{"operation":"document","citation":"10-0048","title":"Department of National Defence — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2010-10-29","effective_on":null,"summary":"10-0048 response to Department of National Defence concerning 171.1, 171.22.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0048.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0048.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0048","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100048.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1 200 New Jersey Ave, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nOCT 29 2010\nCaptain E.M. Steele\nCommander. Canadian Materiel\nSupport Group\nDepartment of National Defence\n101 Colonel By Drive\nOttawa, Ontario KIA OK2\nCANADA\nReference No. 10-0048\nDear Captain Steele:\nThis is in response to your February 15,2010 letter to Mr. Duane Pfund, Acting Director, Office of\nHazardous Materials Technology, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA), United States (U.S.) Department of Transportation, and Mr. Gerald Weir's May 26 and\n2S, 2010 e-mails to a member of my staff. You state these shipments will be escorted by a Canadian\ncivilian employee or a member of your country's Armed Forces under a Canadian provision that\ndefines the type of carriage as being contracted carriage \"Under Direct Control of the Minister of\nNational Defence.\" You ask if the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180)\napply to Canadian Department of National Defence (CDND) shipments of equipment and explosives\ntransported by contract carriers in motor vehicles to and from the United States. Your letter was\nforwarded to the Office of Hazardous Material Safety for response. We apologize for the delay in\nresponding and any inconvenience this may have caused.\nYou enclosed letters of clarification this office wrote on March 16, 1999 (Reference No. 99-(053),\nFebruary 16,2005 (Reference No. 05-(024), June 28, 2005 (Reference No. 10-0150), and October\n21, 2008 (Reference No. 08-(226), concerning the applicability of the HMR to hazardous materials\ntransported non-commercially by the military. The October 21,2008 letter specifically states the\nHMR except from regulation the transportation of hazardous materials for non-commercial purposes\nin foreign military transport vehicles operated by foreign military personnel.\nBased on the information you provided, the answer is yes, shipments of hazardous materials, such as\nexplosives, transported by commercial motor carriers to and from Canada into the U.S. and through\nU.S. to Canada or another foreign country, are subject to the HMR. The HMR do not apply to the\ntransportation of hazardous materials in foreign military or government vehicles operated by military\nor government personnel solely for non-commercial purposes. However, if the purpose is\ncommercial, or if the government entity offers hazardous material for transportation to commercial\ncarriers, the HMR would apply. See § 171.1. The HMR do not contain a provision that permits a\nhazardous material transported by a contract carrier and escorted by a federal government employee\nto be considered \"under the direct control\" of the federal employee. However, the HMR do permit\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nhazardous materials offered for or transported in commerce by motor vehicle or railcar from Canada\ninto the U.S., from the U.S. into Canada, or transiting the U.S. to Canada or a foreign country to\nconform with the Transport Canada's Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDR) as\nauthorized in 49 CFR § 171.22 provided the requirements of §§ 171.12, 171.22 and 171.23 are met\n(see § 171.22( a)). The HMR also contain exceptions that permit certain hazardous materials to be\nshipped under specific circumstances when \"under the direction of' the U.S. Department of Defense\nor U.S. Department of Energy (see 49 CFR § 173.7), but these regulations do not apply to the\nCanadian Department of National Defence or to contractors to the U.S. federal government.\nTo facilitate the transportation of your materials using contractors with a CDND escort, you may\nwish to request a special permit. Your application should be directed to the Office of Hazardous\nMaterials Special Permits and Approvals and should include specific and detailed information\nconcerning how you propose to package and transport the materials. The procedures for applying\nfor a special permit are found in 49 CFR Part 107, Subpart B. You may also obtain this information\nat our website at ''http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs/sp-a.'' You also state if the method of\ntransport you propose is not possible under the HMR, the CDND would transport its explosive\nshipments in CDND-owned or leased vehicles operated by its employees or members of Canada's\nArmed Forces. This shipping method fully complies with the HMR eliminating the need for a\nspecial permit.\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nSincerely,\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\ncc: Mr. Gerald Weir\nJ4 Ammo 4-3\nCANOSCOM/CMSG/COMSOCAN/GMSC\nDepartment of National Defence\n101 Colonel By Drive\nOttawa, Ontario KIA OK2\nCANADA\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nEdm0t180V)\n~~l~d\nAp'p'l i(tL~, 'f/ft.;\n~O~OOq-t\nCanadian Materiel Groupe de soutien en\nSupport Group materiel du Canada\n101 Colonel By Drive 101 promenade Colonel By\nOttawa, Ontario K1A 0K2 Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K2\nlS'February 2010\nMr. Duane Pfund\nUnited States Department of Transportation\nResearch and Special Programs Administration\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n400 7th St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590\nDear Mr. Pfund:\nReferences: A. PHMSA Interpretation 05-0024 dated 18 February 2005 (enclosed)\nB. PHMSA Interpretation 05-0150 dated 28 June 2005 (enclosed)\nC. PHMSA Interpretation 08-0226 dated 21 October 2008 (enclosed)\nD. PHMSA Interpretation 99-0053 dated 16 March 1999 (enclosed)\n1. This letter addresses the applicability of 49 CFR parts 170-180, the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR), for Canada's Department ofNational Defence owned and operated vehicles. The\nCanadian Forces controlled vehicles are used to transport Class 1 Hazmat materials. Military transported\nitems are used for military purposes during routine training and field activities. The vehicles will be\ntravelling to DOD installations over public roadslhighways in the accomplishment oftheir missions.\n2. References A and B state \"The transport of hazardous materials in military or government\nvehicles operated by military or government personnel solely for non-commercial purposes is not subject\nto HMR.\" We would like to confirm that \"military or government vehicles\" means government-owned\nand government-leased vehicles as long as the vehicle is operated by a military or government civilian\nemployee.\n3. In a query by the German military at Reference C, it is stated that, \"The transportation of\nhazardous materials for non-commercial purposes, in foreign military transport vehicles (i.e. aircraft,\nvessels, or motor vehicle) operated by foreign military personnel, is not subject to the HMR.\" Is this\ninterpretation applicable to all countries as long as the purpose ofthe movement of the hazmat material is\nfor its own purposes?\n4. Reference D states that \"In commerce means transportation for commercial purposes or the use of\nfor-hire interstate carriers by a state agency or local jurisdiction to transport hazardous materials.\" We\nwould like to confirm that the requirements of Canada's Department of National Defence to transport\nClass I material for repair and overhaul, as per conditions ofthe purchasing agreements and IT AR\nregulations, to non-government agencies is not considered to be \"in commerce\".\n112\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n5. Thank you for your assistance in clarifying these matters. Ifthere is a requirement for additional\ninformation, you may contact Mr Gerry Weir, my staff officer in charge ofthis issue by telephone at\n(613) 992-7179 or by email atgerald.weir@forces.gc.ca.\nE.M. Steele\nCaptain(Navy)\nCommander\nEnclosures: 4\n2/2","truncated":false,"body_characters":7582}