{"operation":"document","citation":"07-0226","title":"Mr. Dave Romanin — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2008-01-15","effective_on":null,"summary":"07-0226 concerning 173.301.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-07-0226.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-07-0226.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-07-0226","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070226.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdmini tr i\nJAN f !qaOf\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMr. Dave Romanin\n1 15 Potomac Place\nOregon, WI 53575\nRef. No. 07-0226\nDear Mr. Romanin:\nThis is in response to your request for clarification of the requirements under the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HNIR; 49 CFR Parts 17 1 - 180) pertaining to the verification of\nownership of a packaging. Specifically, you ask whether the HMR include requirements\nrelated to establishing ownership of a cylinder.\nEnclosed is a letter of interpretation (Ref. No. 0 1-0074) issued by this office that addresses the\nissue of ownership of a packaging. As stated in the letter, a permission slip from a person\nrepresenting himself as the owner of the packaging is sufficient proof of ownership, provided\nthe person who is testing and filling the packaging does not have knowledge or reason to\nbelieve otherwise.\nYou may want to write a letter of authorization or obtain a transfer of ownership letter from\nthe seller and present it to the company you wish to test and fill your cylinder. However, if\nthe person filling and testing the cylinder is not satisfied, that person may refuse to provide\nthe service.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact this office if you have further questions.\nHattie L. Mitchell, Chief\nRegulatory Review and Reinvention\nOfice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nEnclosure\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nDrakeford, Carolyn <PHMSA>\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject:\nINFOCNTR <PHMSA>\nWednesday, November 28,2007 1 : 13 PM\nDrakeford, Carolyn <PHMSA>\nFW: Interpretation of ownership in 173.301 paragraph E\nCarolyn,\nCan you put this through as a formal request for interpretation? Thanks.\nErin\n----- Original Message-----\nFrom: Dave Romanin [mailto:dave.romanin~promega.com]\nSent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 10:47 AM\nTo: INFOCNTR <PHMSA>\nSubject: Interpretation of ownership in 173.301 paragraph E\nHi,\nI recently bought an air cylinder at a rummage sale and I am having challenges getting it\ntested and filled. Gas companies are requesting ownership papers.\nI spoke with Mike Stevens about the interpretation of 173.301 paragraph E and he indicated\nthat as far as the DOT is concerned, possession is ownership.\nCould you please send me the DOT'S interpretation of ownership of an compressed gas\ncylinder as it applies to this regulation.\nThank you,\nDave Romanin\n608-516-5806\n115 Potomac P1\nOregon, WI 53575\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nUS. Department\nof Transportation\nResearch and\nSpeclal Programs\nAdmlniSiKa?i~n\n400 Seventh St., S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMr. David Hosted\nDirector, Safety & Compliance\nSan Diego Welders Supply\n1 180 N. Marshall Avenue\nEl Cajon, CA 92020\nReference No.: 01-0074\nDear Mr. Hosted:\n- This is in response to your inquiry for clarification on the provisions for cylinder ownership in\n49 CFR 173.301(b) which reads: \"A container charged with compressed gas must not be\nshipped unless charged by or with the consent of the owner of the container.\" Your questions\nfor verifying ownership are paraphrased and answered as follows:\nQ1. How do acquisitions, corporate purchases, take-overs, and mergers affect the process of\ncylinder ownership identification?\nA1 . We recognize that with companies terminating operations, being bought by larger\ncompanies, changing policy on deposit and consumer purchasing of containers, each\ngeographic area and market is a collage of ownership systems. The intent of $\n173.301@) is to enhance safety by assuring a degree of control over cylinders in a\nperson's ownership, particularly, the environment and previous service in which a\ncylinder has been used. Certain cylinder requalification provisions in 9 173.34(e) are\nliited to cylinders used exclusively in certain compressed gas service. For example, 8\n173,34(e)(10) permits cylinders in certain specifically named gas services to be given an\nexternal visual inspection instead of a pressure retest, and paragraph (e)(l 1) pennits\nunder certain conditions forcylinders to be retested every 12 years instead of every 5\nyears. Cylinder owners can take advantage of these less restrictive provisions provided\nthey are knowledgeable of the type of service the cylinders'have been in since the\ncylinders' last periodic requalification.\n42. Who has responsibility for identification - the person filling the cylinder or the person\nwho offers the cylinder for filling?\nA2. The filling of a cylinder without the consent of the owner is not in itself a violation of\n8 173.30 1 (b). The violation occurs when the charged cylinder is offered for\ntransportation in commerce. Therefore, 8 173.301@) addresses the person who offers\nthe charged cylinders for transportation. If the refiller is also the shipper of the\ncylinders, then the question of whether or not the refiller may be held accountable in a\nparticular case would depend on the facts of that case.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n43. A3. The regulations are silent as to how cylinder ownership is established. Section\n173.301(b) also does not prohibit the refill or exchange of cylinders with customers.\nFor propane and other commonly used gases, a common acceptable practice is to\nexchange cylinders with customers (users) in place of refilling the customers' own\ncylinders.\nDoes a letter of authorization presented to the refiller by the person in possession of the\ncylinder constitute \"owner consent\"?\nA permission slip signed by a person representing himself, and who you reasonably\nbelieve to be the owner of the cylinder would be sufficient proof under 9 173.301(b)\nthat permission to fill the cylinder had been granted. However, you can be held .\naccountable in a given case if you fill and ship a cylinder given to you by a person who\nyou know is not the owner of the cylinder, even if that person signs the permission slip.\nI trust this information is helpfil.\nSincerely,\nHattie L. Mitchell\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards","truncated":false,"body_characters":5973}