{"operation":"document","citation":"22-0078","title":"Crestwood Transportation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2023-06-05","effective_on":null,"summary":"22-0078 response to Crestwood Transportation concerning 173.24, 173.315.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-22-0078.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-22-0078.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-22-0078","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/77601/220078.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nMay 25, 2023\nMr. Jared Sharp\nSenior Manager, Transportation Safety\nCrestwood Transportation\n1709 South Burlington Road\nBridgeton, NJ 08302\nReference No. 22-0078\nDear Mr. Sharp:\nThis letter is in response to your August 2, 2022, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the loading of liquefied\npetroleum gas (LPG) in Department of Transportation specification MC 331 cargo tanks.\nWe have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:\nQ1. You ask whether a cargo tank is considered to be “overfilled” if the liquid level gauge is\ngreater than 90% when loading it in accordance with the specific gravity chart provided\nin § 173.315(b).\nA1. When loading a cargo tank motor vehicle (CTMV) with LPG, fillers must follow the\nrequirements of § 173.315(b). This section instructs fillers to load CTMVs by weight\nbased on the capacity of the tanks and the specific gravity of the LPG. When filling the\nCTMV by volume, the same amount of material is permitted, unless the filler is using a\nfixed length dip tube or other fixed maximum liquid level indicators, in which case the\nCTMV may only be filled to 97% of the maximum permitted filling density by weight.\nFactors such as the temperature may cause fluctuations in the volume reading on a\nCTMV; however, this is not an upper fill limit of 90%. Provided the filling requirements\nof § 173.315(b) and the outage requirements of § 173.24b(a) are met, a liquid level gauge\nmay read more than 90% and still be in compliance.\nQ2. When using the specific gravity chart provided in § 173.315(b), you ask whether it is\npermissible to revise your specific gravity values to reflect the current temperature of an\nLPG product if it is warmer than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nA2. The answer is no. The table lists the maximum permitted filling density as a percentage\nof water-weight capacity based on the specific gravity of LPG at 60 degrees Fahrenheit.\nSince temperature has a direct relation to volume, the regulations are set to this specific\ntemperature and adjustments are not permitted.\nQ3. You ask whether the requirement specified in § 173.24b(a)—that the outage is at least\n1% of the total capacity of the cargo tank—applies to LPG.\nA3. The answer is yes. Section 173.24b(a) states that “[e]xcept as otherwise provided in this\nsubchapter, liquids and liquefied gases must be so loaded that the outage is at least five\npercent for materials poisonous by inhalation, or at least one percent for all other\nmaterials, of the total capacity of a cargo tank, portable tank, tank car (including dome\ncapacity), multi-unit tank car tank, or any compartment thereof....\n” Section 173.315(b)\ndoes not provide relief from the outage requirements of § 173.24b(a).\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nWolcott\n22-0078\nFrom: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nTo: Subject: Date: Dodd, Alice (PHMSA); Hazmat Interps\nFW: Request for Letter of Interpretation 49 C.F.R. 173.315 and 49 C.F.R 173.24b\nMonday, August 8, 2022 2:35:34 PM\nAttachments: image002.png\nDear Alice and team,\nPlease see below the request for a letter of interpretation.\nThank you,\nRachel (HMIC)\nFrom: Sharp, Jared <Jared.Sharp@crestwoodlp.com>\nSent: Tuesday, August 2, 2022 1:15 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) <INFOCNTR.INFOCNTR@dot.gov>\nSubject: Request for Letter of Interpretation 49 C.F.R. 173.315 and 49 C.F.R 173.24b\nCAUTION: This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do\nnot click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content\nis safe.\nTo whom it may concern:\nI am looking for some clarification of §173.315(b) and §173.24b that do not appear to be answered\nin previous guidance offered by the Pipeline & Hazardous Material Safety Administration.\nBackground of our company and daily operations\nCrestwood is a transportation company that specializes in the transport of Liquefied Petroleum\nGasses in MC331 Cargo Tanks. When loading our transport vessels we are utilizing the Magnetel\nliquid level gauge to determine the percentage of liquid in the cargo tank. In the summer months\nwith warmer atmospheric temperatures, we experience higher pressures when loading our\ntransports and will have to adjust our loading calculation from 60 degrees F to the current\ntemperature of the product. In doing the adjustments our transports may tend to show greater than\n90% liquid capacity on the Magnetel gauge.\nHistorically when speaking to enforcement officers on the roadside we have been instructed that\nour vessels should not be loaded greater than 90% liquid capacity at any time. If stopped roadside\nand the liquid level gauge was found to show greater than 90% then we would be considered to\nhave an overfilled cargo tank. We have instructed our drivers not to load their transport vessels over\n90% based on this guidance.\nI have three questions regarding the loading of cargo tanks with liquefied petroleum gasses:\n1. 2. In loading a cargo tank according to the specific gravity chart, if the liquid level gauge is above\n90% is the cargo tank considered overfilled?\nWhen utilizing the specific gravity chart in the regulation to obtain the maximum permitted\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n3. filling density, a product (over 1200 gallons) with specific gravity from 0.504-0.510 is\npermitted to load 45% of the water-weight capacity of the tank at 60 degrees F. Can we\ncorrect this number determined at 60 degrees to reflect the current temperature of the\nliquefied petroleum gas if the product is warmer than 60 degrees F?\n§173.24b(a) Outage and filling limits- Does the outage requirement of 1% of the total\ncapacity of the cargo tank for all other materials apply to Liquefied Petroleum Gases and the\nMC 331 transport vessel?\nAny assistance you can provide in helping me understand these regulations in the context of the\nabove stated questions is greatly appreciated. If you need any further information to respond, feel\nfree to contact me.\nSincerely,\nJared Sharp\nSenior Manager, Transportation Safety\nCrestwood Transportation\n1709 South Burlington Road Bridgeton, NJ 08302\nP: 800-348-1916 / D: 713-609-9459\nC: 609-381-0706\nF: 856-391-5416\nE-FAX: 402-619-5023\njared.sharp@crestwoodlp.com\ncrestwoodlp.com\nThis email message, and any attachments, provided by Crestwood and its affiliates, may contain\ninformation that is proprietary, legally privileged, confidential, or exempt from disclosure, and is\nintended exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. If you are not the intended\nrecipient, any dissemination, distribution, retention, or copying of this email message and any\nattachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email message in error please notify the\nsender immediately by telephone or return email and delete this email message from your\ncomputer.'","truncated":false,"body_characters":7146}