Federal Judge Halts California's Hazmat Rail Fee

Posted on 10/31/2016 by Roger Marks

On October 29, Union Pacific released a customer announcement stating that a Federal judge has issued an injunction to temporarily halt the implementation of California’s hazmat rail fee. Passed in August, the fee of $45 per rail car would apply to rail shipments of 25 specific hazardous materials commodities, including petroleum crude oil (UN 1267 and 1270), gasoline (UN 1203, 1993, and 3295), and liquefied petroleum gas or LPG (UN 1075 and 3161).

The announcement was forwarded to Lion News this week by the Council on Safe Transport of Hazardous Articles (COSTHA).

DOT hazmat rail car

Earlier this month, Lion News reported that railroads were challenging the fee, citing concerns about how the fee would be collected and how the fee could affect rail customers who ship small volumes of hazmat that may be exempt from DOT’s 49 CFR Hazardous Materials Regulations.

Read more about California’s hazmat fee here.

See the California Code of Regulations, Division 2, Chapter 4.1, Article 1 text that implemented the hazmat fee here.

New! Hazmat Rail Shipper Online Course

Get up to date on the unique, additional rules that apply to hazmat rail shipments! Whether you offer or transport hazmat shipments in rail tanks, bulk containers, or non-bulk packages, US DOT requires all “hazmat employees” to complete training once every three years. The new Hazmat Ground Shipper –Additional Rail Requirements online course is designed to satisfy US DOT’s function-specific training requirement for hazmat rail personnel who work for shippers and rail carriers (49 CFR 172.704(d)).

Sign up now or click here to see our group hazmat training options.

Tags: California, DOT, hazmat shipping, new rules

Find a Post

Search for:

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

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

Lion is at the top of the industry in compliance training. Course content and structure are updated frequently to make annual re-training enjoyable. I like that Lion has experts that I can contact for 1 year after the training.

Caroline Froning

Plant Chemist

The instructor took a rather drab set of topics and brought them to life with realistic real-life examples.

Tom Berndt

HSE Coordinator

I have over 26 years of environmental compliance experience, and it has been some time since I have attended an environmental regulations workshop. I attended this course as preparation for EHS Audits for my six plants, and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Frank Sizemore

Director of Regulatory Affairs

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

I had a positive experience utilizing this educational program. It was very informative, convenient, and rewarding from a career perspective.

John Gratacos

Logistics Manager

We have a very busy work schedule and using Lion enables us to take the course at our own time. It makes it easy for me to schedule my employees' training.

Timothy Mertes

Hazmat Shipping Professional

The instructor was very engaging and helped less experienced people understand the concepts.

Steve Gall

Safety Leader

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

This is the best RCRA training I've experienced! I will be visiting Lion training again.

Cynthia L. Logsdon

Principal Environmental Engineer

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

Knowing why TSDFs reject loads of hazardous waste—and the exact steps to follow if it happens—can reduce your anxiety and uncertainty about rejection.

Download

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.