Carrier Groups Hit New Hazmat Rule

Several trade groups told federal regulators that requiring more detailed information on applications for special permits to haul hazardous materials will not increase hazmat safety and will increase the paperwork burden on applicants.

Officials with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the proposed rule was designed to strengthen oversight of its special permits program, as the new rule calls for applications to include such information as an estimate of the number of operations expected or the number of shipments expected to be transported under the special permit.

“The proposed revisions will enable PHMSA to better evaluate the fitness of an applicant, including its ability to safely conduct the operations that may be authorized under a special permit,” the rule said.

The Association of Hazmat Shippers said that while special permits are “essential to progress and to our economy,” the “adversarial nature of this proposal toward industry is a serious step in the wrong direction.”

“We are well aware of legislative parties and DOT personnel who continue to misunderstand how important these authorizations are to jobs,” wrote Lawrence Bierlein, AHS’s general counsel. “We also sense they are indifferent about the harm their misunderstanding causes to a program that has operated for decades with a remarkable safety record.”

American Trucking Associations also disputed PHMSA’s claim that the new rule would streamline the process and make hazmat transit safer.

“Any additional information required of the special permit applicant will increase the costs to the applicant and result in an increase in the agency’s resources necessary to evaluate the special permit application,” wrote Richard Moskowitz, ATA’s vice president and regulatory affairs counsel.