Minnesota Department of Transportation, Office of Freight and Commercial — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1J.S. Depanmen f Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration MAY 2 2005 Mr. Michael Ritchie Ref. No. 04-0292 Hazardous Materials Specialist Minnesota Department of Transportation Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations Mail Stop 420 1110 Centre Pointe Curve Mendota Heights, MN 55120-4152. Dear Mr. Ritchie: This responds to your letter dated December 29, 2004, that requests a clarification of the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to certain "pre-transportation" functions as defined in a final rule published on October 30, 2003, under Docket HM-223. Specifically, you ask whether a person (contractor) would be subject to the HMR under the following scenario: A government (county) agency operates a hazardous waste collection program for hcuseholds and small businesses. The hazardous waste is collected at designated lccations within the county and is packaged and loaded onto county vehicles by a professionally trained contractor. The waste is then transported to a transfer or consolidation facility by county employees operating county vehicles. The answer to your question is no. The transportation of a hazardous material in a motor vehicle by a local government employee, solely for noncommercial local government purposes, is not in commerce and is therefore not subject to the requirements of the HMR. As you correctly note in your letter, because the hazardous waste is not offered or transported in commerce, the "pre-transportation" functions performed by the contractor are not subject to the HMR. $177.834 040292#

Page 2I trust this satisfies your inquiry. can be of further assistance. Please contact us if we Sincerely, Hothe z. Mthell Hattie L. Mitchell Chief, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Regulatory Review and Reinvention#

Page 312/29/2004 10:44 MN DOT MOTOR CARRIER SERVICES → 912023663012 NO. 683 0002 ANNESON * 7 Minnesota Department of Transportation Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations Mail Stop 420 1110 Centre Pointe Curve Fax: 651/405-6082 Tel: 651/405-6060 Mendota Heights, MN 55120-4152 Stevens December 29,2004 $177.834 Edward Mazzullo Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Loading Unloading USDOT/RSPA 400 Seventh Street SW 04-0292 Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mi: Mazzullo, HM-223 Applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations to Loading, Unloadinz, and Storage, as issued by your agency on October 30, 2003, provided clarification on many issues concerning the offering or transport of hazardous materials by government agencies and contractors working for those government agencies. I would like further guidance: on this subject. A county goverment environmental agency operates hazardous waste collection programs for households and small businesses. A county govemment truck/trailer, driven by a county employee, is delivered to various locations around the county to transport the collected hazardous waste to an authorized transfer or consolidation facility. The actual collection activities at each remote collection site: handling the hazmat packages, opening, filling, and closing packagings, repackaging or bulking the hazmat, and loading them on the county owned trailer for transport, is handled by commercial hazardous waste contractor. The contractor is used, as its employees have required chemical safety training and equipment that the county employees do not have. After each remote collection, a county employee drives the unit back to the county transfer or consolidation facility, for eventual transport to EPA authorized treatment, storage, or disposal facilities. Some of the activities of the commercial hazardous waste contractors appear to be "pre- transportation functions", as defined in 49 CFR 171.1 (b). Must these activities be performerl as required in the hazardous materials regulations, when the subsequent transport is not done in commerce? Yours truly, Michael Ritchie Hazardous Materials Specialist Minnesota DOT An satal annastlinity amalavor#