{"operation":"document","citation":"09-0270","title":"The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2010-03-23","effective_on":null,"summary":"09-0270 response to The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California concerning 171.8.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0270.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0270.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0270","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2009/090270.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nu.s. Department 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE\nof Transportation Washington, DC 20590\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\nMr. John E. Clark\nProgram Manager, Hazardous Materials\nEnvironmental Health and Safety Program Support\nThe Metropolitan Water District of Southern California\nPO Box 54153\nLos Angeles, California 90054-0153\nRef. No. 09-0270\nDear Mr. Clark:\nThis is in response to your October 28, 2009 letter regarding the applicability of the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to unloading operations\ninvolving cargo tanks and rail tank cars. Specifically, you ask whether employees who handle\nvarious functions related to cargo tank and rail tank unloading operations meet the definition\nof a \"hazardous material employee\" under § 171.8 and are thus subject to the training\nrequirements of Part 172, Subpart H.\nAccording to your letter, your facility receives and unloads hazardous materials in cargo tank\nand rail tank cars. Cargo tank unloading operations are handled by the cargo tank driver,\nunder the supervision of a facility employee. The facility employee checks paperwork,\ninspects the cargo tank to ensure there are no leaks, directs the cargo tank driver to the\nappropriate storage tank, checks the unloading lines and valves, and monitors the actual\nunloading as it is performed by the cargo tank driver. Rail tank car unloading operations are\nhandled by a facility employee after railroad personnel detach the car from the train and\ndepart the facility.\nRequirements in the HMR apply to transportation of a hazardous material in commerce and\neach person who transports a hazardous material in commerce. See § 171.1(c). For\npurposes ofthe HMR, \"transportation\" means the movement of property and loading,\nunloading, and storage incidental to that movement. \"Unloading incidental to movement\"\nmeans removing a packaged or containerized hazardous material from a transport vehicle or\nemptying a hazardous material from a bulk packaging after the hazardous material has been\ndelivered to its destination when the unloading operation is performed by carrier personnel or\nin the presence of carrier personnel. A \"hazmat employee\" is a person employed on a fulltime,\npart-time, or temporary basis who in the course of such employment directly affects\nhazardous materials transportation safety. (See § 171.8 for the definitions of \"transportation,\"\n\"unloading incidental to movement,\" and \"hazmat employee.\")\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nThe unloading operations involving cargo tanks that are described in your letter meet the\ndefinition of \"unloading incidental to movement,\" and, thus, are regulated as transportation\nfunctions under the HMR. The employees responsible for overseeing the cargo tank\nunloading operations are hazmat employees and must be trained in accordance with Subpart H\nof Part 172.\nThe unloading operations involving rail tank cars that are described in your letter do not meet\nthe definition of\"unloading incidental to movement,\" and, thus, are not regulated as\ntransportation functions under the HMR. The employees responsible for performing rail tank\ncar unloading operations are not hazmat employees and are not subject to the transportation\nrequirements in Subpart H of Part 172. However, these employees may be subject to the\ntraining requirements of other Federal agencies (e.g., OSHA) as well as State and local\ngovernments.\nI trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us ifwe can be of further assistance.\nHattie 1. Mitchell\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice ofHazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nTHE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA\nIfndrtvJs\n,g l71 . I\nOffice ofthe General Manager ~ [/2.. ']0 0\n-\nf rut\" I ~4 ocr-oLIo\nOctober 28, 2009 CERTIFIED MAIL\nRETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nU.S. DOT\nPHMSA Office of Hazardous Materials Standards\nAttn: PHH-I0\nEast Building\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nTo Whom It May Concern:\nRequest for USDOT Opinion on Hazardous Materials Training Requirement\nWe are requesting a written opinion from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT)\nregarding the status ofthe Metropolitan Water District (Metropolitan) employees who receive\nbulk chemical shipments (USDOT regulated hazardous materials) at our facilities.\nSpecifically, we would like to know if: (a.) because oftheir activities related to receiving these\nchemicals, such employees need to be classified as \"hazmat employees\" under 49CFR 171.8;\nand (b.) because ofthese same activities, these employees are required to have training under\n49CFR 172, Subpart H.\nBulk chemicals are delivered to our facilities by a vendor or third-party driver in vendor-supplied\ncargo tanks or by the railroad in vendor-supplied rail cars (tank cars). The vendor or third-party\ndriver unloads the cargo tank chemicals and designated Metropolitan personnel unload the rail\ncar chemicals from Metropolitan's private tracks, after the locomotive has been detached and left\nthe facility.\nWe have received conflicting opinions from hazmat transportation consultants about whether the\nchemical receiving-related duties ofthese Metropolitan employees would make them subject to\nUSDOT hazmat training. Recently, we contacted the USDOT [nformation Center and described\nthe chemical receiving duties of these employees at length. The Information Center technician\nstated that, based on our description of the employees' duties, no training would be required\nunder Subpart H.\nDelivery and Unloading of Chemicals by Cargo Tank:\nThe following describes the duties of designated Metropolitan employees in coordinating the\ndelivery and unloading of chemicals by cargo tank.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nPage 2\nOctober 28, 2009\nArrival\nUpon arrival of the vendor's chemical cargo tank at a facility, the designated Metropolitan\nemployee initially performs the following actions:\n1. 2. After a security screening by the contract security guard at the facility gate, the\ndesignated Metropolitan employee:\na) verifies the chemical to be delivered is correct;\nb) checks the driver's paperwork, checks security seals are intact and numbers on\nseals correspond to paperwork;\nc) conducts a visual inspection of all visible portions of the cargo tank to ensure\nthat there are no leaks;\nThe Metropolitan employee then escorts the vendor cargo tank to the appropriate\nchemical unloading area.\nUnloading\nThe unloading of each delivery is conducted by the vendor's driver, but is monitored during the\nunloading operation by the designated Metropolitan employee, who ensures that:\n1. 2. 3. 4. Appropriate PPE is worn by all parties during the unloading procedure;\nThe chemical is being loaded into the correct storage tank and the feed line valves are\nin proper alignment;\nThe vendor's cargo tank is properly positioned within the unloading area;\nThe vendor's driver provides a product sample in Metropolitan's labeled sample\nbottle;\n5. The vendor's driver follows appropriate unloading procedures.\nlJ'j'ron completion of vendor unloading, the designated Metropolitan employee ensures that:\n6. 7. 8. 9. All valves and physical connections at the unloading site are inspected for leaks and\nproper positioning;\nAll discharge connections and hose ends are plugged, capped, blind-flanged, and\ncontained within an appropriate cover as necessary to prevent any leakage or spillage;\nAppropriate delivery paperwork is received from vendor's driver, signed by\ndesignated Metropolitan employee and Metropolitan's copy is retained;\nAfter conducting a final inspection ofthe cargo tank for leaks, the cargo tank is\nescorted back to the facility gate.\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nPage 3\nOctober 28, 2009\nDelivery and Unloading of Chemicals by Rail (Tank) Car:\nThe following describes the duties of designated Metropolitan employees in coordinating the\ndelivery and unloading of vendor chemicals by rail car.\nArrival\nUpon arrival of the vendor's rail (tank) car at a facility, the railroad personnel locate the car(s) at\na prearranged on-site staging location on Metropolitan's private track. The designated\nMetropolitan employee then performs the following actions:\n1. 2. 3. Conducts a visual inspection ofthe rail car to determine if placards indicate the\ncorrect authorized chemicals, security seal numbers on the car match those provided\non the shipping paperwork, the seals have not been broken and there are no leaks\nfrom the car;\nIfthe placards, seals or paperwork indicate unauthorized chemicals, or if the rail car\nappears to be leaking, the designated Metropolitan employee immediately notifies\nplant control room personnel, who take appropriate action to have the unauthorized\nchemicals rejected or the leak stopped;\nIf everything is in order with the rail car, the designated Metropolitan employee\nreceives delivery paperwork from railroad personnel, signs it and retains\nMetropolitan's copy; and\nRailroad personnel then detach the car from the train and leave the facility.\n4. Unloading\n1. 2. When railroad personnel have left the plant premises, designated Metropolitan\nemployees may need to move the rail car to its proper unloading position using a\ntrack-mobile.\nAfter repositioning the rail (tank) car, designated Metropolitan employees are\nresponsible for connecting the rail car to the proper tank and unloading the rail car.\nBased on our review ofthe DOT hazmat regulations, available opinion letters and our knowledge\nofthe operation, we believe the designated Metropolitan employees receiving these bulk\nchemical shipments do not perform any hazmat function subject to the regulations. The cargo\ntank unloading requirements are carried out by the vendor's driver and the rail (tank) car\nunloading is carried out by Metropolitan employees on Metropolitan's private track, after the\nlocomotive has been detached and after railroad personnel have left the facility premises.\nWe request your office review the designated Metropolitan employee duties and render an\nopinion regarding (a.) whether such employees should be classified as hazmat employees or not\nand (b.) the training requirement applicability.\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nPage 4\nOctober 28, 2009\nIf it is determined the designated Metropolitan employee is a hazmat employee, please describe\nthe duty or duties which subject the employee to the training requirement as we may wish to\nmodify or exclude those duties.\nIf you have any questions please contact me at (213) 217-5504 or via e-mail at\njclark(a{mwdh2o.com\nSincerely,\nfJdt~ .z-~\nJohn E. Clark\nProgram Manager, Hazardous Materials\nEnvironmental Health and Safety Program Support\nPGB:dm\nw:2009 EHS corres/John Clark! R-09-234MWD Receiver Training DOT opinion letter PGB.docx","truncated":false,"body_characters":10770}