# Railsback Hazmat Safety Professionals LLC — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 20-0013 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2020-05-26 20-0013 response to Railsback Hazmat Safety Professionals LLC concerning 173.315, 178.337, 180.407. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 May 26, 2020 Mr. Rex Railsback Hazmat Specialist Railsback Hazmat Safety Professionals LLC 312 Lawrence Avenue Lawrence, KS 66049-2004 Reference No. 20-0013 Dear Mr. Railsback: This letter is in response to your February 6, 2020, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the internal visual inspection of painted cargo tanks. Specifically, you ask: Q1. Does PHMSA’s response to question 2, in a previous Letter of Interpretation, dated August 4, 2016, under Reference No. 16-0049, require all painted cargo tanks to have an internal visual inspection in place of the required external visual inspection? A1. The answer is no. PHMSA’s response to question 2 does not require all painted cargo tanks to have internal visual inspections. In the previous letter of interpretation, PHMSA explained that if the paint or coating precludes the proper external visual inspection of the cargo tank as described in § 180.407(d)(1) then an internal visual inspection of those areas affected by the paint or coating would be required. Q2. If the intention is to require internal visual inspections for all painted cargo tanks, then does the regulatory requirement to paint certain cargo tanks, such as in §§ 173.315(a)(2), note 17 and 178.337-l(d), automatically negate the 5-year and 10-year timelines per § 180.407, for uninsulated or unwrapped cargo tanks? <<>> A2. The answer is no. As stated in A1 above, not all painted cargo tanks are required to be inspected internally in lieu of their required external visual inspections. Therefore, paint does not automatically negate the test and inspection schedule specified in § 180.407(c). I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) From: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Thursday, February 6, 2020 3:53 PM Hazmat lnterps FW: Clarification of Letter 16-0049 REX INTERP.docx Hello Alice and lkeya, Below is a request for Letter of Interpretation. Thanks, Jonathon, HMIC From: Rex Railsback [mailto:rex@hazmatgeek.com] Sent: Thursday, February 6, 2020 2:53 PM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: Clarification of Letter 16-0049 Is your answer to question 2, in Clarification Letter 16-0049, requiring all painted cargo tanks to have internal visual inspections? If this is the case, then the regulatory requirements to paint certain cargo tanks, ref. 173.315(a)(2), note 17 & 178.337-l(d), automatically negates the 5 year and 10 year timelines per 180.407, for uninsulated or unwrapped Cargo Tanks. I am requesting a written response to this question. Mailing address is; Rex Railsback 312 Lawrence Ave Lawrence, KS 66049 Respectfully Rex Railsback, HazMat Specialist 913-568-3001 rex@hazmatgeek.com www.hazmatgeek.com RAILSBACK HAZMAT SAFETY PROFESSIONALS LLC ♦ s This electronic message and any files transmitted contains information from Railsback HazMat Safety Professionals, LLC which is privileged, confidential or otherwise the exclusive property of the sender or intended recipient. If you are not the designated recipient, please be aware that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. 1 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `6ce87c37b3ac61e8951258e464715d53996b377d2c7f453e86b30114ef8a4081` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-27T13:13:54.522Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-20-0013` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Railsback Hazmat Safety Professionals LLC" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Rex Railsback" ], "refIds": [ "20-0013" ], "catalogDates": [ "2020-05-26" ], "catalogParts": [ 173, 178, 180 ], "catalogRowCount": 3, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/72226" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "173.315", "173.315(a)(2)", "178.337", "180.407", "180.407(d)(1)" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/173315", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/178337-1", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/180407" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/74016/200013.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/74016/200013.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/74016/200013.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/20-0013-70b7401894.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "e6c92521a585fc833d241f24bcfbe40f10bd807367e473574c14f18ef2544d1e", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/20-0013-70b7401894.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "aa1d69fbbdbd7d0368a6f3ba2b0f1f39acca2b24d03842b8f68f4d73186e3c44", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```