Hazardous Materials Transportation News

If you ship and receive hazardous materials, chances are that you will eventually receive a shipment that does not meet the DOT's standards for hazmat packages, whether it's undeclared, misdeclared or damaged. Hazmat shipping mistakes are especially common in the reverse logistics supply chain, since your customers may not have the training needed to identify their hazmat shipping responsibilities before returning a product by mail. If you do receive a noncompliant hazmat package, it is important that you are prepared to deal with the situation correctly to prevent an accident or a subsequent compliance violation at your facility. Your reaction to receiving noncompliant hazmat will depend on a number of factors.

Text of H.R. 4824 – the Extremely Hazardous Materials Transportation Security Act of 2004 – has been posted on the Internet. This bill, if enacted, would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to promulgate detailed regulations relating to security measures for shipment of extremely hazardous materials. For purposes of this measure, “extremely hazardous material” would mean: a material that is toxic by inhalation; a material that is extremely flammable; a material that is highly explosive; and any other material designated by the Secretary to be extremely hazardous. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:h4824ih.txt.pdf

Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and John Breaux (D-La.) will hold a U.S. materials transportation at the University of Houston Law Center at 1:30 p.m. C.S.T., Friday, Jan. 11, 2002. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs officials. Prior to the hearing, at 11 a.m. Sam Houston (owned and operated by the Port of Houston Authority). tour, the vessel will dock back at the San Jacinto Battleground, and Sens. Hutchison and Breaux will be available to speak to media at 11:30 a.m. C.S.T. http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom/hearing.htm.

by Dennis L. When the federal government began examining United States vulnerabilities in the days following the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it quickly became apparent that significant weakness existed on the U.S. maritime borders. Many, but not all, of these weaknesses were systemic and derived from both the U.S. open society and the procedures underlying modern maritime commerce. The goal quickly became to reduce the risk of maritime terrorism while not fundamentally altering the efficiencies of the commercial system. It was quickly realized that the threat to the maritime sector consisted of two distinct types: explosives and other contraband being shipped as cargo (particularly in a container) and the ship being used as a weapon…

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is amending the Hazardous Materials Transportation Regulations (HMTR) to add a definition for “person who offers or offeror”. Effective October 1, this term will mean any person who performs or is responsible for performing any pre-transportation function required by the HMTR or who tenders or makes hazardous material available to a carrier for transportation in commerce. A carrier is not an offeror when it performs a function as a condition of accepting a hazardous material for transportation in commerce or when it transfers a hazardous material to another carrier for continued transportation without performing a pre-transportation function. 70 Fed. Reg. 43638 (HK Law)

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will meet on June 26, 2003 in Executive Session

The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) issued an interim rule requiring, among other things, that each owner, operator, master, agent, person in charge, and charterer of a vessel transporting hazardous materials ensure that vessel personnel required to have a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document by 46 CFR parts 10 and 12 possess a license, certificate or document, as appropriate. Compliance is required as of June 4, 2003. Comments on the interim rule are to be submitted by June 4, 2003. Source: HK Law

This Customs Service document proposes to amend the Customs Regulations to provide for the temporary landing in the U.S. of vessel equipment in need of repair, without requiring entry of that equipment under a Temporary Importation Bond (TIB). It is proposed such equipment be permitted to be landed for repair and relading aboard the same vessel, subject to Customs issuance of a special permit or license for the landed equipment, under an International Carrier Bond. Uncertainty exists whether the relading of repaired equipment on vessels departing the U.S. would satisfy the TIB requirement that such merchandise be exported. The proposed amendments will eliminate this uncertainty while still allowing Customs adequate control over such unladings and ladings.