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 instructor clearly enjoys his job and transmits that enthusiasm. He made a dry subject very interesting and fun.

Teresa Arellanes

EHS Manager

Lion's training was by far the best online RCRA training I've ever taken. It was challenging and the layout was great!

Paul Harbison

Hazardous Waste Professional

The course is well thought out and organized in a way that leads to a clearer understanding of the total training.

David Baily

Hazmat Shipping Professional

I think LION does an excellent job of any training they do. Materials provided are very useful to my day-to-day work activities.

Pamela Embody

EHS Specialist

One of the best trainings I have ever received!

Brandon Morfin

EH&S Manager

If I need thorough training or updating, I always use Lion. Lion is always the best in both instruction and materials.

Bryce Parker

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

Excellent class, super instructor, very easy to follow. No rushing through material. Would like to take his class again.

Lawrence Patterson

EH&S Facility Maintenance & Security Manager

The instructor was very patient and engaging - willing to answer and help explain subject matter.

Misty Filipp

Material Control Superintendent

Attending Lion Technology classes should be mandatory for every facility that ships or stores hazmat.

Genell Drake

Outbound Lead

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

What to do before, during, and after a RCRA hazardous waste inspection to defend your site from rising State and Federal penalties.

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.