# Dannemiller Associates, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 11-0310
- **title:** Dannemiller Associates, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2012-04-09
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** 11-0310 response to Dannemiller Associates, Inc. concerning 171.2, 172.506.
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0310.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0310.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0310
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110310.pdf
**body:**

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U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
APR 0 9 2m2
Mr. Larry Dannemiller
President
Dannemiller Associates, Inc.
7792 Olentangy River Road-Suite #2
Columbus, Ohio 43235
Ref. No. 11-0310
Dear Mr. Dannemiller:
This responds to your Jetter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations
(HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the responsibility for the removal of placards
on a transport vehicle at a consignee's facility once the hazardous materials are unloaded
from the transport vehicle and accepted in full by the consignee. You ask whether the
consignee or the vehicle operator is responsible for removal of placards no longer
representative of hazardous materials onboard a transport vehicle before it may depart a
consignee's facility. Additionally, you ask whether the HMR would allow a motor carrier to
require in its tariff, that a consignee or its agent be solely responsible for the removal of
placards no longer applicable to what is onboard the transport vehicle.
As specified in§§ 171.2(k) and 172.502(a)(1), no person may display a hazardous material
placard unless the package or vehicle is transporting a hazardous material. Sections
172.500(a) and 172.506(a) provide that the offeror and the vehicle operator are ultimately
responsible for complying with placarding requirements, which includes the removal of
placards representing hazards no longer present on the transport vehicle. Additionally, a
motor carrier may not impose a conflicting requirement, through tariffs or otherwise, on a
consignee when the consignee has not offered a hazardous material to the motor carrier
representative of the placards that remain displayed on a transport vehicle.
I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of any further assistance.
Sincere! y,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulernaking Division

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Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Wednesday, December21, 2011 3:18PM
Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
FW: REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION
~:ppe.r ~ l<esponsilJ,·j,~
li-D310
Hi Carolyn,
We received the following request for a letter of interpretation.
Thanks.
Victoria
Victoria Lehman
Hazmat Information Center (HMIC)
http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/info-center
(202) 366-1035
From: Larry Dannemiller [mailto:larry@dannemiller.us]
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 2:04 PM
To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Subject: REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION
Hazardous Material Information Center
Mr. Charles E. Betts
Director. Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
U.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10)
1200 New Jersey Avenue. SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
We are requesting a written interpretation from PHMSA concerning who is responsible for
removing placards from a freight container after the delivery of a placardable amount of
hazardous materials to the consignee. and unloading is completed.
The situation involves the movement of a container containing hazardous
materials from Japan into a U.S port where it is picked up by a designated carrier and
moved to the consignee • s facility where it is "live" unloaded while the driver is present.
The freight container remains attached to the truck. The consignee does not re-load the
container. When the truck leaves the consignee • s facility it is empty.
Question 1: Before leaving the consignee's premises and driving on a public road, is the
truck driver who transported the container to the consignee • s facility responsible for the
1

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removal of any and all placards that were formerly used to signify the presence of
hazardous materials inside the container on the inbound trip?
Question 2: If the involved carrier had a provision in their Tariff that provided:
.. "consignees and/or their agents shall be solely liable for redelivery of containers to
carrier with placards removed", if conflicting, would this provision take precedence over
the application of the Hazardous Material regulations under part 171.
Your advice on these matters would be appreciated
Larry Dannemiller, President
DANNEMILLER ASSOCIATES, INC.
7792 Olentangy River Road - Suite #2
Columbus, Ohio 43235
ph - 614-431-8740
fx - 614-431-8742
Website: http://Dannemiller.us/
2
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