DOT still seeking to define "transportation"

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 6/1/1999

The U.S. Department of Transportation continues to look for an acceptable definition of transportation as it pertains to the department's regulation of hazardous materials--a venture it has been engaged in since 1996. The agency's Research and Special Projects Administration (RSPA) has announced an initiative to define when the hazardous-materials regulations apply to activities associated with the transportation of hazardous materials.

The question of when transportation begins and ends is an important one, says compliance expert and Logistics columnist John V. Currie. It is unclear whether DOT wants to apply its hazmat regulations to such activities as vehicle loading and unloading, warehouse handling and storage, or storage of hazardous materials in a shipping container prior to delivery to the end user, he explains. If DOT rules that it does not have jurisdiction over such activities, then that authority may pass to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, or local authorities, he says. That could result in a confusing hodgepodge of regulations.

Some commentors have said that the agency's jurisdiction should end when hazardous materials come off public rights of way and are not in motion. Shippers and carriers have consistently opposed such a move. "They believe there should be one set of regulations that apply from the point of origin to the customer and any time during that period, whether the product is in a warehouse or on a train," Currie says.

RSPA will accept public comments until July 26, 1999, either by letter or by e-mail to rules@rspa.dot.gov.