943cde678b61746` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-25T23:48:46.705Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-14-0128` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "University of Minnesota" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Michael Maurer" ], "refIds": [ "14-0128" ], "catalogDates": [ "2014-11-21" ], "catalogParts": [ 171, 173 ], "catalogRowCount": 3, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/61931" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "171.1", "171.1(d)(5)", "171.8", "173.6", "178.8" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/1711", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/1718", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/1736" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2014/140128.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2014/140128.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2014/140128.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/14-0128-012e879921.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "fff4e98b78814235d8082a8ade0f8a74625d907e69371aeac6ba6cfe53341068", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/14-0128-012e879921.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "cf8dc7bb99578fcfdcc2151f832c216e5a2a40c504e022368ccdfe701cb93523", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```