{"operation":"document","citation":"99-0058","title":"Great Lakes Chemical Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1999-03-23","effective_on":null,"summary":"99-0058 response to Great Lakes Chemical Corporation concerning 177.834.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0058.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0058.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0058","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/1999/990058.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\n•\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\nWashington, D.C.\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nResearch and\n20590\nAdministration\nSpecial Programs\nMAR 2 3 1999\nMr. Robert Monteith\nCompliance Manager\nRei. No: 99-0058\n•\nGreat Lakes Chemical Corporation\nP.O. Box 7020\nE1 Dorado, AR\n71730\nDear Mr. Monteith:\nThis responds to your letter of March 4, 1999, concerning\nrequirements for attending the unloading of cargo tank motor\nvehicles under the Hazardous Materials Regulations. (HMR;\n49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask whether the\nattendance requirements apply when a private motor carrier\ndelivers a cargo tank to its destination and the motive power\nis removed.\n\"Transportation,\" as defined in $ 5102 of the federal\nhazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5101-5127),\nmeans the movement of property and any loading, unloading, or\nstorage incidental to the movement. Attendance requirements\nin S 177.834 (i) (2) of the HMR clearly do not apply to a person\nacting as a private motor carrier when: (1) the cargo tank\nhas been placed on the consignee's premises; and (2) the\nmotive power has been removed from the trailer and removed\nfrom the premises.\nAt this time, however, RSPA does not concur in your\ndetermination that such a cargo tank loaded with a hazardous\nmaterial is no longer \"in transportation.\" Currently, under\nDocket Number RSPA-98-4952, we are reconsidering the general\nrule that transportation in commerce is complete when a\nhazardous material is delivered to a consignee's location and\nthe delivering carrier has physically tendered the material to\nthe consignee by unloading a trailer or disconnecting a\ntrailer for unloading by the consignee. A notable exception\nto this general rule is that consignee unloading of rail tank\ncars is subject to regulation under the HMR even though there\nis usually no carrier involvement in the process other than\npositioning the tank car at the unloading site. Thus, while\n177.834\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nthe HMR currently do not apply to a cargo tank that has been\ndisconnected from its motive power at a consignee's location,\nwe do not now agree that the shipment is no longer \"in\ntransportation.\"\nWe hope to resolve this issue in Docket\nRSPA-98-4952.\nWe invite your participation in a supplemental\nadvance notice of proposed rulemaking that should be published\nin the Federal Register in the near future.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further\nquestions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.\nSincerely,\nThom\none. Allan\nThomas G.\nAllan\nSenior Iransportation Regulations\nOffice of Hazardous Materials\nSpecialist.\nStandards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n* =\n\" y\nGorsky\nGreat Lakes\n172.834\nChemical Corporation\n99-0058\nMANUFACTURING: P. O. BOX 7020 •\nEL DORADO, ARKANSAS 71731 • PHONE: 501-862-5141 • FAX 501-864-1619\nMarch 4, 1999\nDirector, Office of Standards\nHazardous Materials Safety Office\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n400 Seventh Street, SW\nWashington, D.C. 20590-0001\nDear Mr. Mazzulio:\nPlease accept this letter as a request for interpretation of 177.834 (i)(2) and 177.834(i)(3).\nGreat Lakes Chemical Corporation\nAttn: Robert Monteith, Compliance Manager\nP.O. Box 7020\nEl Dorado, AR 71730\nTogether, these paragraphs require attendance during unloading of cargo tanks. 177.834 (i)(2)\nstates that the carrier's obligation. for transporting the materials is fulfilled, the cargo tank has been\nplaced on the consignee's premises and the motive power has been removed from the cargo\ntank and removed from the premises. The cargo tank is then no longer considered to be in\ntransportation and therefore, the unloading and attendance requirements in the Dot Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations no longer apply.\nGreat Lakes operates its private fleet and appears to be the carrier, the shipper and also the\nconsignee when transporting its hazardous material from company location to company\nlocation. As a result of operating the way we do, can it be assumed, even in the case of private\ncarriage, upon placing the cargo tank on the company's premises and removing the motive\npower from the cargo tank, the cargo tank is no longer \"in transportation\"?\nI appreciate your timely consideration to this question for interpretation.\nsincerely\nPALT\nRobert Monteith\nGreat Lakes, Compliance Manager\n..","truncated":false,"body_characters":4263}