# Great Lakes Chemical Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **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:** Not available
- **summary:** 99-0058 response to Great Lakes Chemical Corporation concerning 177.834.
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- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/1999/990058.pdf
**body:**

<<<PAGE 1>>>

•
of Transportation
U.S. Department
Washington, D.C.
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Research and
20590
Administration
Special Programs
MAR 2 3 1999
Mr. Robert Monteith
Compliance Manager
Rei. No: 99-0058
•
Great Lakes Chemical Corporation
P.O. Box 7020
E1 Dorado, AR
71730
Dear Mr. Monteith:
This responds to your letter of March 4, 1999, concerning
requirements for attending the unloading of cargo tank motor
vehicles under the Hazardous Materials Regulations. (HMR;
49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask whether the
attendance requirements apply when a private motor carrier
delivers a cargo tank to its destination and the motive power
is removed.
"Transportation," as defined in $ 5102 of the federal
hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5101-5127),
means the movement of property and any loading, unloading, or
storage incidental to the movement. Attendance requirements
in S 177.834 (i) (2) of the HMR clearly do not apply to a person
acting as a private motor carrier when: (1) the cargo tank
has been placed on the consignee's premises; and (2) the
motive power has been removed from the trailer and removed
from the premises.
At this time, however, RSPA does not concur in your
determination that such a cargo tank loaded with a hazardous
material is no longer "in transportation." Currently, under
Docket Number RSPA-98-4952, we are reconsidering the general
rule that transportation in commerce is complete when a
hazardous material is delivered to a consignee's location and
the delivering carrier has physically tendered the material to
the consignee by unloading a trailer or disconnecting a
trailer for unloading by the consignee. A notable exception
to this general rule is that consignee unloading of rail tank
cars is subject to regulation under the HMR even though there
is usually no carrier involvement in the process other than
positioning the tank car at the unloading site. Thus, while
177.834

<<<PAGE 2>>>

the HMR currently do not apply to a cargo tank that has been
disconnected from its motive power at a consignee's location,
we do not now agree that the shipment is no longer "in
transportation."
We hope to resolve this issue in Docket
RSPA-98-4952.
We invite your participation in a supplemental
advance notice of proposed rulemaking that should be published
in the Federal Register in the near future.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have further
questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.
Sincerely,
Thom
one. Allan
Thomas G.
Allan
Senior Iransportation Regulations
Office of Hazardous Materials
Specialist.
Standards

<<<PAGE 3>>>

* =
" y
Gorsky
Great Lakes
172.834
Chemical Corporation
99-0058
MANUFACTURING: P. O. BOX 7020 •
EL DORADO, ARKANSAS 71731 • PHONE: 501-862-5141 • FAX 501-864-1619
March 4, 1999
Director, Office of Standards
Hazardous Materials Safety Office
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20590-0001
Dear Mr. Mazzulio:
Please accept this letter as a request for interpretation of 177.834 (i)(2) and 177.834(i)(3).
Great Lakes Chemical Corporation
Attn: Robert Monteith, Compliance Manager
P.O. Box 7020
El Dorado, AR 71730
Together, these paragraphs require attendance during unloading of cargo tanks. 177.834 (i)(2)
states that the carrier's obligation. for transporting the materials is fulfilled, the cargo tank has been
placed on the consignee's premises and the motive power has been removed from the cargo
tank and removed from the premises. The cargo tank is then no longer considered to be in
transportation and therefore, the unloading and attendance requirements in the Dot Hazardous
Materials Regulations no longer apply.
Great Lakes operates its private fleet and appears to be the carrier, the shipper and also the
consignee when transporting its hazardous material from company location to company
location. As a result of operating the way we do, can it be assumed, even in the case of private
carriage, upon placing the cargo tank on the company's premises and removing the motive
power from the cargo tank, the cargo tank is no longer "in transportation"?
I appreciate your timely consideration to this question for interpretation.
sincerely
PALT
Robert Monteith
Great Lakes, Compliance Manager
..
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