{"operation":"document","citation":"CHI-97-002","title":"City of Fort Worth, TX — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1997-06-13","effective_on":null,"summary":"CHI-97-002 response to City of Fort Worth, TX concerning 171.1, 171.8, 177.823.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-chi-97-002.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-chi-97-002.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-chi-97-002","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Hazmat/ChiefCounsel/CHI-97-002.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nus. Department\nof Transportation\nChiet Counsel\nOffice of the\n400 Seventh St. SW\nWashington DC 20590\nResearch and\nspecial programs\nAdministration\nJN | 3 1997\nCynthia Garcia, Esq.\nAssistant City Attorney\nOffice of the City Attorney\n1000 Throckmorton\nFort Worth, Texas 76102\nDear Ms. Garcia:\nI am responding to your February 7, 1997 letter and telephone\nconversations with a member of my staff concerning the\njurisdiction of the Federal hazardous materials transportation\nlaw (Federal hazmat law) (49 U.S.C. S$ 5101 et seg.) and the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) (49 CFR Parts 171-180) as\nthey apply to wreckers towing motor vehicles that contain\nhazardous materials. I apologize for the delay in responding to\nyour letter and hope this delay has not caused you any\ninconvenience.\nThe Research\nof the agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation\nand Special Programs Administration (RSPA) is one\nthat is responsible for enforcing the requirements of the\nFederal hazmat law and the HMR.\nThe HMR includes requirements\nfor the classification, hazard conmunication, packaging,\nhandling, loading and unloading of hazardous materials offered\nfor or transported in commerce.\nAs stated in 49 C.F.R.\n§ 171.1, RSPA's jurisdiction, with respect to transportation by\npublic highway is currently limited to interstate and foreign\ncarriers by motor vehicle, and intrastate carriers by motor\nvehicle so far as the HMR apply to hazardous wastes, hazardous\nsubstances, flammable cryogenic liquids in portable\n• tanks and\ncargo tanks, and marine pollutants.\nEffective October 1, 1997,\nthe scope of the HMR expands to include the offering for\ntransportation or transporting hazardous materials in\ninterstate, intrastate, and foreign commerce by motor vehicle.\nRSPA does view a wrecker which is towing a motor vehicle\ncontaining hazardous materials on a public highway,\nas\ntransporting hazardous materials in commerce. Therefore,\nthe\nFederal hazmat law and the HMR would apply to a wrecker which\ntows a disabled motor vehicle containing hazardous materials on\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n!\n2\na public highway. However, the Federal hazmat law and the HMR\ndo not apply to\ntransportation that is entirely on private\nproperty and neither follows nor crosses a public highway.\nRSPA has provided limited relief from the HMR under 49 C.F.R.\n§ 177.823. This provision allows, under emergency situations\nwhere\nthe movement of the disabled transport vehicle is\nnecessary to protect life or property, a vehicle containing\nhazardous materials to be moved without being marked and\nplacarded in accordance with the HMR. Under this exception, a\nwrecker would not need a placard and markings when towing a\ndisabled transport vehicle on a public highway.\nThis exception\nonly applies to the extent an emergency situation exists and\nmovement of the disabled transport vehicle is necessary to\nprotect life or property.\nThus, under this exception, the\ndisabled transport vehicle may be moved only the minimum\ndistance necessary to reach a place where the transport vehicle\ncan be repaired safely.\nRSPA has provided this limited exception to encourage the rapid\nremoval of any disabled transport vehicle from a public highway\nHowever, during a nonemergency\nsituation, the placarding, marking and all other provisions of\nthe HMR would apply to a wrecker when it is towing a disabled\ntransport vehicle on a public highway. Under these provisions,\nthe operator of the wrecker must verify that the disabled\ntransport vehicle is displaying the required placards and there\nare accompanying shipping papers. The shipping papers must\naccompany the disabled transport vehicle to its new location.\nThe operator of the wrecker must have general awareness,\nsafety, and function-specific hazard materials training (see\n49 C.F.R. Part 172, Subpart H). These HMR requirements provide\na minimal level of safety when the operator of wrecker assists\na disabled transport vehicle which contains hazardous\nmaterials.\nletter also asked whether the operator of the wrecker\nwould have to comply with 49 CFR Parts 171-180 if there was a\nhazardous material incident during the towing operation. The\nanswer is yes, because the wrecker's operator/owner is\nconsidered a \"carrier\" as defined in 49 C.F.R. § 171.8 and as\nthe term is used in 49 C.F.R. S$ 171.15 or 171.16. In\naddition, RSPA encourages each person to report promptly each\nhazardous materials incident which, in the person's judgment,\nposes a continuing danger to life or property. In addition,\nthe wrecker's operator/owner may be subject to a variety of\nother Federal, state or local regulations in the event of a\nhazardous materials incident.\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n3\nIn addition, you asked whether 49 C.F.R. Part 387 or any other\nregulations would apply to the wrecker's activities. Part 387\nprescribes minimum levels of financial responsibility for motor\ncarriers and is not part of HMR. It is my understanding that\nthe Federal Highway Administration, Office of the Chief\nCounsel, Motor Carrier Law Division has received a copy of your\nletter and has responded to this issue. It you have any\nfurther questions concerning minimum levels of financial\nresponsibility for motor carriers, please contact Mr. Joseph\nSolomey at (202) 366-0834.\nquestions concerning the law or regulations discussed in this\nI hope this response is useful. If you have any additional\nletter, please call Robert A. Monniere at 202-366-4400.\nSincerely,\nEdward H. Bonekemper,\nAssistant Chief Counsel for\nHazardous Materials\nSafety","truncated":false,"body_characters":5504}