# St. Johns County Utility Department — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **operation:** document - **citation:** 16-0019 - **title:** St. Johns County Utility Department — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **source type:** guidance - **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration - **status:** guidance - **official:** true - **published on:** 2016-05-19 - **effective on:** Not available - **summary:** 16-0019 response to St. Johns County Utility Department concerning 173.134. - **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-16-0019.json - **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-16-0019.md - **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-16-0019 - **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2016/160019.pdf **body:** <<>> U.S. Department 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE of Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590 Materials Safety Pipeline and Hazardous Administration MAY 1 9 2016 Tony Cubbedge St. Johns County Utility Department Environmental Division Manager 1205 SR 16 St. Augustine, FL. 32084 Ref. No.: 16-0019 Dear Mr. Cubbedge: This letter is in response to your February 2, 2016, email requesting the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to the transportation of sanitary sewage and sewage sludge. In your email, you state that you are looking to hire contract hauling for the transportation of sanitary sewage and sewage sludge from one wastewater plant to another for further processing. You note that one of your potential contractors is concerned these materials could be classified as a hazardous material under the infectious substance definition. Specifically, you ask whether sanitary sewage and sewage sludge are regulated as a Division 6.2 infectious substance under the HMR. The answer is no. As provided in § 173.134(b)(13)(ii) and (iii), any waste or recyclable material other than regulated medical waste, including sanitary waste or sewage and sewage sludge or compost, are not subject to the requirements of the HMR as Division 6.2 materials. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, -Allenn Foster T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division 1 <<>> Nickels 5173.134(6)13 Exceptions Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) 16-0019 From: Geller, Shelby CTR (PHMSA) Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 3:36 PM To: Hazmat Interps Subject: FW: Sludge hauling Dear Shante and Alice, Forwarded is a request for formal letter of interpretation. Mr. Cubbedge spoke with Jordan. Thanks, Shelby From: Tony W. Cubbedge [mailto:twcubbedge@sjcfl.us] To: Rivera, Jordan CTR (PHMSA) Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 7:25 AM Cc: Bubba Solana Subject: RE: Sludge hauling Thank you Jordan, After reviewing 49 CFR 173.134 (b) 13, it appears that sanitary sewage and sewage sludge is exempt. Can you please This is not an area of expertise I possess, but it appears to be a rather straight forward exception provided by this part of the rule. Thank you for this clarification, Tony Cubbedge, MS, PWS Environmental Division Manager St. Johns County Utility Department 1205 SR 16 St. Augustine, FL 32084 (904) 209-2620 PLEASE NOTE: Florida has a very broad public records law. Most written communications to or from the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners and employees regarding public business are public records available to the public and media through a request. Your e-mail communications may be subject to public disclosure. From: jordan.rivera.ctr@dot.gov [mailto:jordan.rivera.ctr@dot.gov] To: Tony W. Cubbedge Sent: Monday, January 25, 2016 4:32 PM Subject: RE: Sludge hauling Dear Tony, We have received your inquiry about the hazardous materials regulations (HMR) (49 CFR Parts 171-180). Please note that this response from the Hazardous Materials Information Center and its regulatory specialists is considered informal. The HMR prescribes the requirements of the Department of Transportation governing the offering and transportation of hazardous materials in interstate, intrastate, and foreign commerce by rail car, aircraft, motor vehicle, and vessel. While <<>> we cannot provide an exhaustive list of each applicable requirement, we suggest you review section 173.134(a) and (b) for additional information on classification of an infectious substance and exceptions. The hazardous materials regulations are available at the following URL: http://phmsa.dot.gov/regulations Additionally, you may wish to review the following Infectious Substance Guidance Document at the following URL: http://phmsa.dot.gov/vgn-ext- templating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=be0d5f29a45b3110VgnVCM1000009ed07898RCRD&vgnextchannel=4f347fd9b896b1 10VgnVCM1000009ed07898RCRD&vgnextfmt=print If you require further assistance, you may contact the Hazardous Materials Information Center by phone expected to resume Tuesday January 26, 2016 at 9:00 AM EST. The HMIC is staffed with regulatory specialists who can quickly answer your questions by phone, Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM EST at 1(800) 467-4922 or +1 (202) 366-4488. Sincerely, Jordan, Hazardous Materials Specialist An e-mail response from this office is considered informal guidance. Formal guidance may be requested in accordance with 49 CFR 105.20. http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs/interps From: Tony W. Cubbedge [mailto:twcubbedge@sjcfl.us] To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Sent: Monday, January 25, 2016 9:47 AM Cc: Bubba Solana Subject: Sludge hauling Can you please direct me to a contact to assist with this inquiry? We are looking at contract hauling of our sludge from one wastewater plant to another for further processing. One of our contractors was concerned this would be classified a hazardous material under the infectious substance definition. It appears that sludge is exempt (see attached sheet). Can I please get clarification on this? Thank you, Tony Cubbedge, MS, PWS Environmental Division Manager St. Johns County Utility Department 1205 SR 16 St. Augustine, FL 32084 (904) 209-2620 PLEASE NOTE: Florida has a very broad public records law. Most written communications to or from the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners and employees regarding public business are public records available to the public and media through a request. Your e-mail communications may be subject to public disclosure. 2 - **truncated:** false - **body characters:** 5625