# Thunder Creek Equipment — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **operation:** document - **citation:** 19-0082 - **title:** Thunder Creek Equipment — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **source type:** guidance - **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration - **status:** guidance - **official:** true - **published on:** 2019-09-16 - **effective on:** Not available - **summary:** 19-0082 response to Thunder Creek Equipment concerning 173.5. - **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0082.json - **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0082.md - **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0082 - **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/72356/190082.pdf **body:** <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 September 16, 2019 Mr. Luke Van Wyk Vice President of Sales Thunder Creek Equipment 1833 Highway 163 Pella, Iowa 50219 Reference No. 19-0082 Dear Mr. Van Wyk: This letter is in response to your June 17, 2019, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171 -180) applicable to a previous letter of interpretation under Reference No. 19-0022. Specifically, you request clarification on the definition of local roads. We have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows: Ql. You ask whether the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has adopted the U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration's definition of a "local road" for the purposes of§ 173.5(a). Al. The answer is no, PHMSA does not define the term "local road" as it is used in 49 CFR 173.5. Further, PHMSA does not use another agency's "local road" definition. Q2. You ask whether PHMSA considers a "local road" to be anything other than an interstate highway. A2. As stated in answer Al, PHMSA does not define the term "local road." However, HM- 200 [62 FR 1215], the rulemaking that adopted the agricultural exceptions into the HMR, specifically states that an interstate highway would not be considered a "local road." Therefore, for the purposes of§ 173.5(a), any road other than an interstate highway may be considered a local road. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us ifwe can be of further assistance. T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> l,,0~ ~ l'7.3. ~ \C\-C,eEJ Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) From: Sent: To: Luke Van Wyk Monday, June 17, 2019 8:29 AM Dodd, Alice (PHMSA); Stevens, Michael (PHMSA); Kelley, Shane (PHMSA); Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) Cc: art fleener; Brian Jarzen Subject: Attachments: RE: Response Letter of Interpretation Request For Interpretation PHMSA 6.14.2019.docx Good Morning, Please find a request for further interpretation of the term "local roads" used in 49CFR173.5. The Illinois DOT and Illinois State Police continue to hold to a very narrow interpretation of local roads. Thank you, Luke Van Wyk I Vice President - Sales Thunder Creek Equipment Direct 641 .620.4025 Cell: 641 -780-1285 Luke@ThunderC reek. com ThunderCreek.com I LDJ-Products.com From: Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) Sent: Monday, March 4, 2019 8:43 AM To: Luke Van Wyk Subject: Response Letter of Interpretation Good Morning Mr. Wyk, My name is Alice Dodd and I work in the Office of Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) I am emailing and sending in regular mail your response to the Letter of Interpretation that was sent in. If there is anything else please feel free to contact us. Thank you tllice 2)odd (J)epartment of rtransportation >> any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Finally, the recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. LDJ Manufacturing Inc. (DBA Thunder Creek Equipment) accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email. LDJ Manufacturing Inc., 1833 Hwy 163, Pella, Iowa 50219 2 <<>> THUNDER CREEK EQUIPMENT ThunderCreek.com CONTACT 1833 Highway 16:J Pella, IA 50219 P: 866.535.7667 F: 641.620 .8302 A division of LDJ Manufacturing, Inc. Michael Stevens Transportation Specialist Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mr. Stevens : This letter is a follow up to the letter of interpretation reference No. 19-0022, dated March 04. 2019. Thank you for the interpretation. We have a couple of follow up questions regarding the letter of interpretation No. 19-0022. 1. Has PHMSA adopted the Federal Highway Administrations (FHWA) definition of what a "local road" is as it relates to HMR 49 CFR Section 173.S(a)? Our belief is that PHMSA has not adopted FHWA's definition of a local road . It is not adopted by reference in Section 171.7, it is not defined in Section 171.8 and FHWA's definition is also not specifically referenced in Section 173.S(a). 2. Does a local road mean any other road, other than an interstate highway? This would include a local farm to market road, county highway, state highway and US highways. The preamble of January 08 1997, final rule (62 FR 1207) PHMSA states: "For the purposes of this section, a local road does not include an interstate highway". Our believe is that any other road, other than an interstate highway would be considered a "local road" as it is used in Section 173.S(a). Thank you for your help and clarification. We look forward to a timely response to our questions. Please contact us if further information is needed. Sincerely, Luke Van Wyk Vice President - Sales - **truncated:** false - **body characters:** 5495