# FPL Group — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 05-0188
- **title:** FPL Group — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2005-11-03
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** 05-0188 response to FPL Group concerning 171.8.
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0188.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0188.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0188
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050188.pdf
**body:**

<<<PAGE 1>>>

of Transportation
U.S. Department
Washington, D.C. 20590
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration
NOV - 3 2005
Mr. Frank Nesbihal
Ref. No. 05-0188
Senior Environmental Specialist
FPL Group
700 Universe Blvd.
Juno Beach, FL 33408
Dear Mr. Nesbihal:
This is in response to your August 8, 2005, letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials
relationship of the terms "offeror" and "shipper" in the HMR and when they are applicable to use.
Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask if DOT will clarify the
Under final rulemaking HM-223A (70 FR 43638; July 28, 2005), PHMSA amended the HMR to
add a definition for "person who offers or offeror" in order to codify long-standing interpretations
and administrative determinations on the applicability of those regulations. Within this final rule,
PHMSA defined in § 171.8 "person who offers or offeror" to mean any person who performs or is
responsible for performing any pre-transportation function required by the HMR or who tenders or
makes the hazardous material available to a carrier for transportation in commerce. When the word
"shipper" is used, such as in the title of Part 173 - "Shippers-General Requirements for Shipments
and Packagings" - that word refers to a person who prepares a shipment for transportation. As
already discussed, that person may also be a carrier, when it prepares the shipment for its own
transportation (as a private carrier) or for transportation by a succeeding carrier. The word
"shipper" is not used in the HMR in a commercial or contractual sense that denotes the economic
arrangements of a shipment.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
John A. Gale
Chief, Standards Development
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
171.8
050188

<<<PAGE 2>>>

Message
BAH
Page 1 of 1
$171.8
INFOCNTR <PHMSA>
Definition
From:
Frank__Nesbihal@fpl.com
85-0188
Sent:
Monday, August 08, 2005 2:29 PM
To:
INFOCNTR <PHMSA>
Cc:
Roger_Messer@fpl.com
Subject: "Shipper" vs "Persons Who Offer or Offeror"
Dear Sir/Madam:
FPL Group has reviewed the July 28, 2005 final rule regarding the Applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations
to clarify the meaning of the
Our comment was addressed on page 43641 in the final rule, but the DOT did not believe it is necessary to modify the HMR
term "shipper". We understand DOT's answer in regards to the rulemaking.
However, to avoid confusion within our company, we are kindly asking if the DOT can clarify the relationship of these two
terms, and when they are applicable to use.
If you have any questions, please call me at 561-691-7013.
Frank Nesbihal, CHMM
Respectfully,
FPL Group
Senior Environmental Specialist
700 Universe Blvd. JES/JB
Juno Beach, FL 33408
8/9/2005
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