Radian International — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1" = 471.8 of Transportation U.S. Department Washington, D.C 400 Seventh Street, S.W. 20590 Special Programs Research and MAY. 28 1999 Administration Mr. Andrew N. Romach Reference. No. 99-0071 Radian International Regulatory Compliance Manager Post Office Box 13000 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Dear Mr. Romach: This is in response to your letter of March 5, 1999, requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180) Specifically, you ask whether the following scenario would be considered "storage incidental to transportation." operates a "switching yard" where railcars are unhooked from the You state that a national railroad company locomotive and moved into a side yard to await the next leg of the railcars are waiting temporarily in the switching yard from transportation to their final destination. You also state that minutes to a few days and are covered by a through bill of lading while they remain in the switching yard. Based on the above scenario, the answer to your question is yes. "Storage incidental to transportation" means any temporary offered for transportation to a carrier until it reaches its storage that may occur between the time a hazardous material is intended destination and is accepted by the consignee.. would include temporary storage of a shipment during this time period at a carrier's terminal, consolidation, or storage Facility, or on a dock area waiting for loading. is, if a shipment is consigned to the end user of the hazardous material at the time the shipment is offered for transportation, most storage between offering and delivery to the end user is temporary storage. to a storage facility rather than to an end user, then the It the shipment is consigned by the offerer shipment is out of transportation once received and unloaded at tacon once the storage facility. we are currently reviewing the applicability of the HMR to certain transportation-related activities, such as storage of hazardous materials, under a supplemental advance notice of proposed rulemaking (SANPRM) published under Docket HM-223, entitled "Applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations to Loading, Unloading and Storage" " The SANPRM is available for viewing on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov under RSPA Docket No. 98-4952. 990071#

Page 2I hope this information is helpful. assistance, please contact us. If we can be of further Sincerely, Hattie z mitchel Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Hattie L. Mitchell Office Of Hazardous Materials Standards 2400. 4 30 12.33 third#

Page 3Betts RADIAN INTERNATIONAL A DAMES & MOORE GROUP COMPANY Solo Storage Incia Mailing Address: to Transp. March 5, 1999 Post Office Box 13000 North Carolina 27709 Research Triangle Park, Mr. Ed Mazzullo, Director Physical/Shipping Address: Office of Hazardous Material Standards Morrisville, North Carolina 27560 |1600 Perimeter Park Drive Research and Special Programs Administration U.S. Department of Transportation 919 461 1415 Fax 919 461 1100 Tel 400 7th Street, SW Washington, DC 20509-0001 99-0071 FAX: (202) 366-3012 Dear Mr. Mazzullo: I am writing to you to request a written regulatory interpretation concerning whether or not the following transportation situation would be considered "storage incident to transportation." A national railroad company operates a "switching yard" where railcars are unhooked from the locomotive and moved into a side yard to await the next leg of transport to their final destination. These railcars are waiting temporarily in the switching yard from minutes to a few days, but most likely they would not remain onsite for more than one week. These railcars are unhooked primarily to change locomotives/train routes. These detached railcars are covered by a through bill of lading while they remain in the switching yard When I discussed this transportation situation with Mr. Delmer Billings, he stated that because these railcars remain under a through bill of lading and because they are not being stored on a spur of leased track, they would be considered "storage incident to transportation" He agreed that if these railcars contain DOT hazardous materials, they would remain subject to the DOT hazardous material regulations from their point of initial loading until they arrive at their final destination. This question arose because any railcar that is considered "storage incident to transportation" would not meet the definition of stationary source found in 40 CFR $68.3 and would not require a Risk Management Plan (RMP) under the Clean Air Act as stated in EPA's Accidental Release Prevention rule. I appreciate your clarification of this transportation situation. If you have any questions concerning this transportation situation, please call me at (919) 461- 1220. Andrew N. Romac Regulatory Manager Engineering Services in North Carolina are performed through Radian Intermationals wholly owned subsidiary, Radian Engineering. Inc. Offices Worldwide#