PHMSA Adds 96 Hazmat Special Permits into HMR

Update 01/21/16: PHMSA's Final Rule to incoporate hazmat special permits into the Hazardous Materials Regualtions appeared in the Federal Register today, January 21. 

As part of an ongoing effort to incorporate widely used hazmat special permits into the text of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) this week submitted a new Final Rule for publication in the Federal Register. Required under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (MAP-21) and originally proposed in January 2015, the new Final Rule is part of DOT’s effort to modernize the hazmat regulations.

For shippers, this means universal access to the flexibility offered by these special permits and relief from the paperwork burden of applying and renewing special permit requests.

Which Hazmat Special Permits Made the Cut?

The 96 hazmat special permits proposed for incorporation in the HMR fall into six topic areas:

1. General requirements for cylinders: including SP 6530 authorizing transport of certain hydrogen mixtures in cylinders filled to 110% of their marked service pressure
2. Non-destructive testing of cylinders: including alternatives to the hot water bath test for aerosols
3. Cargo Tanks/Rail Cars/Portable Tanks: including SP 12039 authorizing transportation in commerce of DOT 113120W tank cars containing refrigerated ethylene at 20 psig instead of the usual maximum 10 psig
4. Air/Vessel Cargo Operations: including SP 11691, waiving segregation requirements for the transport in commerce of certain flammable and corrosive liquids that are the ingredients in soft drinks (beverages) when stowed in the same transport unit
5. Highway/Rail/Shipper/Other Cargo Operations: including SP 11043 waiving segregation requirements for certain Division 2.3 materials and other exceptions to the segregation requirements
6. Non-bulk packaging specifications and IBCs: including SP 13548 authorizing the transport in commerce of lead acid batteries and packages of battery acid on the same vehicle

                                    

Hazmat Special Permits Not Incorporated
PHMSA has deemed more than 1,000 special permits unsuitable for incorporation into the HMR. These special permits were either:

1. Too specific;
2. Not in wide use;
3. Addressed in another active rulemaking; or
4. Previously incorporated into the HMR.

For a full list of Special Permits incorporated into the HMR in this rulemaking, see PHMSA’s pre-publication version of the Final Rule here.
 
49 CFR Hazmat Training You Can Trust 

Be confident you and your shipping team are prepared for all DOT's latest hazmat regulations, including the newly finalized Hazmat Special Permit "Mega Rule.” Lion's expert instructors will cover the latest rules you must know at the interactive Hazardous Materials Transportation Certification Workshop, presented in cities nationwide. Click the link to discover how you can prepare your team for full compliance with the HMR.

US DOT requires training for all “hazmat employees” once every three years, and when rules change [ 49 CFR 172.704] 

Tags: DOT, hazmat shipping, MAP 21, new rules