Search
Search

New Highway Bill Raises Civil Penalties for Hazmat Violations

Posted on 7/9/2012 by Lion Staff

On Friday, President Obama signed into law the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21stCentury (MAP-21) highway bill.  This bill made significant changes to the hazmat portions of the current highway law, including increasing civil penalties for hazmat violations.
 
The maximum civil penalty for a standard hazmat violation rose from $50,000 per day/per violation to $75,000 per day/per violation.  The penalty for a violation that causes death, significant injury, or property damage rose from $100,000 per day/per violation to $175,000 per day/per violation.
 
MAP-21 also includes a provision that authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to penalize persons or businesses that “obstruct” hazmat inspections.  In this rule, “obstruct” is defined as “actions that were known, or reasonably should have been known, to prevent, hinder, or impede an investigation.”
 
Lastly, the DOT now has the authority to shut down any business that fails to pay its penalties (or set up a payment plan) within 90 days. 
 
In the MAP-21 law, Congress also laid out instructions for the DOT to answer many of the public comments raised regarding its Enhanced Enforcement Authority, also known as the “package-open” rule.  We’ll have more on exactly what instructions Congress gave the DOT in next week’s installment of LionBlog, so stay tuned.
 
You will find the full text of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century highway bill here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr4348enr/pdf/BILLS-112hr4348enr.pdf
 

Tags: DOT, hazmat shipping, new rules

Find a Post

Recent Posts

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

Lion - Quotes

The workshop covered a lot of information without being too overwhelming. Lion is much better, more comprehensive than other training providers.

George Alva

Manufacturing Manager

The instructor was probably the best I ever had! He made the class enjoyable, was humorous at times, and very knowledgeable.

Mary Sue Michon

Environmental Administrator

Well designed and thorough program. Excellent summary of requirements with references. Inclusion of regulations in hard copy form, as well as full electronic with state pertinent regulations included is a great bonus!

Oscar Fisher

EHS Manager

Lion's course was superior to others I have taken in the past. Very clear in the presentation and the examples helped to explain the content presented.

George Bersik

Hazardous Waste Professional

Energetic/enthusiastic! Made training enjoyable, understandable and fun!

Amanda Walsh

Hazardous Waste Professional

I like Lion's workshops the best because they really dig into the information you need to have when you leave the workshop.

Tom Bush, Jr.

EHS Manager

Very well structured, comprehensive, and comparable to live training seminars I've participated in previously. I will recommend the online course to other colleagues with training requirement needs.

Neil Luciano

EHS Manager

These are the best commercial course references I have seen (10+ years). Great job!

Ed Grzybowski

EHS & Facility Engineer

The instructor was very knowledgeable and provided pertinent information above and beyond the questions that were asked.

Johnny Barton

Logistics Coordinator

Lion's information is very thorough and accurate. Presenter was very good.

Melissa Little

Regulatory Manager

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

Some limited quantity reliefs are reserved for specific modes of transport. Use this guide to identify which reliefs you can capitalize on, and which do not apply to your operations.

Download
Latest Whitepaper

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.