{"operation":"document","citation":"09-0010","title":"Pentair Water Group, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2009-03-26","effective_on":null,"summary":"09-0010 response to Pentair Water Group, Inc. concerning 173.306.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0010.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0010.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0010","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2009/090010.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\nMAR 2 6 2009\n1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMr. John F. Di Leo\nPentair Water Group, Inc.\nImport~Export Compliance Manager\n450 Remington Road\nSchaumburg, IL 601 73\nRef. No.: 09-00 1 0\nDear Mr. Di Leo:\nThis responds to your letter dated December 29,2008 regarding clarification of the\nprovisions in § 173.306(g) under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR\nParts 17 1-1 80) as they apply to water pump system tanks transported by highway and\nvessel.\nAccording to your letter, Pentair Water Group, Inc., (Pentair) sells steel water pump\nsystem tanks that are hooked up to a water pump in a basement or near a well to provide\nproper water pressure for a home or other building. The tank accomplishes this by the\nuse of a bladder that has been pressurized, either with nitrogen or air, compressed to a\ngauge pressure of about 38-40 psi. You state that these articles are tested and safe up to\n300 psi - or seven times their working and shipping pressure, fall under the hazardous\nmaterial definition for a non-flammable, compressed gas (40 psig + 1 bar = 54.7 psia)\nand use either Nitrogen, UN1066, or Air, compressed, UN1002. In domestic\ntransportation, Pentair ships these tanks in accordance with the limited quantity\nprovisions in $ 173.306(g).\nYou ask for clarification of the term \"single-trip shipment\", as used in 5 173.306(g). In\naddition, you ask if the exception in $ 173.306(g) for the steel water pump system tanks\napplies to ocean shipments moving under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods\n(IMDG) Code.\nThe exceptions applicable to water pump system tanks in $ 173.306(g) specify that the\ntanks must be offered for transportation for single-trip shipment to installation sites. In\nthis context, \"single-trip shipment\" means the one-time movement of tanks from the\nfacility from which they are purchased to the site where they will be installed (e.g., from\nmanufacturer/distributor to the end-user). Such shipments are not subject to the\nplacarding requirements in subpart F of Part 172, to part 174 or part 177, except for the\nshipping paper requirements in § 174.24 and 8 177.8 17 for rail and highway,\nrespectively.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nThe limited quantity exception in 5 173.306(g) for steel water pump system tanks does\nnot apply to vessel or ocean shipments under the IMDG Code. Vessel shipments must be\napproved in writing by the Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety. The\nperson requesting approval must provide a detailed description of the activity for which\nthe approval is requested, including a tentative shipping description and all relevant data\nconcerning the physical state of the material, temperature or other controls, and test\nresults. Alternatively, the person requesting the approval may provide a copy of an\napproval issued by the competent authority of a foreign government. The procedures for\napplying for an approval are specified in $$ 107.705 and 107.709.\nI hope this information is helpful. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us.\nSincerely,\ntandards Division\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nPentair Water Group, Inc.\nJohn F. Di Leo\nImportlExport Compliance Manager\n450 Remington Rd., Schaumburg, IL 60173\nJohn.DiLeo@Pentair-EP.com\nTel: 847-466-88 12\nOn behalf of all its aJyiliates and subsidiaries, including:\nSta-Rite Industries, LLC\n293 Wright St, Delavan, WI 53 1 15\nand\nPentair Pump Group Inc, DBA Myers Pump\n110 1 Myers Parkway, Ashland, OH 44805\nDate: December 29,2008 A.D.\nTo: Duane Pfund, Director\nOffice of International Standards\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration L\\v~ ;tied ~uctnh'&b\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. OqeOO/O\nWashington, DC 20590\nDuane.Pfund@DOT.gov, 202-366-0656\nRequest for Letter of Interpretation for Ground Shipping. under 49CFR 173.306(&\nSubject: Steel Water Pump System Tanks, 49CFR 173.306(g)\nWe are writing to request your support in clarifying an exception provided in 49CFR, for domestic shipment by ground\nand water transport (it does not apply to airfreight).\nWe sell steel water pump system tanks, which are hooked up to a water pump in the basement or near a well to provide\nproper water pressure for a home or other building. The tank accomplishes this by the use of a bladder that has been\npressurized, either with nitrogen or plain air, to a gauge pressure of about 38-40 psi. We are therefore not selling a\npressurized gas, as such.. . we are selling an article which is pressurized for its functionality.\nWhile these articles are totally safe - harmless - in transportation (they are tested and confirmed safe up to 300 psi -\nover seven times their working and shipping pressure), they do fall under the definition of a hazardous material\nbecause of the definition for nonflammable compressed gas (40 psig + 1 bar = 54.7 psia). . . either UN1066 (when\nnitrogen is used) or UN 1002 (when plain air is used).\nWe therefore ship them domestically under the Limited Quantity provision that was created specifically for these\nproducts, in 49CFR 173.306(g). We only have one issue that is slightly unclear - the reference to \"single-trip\nshipment\" transportation, so we are writing to request a written clarification in the form of a DOT Letter of\nInterpretation.\nRequest Details:\nWe stipulate that our steel water pressure system tanks do fully meet the requirements of 49CFR 173.306(g).\nA reading of the initial permits that led to 49CFR 173.306(g) seems to show that the \"single-trip shipment\" language\nmeans only that the tank itself does not change - i.e. that the pre-charged gas stays in the one single packaging through\nthe entire shipment - and does not prevent going from truck to truck - in multiple stages of shipment (i.e. from\nmanufacturer to distribution to dealer to end-user). Michael Stevens of PHMSA has verbally confirmed this\nunderstanding.\nAccordingly, we hereby ask that the DOT please confirm in writing, through a Letter of Interpretation, that we\nunderstand the above correctly: that this exception applies to multiple-stage shipment as long as the tank is not further\naltered after leaving our factory.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nSteel water pump system tanks are a $100 million-plus industry worldwide, with sales of approximately a million units\nper year. We manufacture approximately a quarter of them here in the USA, producing critical jobs in Wisconsin and\nrevenue for our parent, Pentair Inc, a publicly held Minnesota-based holding company with a presence in over fifteen\nstates, employing some 13,000 worldwide.\nSta-Rite Industries has been in the water systems business since 1934, and has been making these water pump system\ntanks for over 35 years. Our safety record with these products is excellent; we consider them to be totally safe, both in\ntransportation and in use. To the best of our knowledge, there has never been a transportation incident in which the\npressure of our tanks played any role at all.\nWe are among the world's leading producers of these products, and we employ approximately 800 employees in the\nsmall rural town of Delavan, Wisconsin alone (population just over 8000). We want to be 100% compliant in our\nshipping, and the clarification of the \"single-trip shipment\" clause will remove any doubt that we are.\nThank you for your consideration of this request.\nRegards,\nJohn F. Di Leo\nPentair Water Group, Inc.","truncated":false,"body_characters":7477}