PHMSA Acts on Hazmat Special Permit Requests

On August 12, DOT PHMSA posted a trio of hazmat special permit notices to the Federal Register:

Notice of Actions on Special Permits
Notice of Applications for New Special Permits
Notice of Applications to Modify Existing Special Permits

What Is a Hazmat Special Permit?

Typical hazmat special permit applications are requests to:

• Authorize the use of alternative packaging or packaging orientation for hazardous materials;
• Allow for hazmat to be shipped or transported in ways otherwise prohibited; or
• Modify or expand the scope of an existing special permit.

Lion hazmat instructor Flip De Rea covered how to request party status to a hazmat special permit in Lion News earlier this year: Join the Hazmat Special Permit Party.

Need to renew your DOT hazmat certification training? Lion makes it easy with the Recurrent Hazmat Ground Shipper Certification online course. 

Or train with a live instructor at the next Recurrent Hazmat Ground Shipper Certification webinar on August 25.

PHMSA Adding Special Permits to 49 CFR

PHMSA continues its ongoing project to add widely-used or long-standing special permits with proven safety records to the text of the 49 CFR Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). Adding special permits to the regulations will make them accessible to all shippers, and eliminate the need for shippers who use these permits to request renewals on a continuous basis.

In 2016, PHMSA added 96 hazmat special permits to the HMR.

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to add more special permits to the HMR was planned for June 2020 but has not yet materialized. Lion News will report on the proposed rule when it appears.

Lion Members can review upcoming PHMSA hazmat rulemakings in a recent Bulletin on the Spring 2020 regulatory agenda, available at Lion.com/Members under the Regulation Updates tab.
 

Tags: hazmat shipping, hazmat special permits, new rules