{"operation":"document","citation":"19-0007","title":"Association of American Railroads — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2019-10-09","effective_on":null,"summary":"19-0007 response to Association of American Railroads concerning 173.242.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0007.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0007.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0007","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/72531/190007.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nOCT O fJ 2019\nRobert E. Fronczak\nAssociation of American Railroads\n425 Third Street SW, Suite 1000\nWashington, DC 20024\nReference No. 19-0007\nDear Mr. Fronczak:\nThis letter is in response to your April 2, 2018, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) regarding the phase-out schedule for\nDOT-111 specification tank cars in§ 173.242. Specifically, you ask what is the definition of\n\"ethanol\".\nOn August 15, 2016, the Pipeline and Hazardous Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final\nrulea to codify in the HMR certain mandates of the Fixing America's Transportation Act (FAST\nAct Sec. 7304). Specifically, the final rule, as required by the FAST Act, revised the phase-out\nschedule for all DOT-111 specification tank cars used to transport Class 3 flammable liquids,\nsuch as ethanol.\nFor purposes of the phase-out requirement for DOT-111 specification tank cars, \"ethanol\" means\nethanol described under an appropriate proper shipping name, to include: \"UN 1170, Ethanol or\nEthanol solutions\"; \"NA 1987, Denatured alcohol\"; \"UN 1987, Alcohols\" or \"UN 3475, Ethanol\nand gasoline mixture or Ethanol and motor spirit mixture or Ethanol and petrol mixture, with\nmore than 10% ethanol.\"\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nirk eren\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\na Hazardous Materials: FAST Act Requirements for Flammable Liquids and Rail Tank Cars, 81 FR 53935 (August\n15, 2016).\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nCc:\nSubject:\n19--om\"1\nCiccarone, Michael (PHMSA)\nWednesday, February 06, 2019 9:58 AM\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\nDerKinderen, Dirk (PHMSA)\nFW: AAR Request for Definition of Ethanol\nAlice,\nPlease enter this as a new interp and assign to me.\nThanks,\nMike\nFrom: Fronczak, Robert\nSent: Monday, April 2, 2018 1:56 PM\nTo: Schoonover, William (PHMSA) <william .schoonover@dot.gov>\nCc: Fronczak, Robert <rfronczak@aar.org>\nSubject: Ethanol\nBill:\nI tried to call but got a busy signal. With respect to HM-251 and the phase out of tank cars carrying ethanol, what does\nethanol mean? I think DOT meant alcohol NOS (which does not have the word ethanol in it) or the energy products likely\nto be shipped in large blocks or unit trains, but the regulation just says ethanol. 80 Federal Register No. 89 - Friday, May\n8, 2015 page 26722 refers to ethanol being UN 1987. Most of the alcohol NOS transported by rail is transported under Haz\nMat Response Code (HMRC) 4909152 (320,167 shipments in 2016) as UN-1987. There are 14 other alcohol NOS\n(including one denatured alcohol) HMRC's shipped as UN 1987. After HMRC 4909152, the next biggest volume was 473\nshipments in 2016. If one looks at ethanol shipments in 2016, there are 10 HMRC's with ethanol in the proper shipping\nname, either ethanol or ethanol and gasoline mixture, shipped under UN-1170 or UN-3475). All of the ethanol totaled\n35,937 shipments in 2016. So, one could argue that ethanol means HMRC 4909152 alcohol NOS UN-1987.\nTransport Canada uses the following definition:\n1. UN 11 70, ETHANOL more than 24% ethanol, by volume;\n2. UN1987, ALCOHOLS, N.O.S.;\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n3. UN3475, ETHANOL AND GASOLINE MIXTURE with more than 10% ethanol, ETHANOL AND MOTOR SPIRIT\nMIXTURE with more than 10% ethanol, or ETHANOL AND PETROL MIXTURE with more than 10% ethanol; and\nIn order to be harmonized, I would suggest that the U S DOT definition should agree with the Transport Canada\ndefinition.\nThank you for considering my question.\nBob\nFrom the Desk of•\nRobert E. Fronczak, P.E.\nAssistant Vice President Environment & Haz Mat\nAssociation of American Railroads\n425 Third Street S.W.; Suite 1000;\nWashington , DC 20024\nPhone• 202-639-2839\nFax• 202-639-2930\nE-maiL RFronczak@aar.org\n<2018-7-24 Shane Kelly re Definition of Ethanol.doc>\n2","truncated":false,"body_characters":3999}