{"operation":"document","citation":"25-0095","title":"Soquel Creek Water District — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2026-06-08","effective_on":null,"summary":"25-0095 response to Soquel Creek Water District concerning 171.1.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0095.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0095.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-25-0095","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2026-06/25-0095.pdf","body":"<<>>\n\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\nJune 8, 2026\nMr. David J. Terrazas\nSoquel Creek Water District\n5180 Soquel Dr.\nSoquel, CA 95073\nReference No. 25-0095\nDear Mr. Terrazas:\nThis is in response to your June 12, 2025 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to placarding requirements. You ask\nwhether government employees using government vehicles solely for non‑commercial activities\nare subject to placarding requirements under the HMR, which may trigger obligations under the\nCalifornia Vehicle Code?\nNo. As provided in § 171.1(d)(5), the HMR do not apply to the transportation of hazardous\nmaterials in a motor vehicle, aircraft, or vessel operated by a Federal, state, or local government\nemployee solely for noncommercial Federal, state, or local government purposes. Therefore, a\nstate agency—such as the Soquel Creek Water District—that transports hazardous materials for\nnon-commercial purposes, using its own personnel and vehicles, is not engaged in transportation\nin commerce and thus is not subject to the requirements of the HMR, including placarding under\nPart 172, Subpart H.\nAlthough state and local governments may establish requirements at fixed facilities, non-Federal\nplacarding requirements that differ from those in the HMR may be preempted under\n49 U.S.C. § 51251\n. Preemption determinations are made on a case-by-case basis and this Letter of\nInterpretation does not constitute a formal preemption determination. However, the absence of a\ndetermination under 49 CFR 107.209(d) concerning a specific state requirement does not imply\nthat the requirement is—or is not—preempted under the Federal hazardous materials\ntransportation law.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nArthur Pollack\nActing Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n1 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title49/html/USCODE-2023-title49-subtitleIII-chap51-sec5125.htm\n\n<<>>\n\nPollack, A.\n25-0095\nFrom: David Terrazas \nSent: Monday, July 14, 2025 2:31 PM\nTo: PHMSA Pipelinesafety \nCc: David Terrazas \nSubject: Request for Written Regulatory Interpretation\nYou don't often get email from davidt@soquelcreekwater.org. Learn why this is important\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.\nGood Afternoon Office of Standards & Rulemaking:\nThis is a follow up to my voice mail message from today and the attached\ncorrespondence sent June 12, 2025.\nThe purpose of this message is to request a status update regarding our request for a\n\n<<>>\n\nwritten interpretation regarding the applicability of 49 CFR Section 171.1(d) to Soquel\nCreek Water District’s internal, non-commercial distribution of bulk sodium\nhypochlorite to District-facilities using District-owned vehicles.\nThank you for your assistance and anticipated response.\nSincerely,\nDavid J. Terrazas | Human Resources Manager\nSoquel Creek Water District | 5180 Soquel Dr., Soquel CA 95073 | www.soquelcreekwater.org\nphone 831-475-8501 x131 | cell: 831-281-4391 | email: davidt@soquelcreekwater.org\nP Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail\n\n<<>>\n\n,., SOQUEL CREEK\n� WATER DISTRICT\n5180 Soquel Drive • Soquel, CA 95073\n831.475.8500 • www.soquelcreekwater.org\nBoard of Directors\nRachel Lather, President\nDr. Thomas R. LaHue, Vice-President\nJennifer Balboni\nC arla Christensen\nDr. Bruce Jaffe\nMelanie Mow Schumacher. General Manager\nJune 12, 2025\nU.S. DOT Office of Pipeline Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nRe: Request for Written Regulatory Interpretation on Applicability of 49 CFR\n§171.l(d) to Government Transport of Sodium Hypochlorite\nDear Director of Office of Standards and Rulemaking:\nOn behalf ofSoquel Creek Water District (SqCWD or District), I am requesting a written\ninterpretation regarding the applicability of 49 CFR § 171.1 ( d) in consideration of relevant State\nand Federal laws surrounding the transportation of hazardous materials by a state, or local\ngovernment employee solely for non-commercial Federal, state, or local government purposes\n(See 49 CFR §171.l(d)(5). Specifically, we are seeking guidance on whether SqCWD's vehicles\nare subject to placarding requirements based on the Districts internal, non-commercial\ndistribution of bulk sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) to District-facilities using District-owned\nvehicles.\nAs background, SqCWD is a California special district (local governmental agency),\nproviding water production and distribution services to its customers in Santa Cruz County,\nCalifornia. The District receives bulk sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) deliveries at their\nheadquarters in Soquel, California. District staff then transports this material using a Districtowned\nvehicle equipped with a 550-gallon tank to various District operational sites. All transport\nis conducted by District employees for internal, non-commercial purposes. 49 CFR § 171.1 ( d)\nappears to exempt government employees transporting hazardous materials for non-commercial\npurposes from the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), including placarding\nrequirements. Accordingly, SqCWD believes that it is not subject to placarding obligations and\nthereby relieving the District from California law which requires SqCWD employees to hold\ncommercial driver's licenses (CDL's) with hazardous materials (HazMat) and/or tank\nendorsements.\nFederal representatives from PHMSA have verbally confirmed this interpretation in past\nconversations with District staff. However, feedback from California Highway Patrol (CHP) is\nunclear. This has led to SqCWD uncertainty about whether California law applies in this\ncontext where HMR exempts the District from vehicle placarding requirements. In particular, 13\nCCR § 1160.2(b) and related provisions in the California Vehicle Code have generated confusion\nwhen analyzed aside Federal preemption laws. 49 U.S. Code§ 5125 (E) states that a hazardous\nmaterials transportation security regulation or directive issued by the Secretary of Homeland\nSecurity, is preempted when it regards \"the ... maintaining, marking, maintaining ... a package,\n\n<<>>\n\ncontainer, or packaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for\nuse in transporting hazardous material in commerce. \" This language surrounding preemption\nappears to indicate that SqCWD is only required to follow Federal law in placarding\nrequirements specifically.\nSqCWD's concern is that failure to comply with applicable state placarding requirements\ncan result in fines and liability even if the Federal law prevails. Our analysis nonetheless has led\nto the conclusion that SqCWD can operate without vehicle placards because the (1) hazardous\nmaterials are transported by a (2) district employee and not a contractor and the (3)\ntransportation is done for non-commercial purposes. 49 CFR §171.1(d). This conclusion is\nnotably predicated on the transportation of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL), a hypochlorite,\nclassified as a corrosive 8, and we are aware that the conclusion may change based on the type of\nhazardous material.\nTheretore, SqCWD respectfully requests PHMSA's written regulatory interpretation\nPHMSA disagrees with our conclusion in lieu of the state regulations or for any other reason, we\nwhether SqCWD's vehicles are subject to vehicle placarding requirements based on the above. If\nrequest additional guidance so that SqCWD can safely transport this sodium hypochlorite while\nadhering to all relevant laws and regulations.\nThank you for your assistance and anticipated response.\nSincerely,\nHuman Resources Manager\nDavid J. Terrazas\nSoquel Creek Water District","truncated":false,"body_characters":8174}