Interpretation Response #04-0183 ([Raytheon Aircraft Company] [Ms. Karen L. Baxter])

Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date: 10/26/2004

Company Name: Raytheon Aircraft Company

Individual Name: Ms. Karen L. Baxter

Location State: KS Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

Oct 26, 2004

Ms. Karen L. Baxter                Reference No. 04-0183
Hazardous Materials Regulatory
Compliance Engineer
9709 E. Central
Wichita, KS 67206

Dear Ms. Baxter:

This is in response to your letter dated August 12, 2004, regarding the shippers’s certification prescribed in § 172.204 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you present the following scenario and asked whether Raytheon Aircraft Company (Raytheon) would be liable should there be penalties involved with non-compliance under the HMR.

According to your letter, Raytheon contracts with Company X to inventory and ship hazardous materials. In some cases, Company X will use its personnel to prepare hazardous materials shipments. In such cases, Company X, on Raytheon’s behalf, signs the shipper’s certification on the shipping paper.

At your company’s direction or through contractual arrangement, a third party may perform the functions of an offeror (shipper), such as signing the certification statement on a shipping paper to certify that hazardous materials are being offered for transportation in accordance with the HMR. Under the HMR, any person performing functions of an offeror must take responsibility for performing those functions in accordance with the applicable rules. Each person who performs a function governed by the HMR is responsible for complying with the appropriate requirements of the HMR.

Note that, because Company X in this situation is acting as an agent of Raytheon, Raytheon may be held responsible for Company X’s non-compliance with the HMR. The degree of regulatory liability is usually determined on a case-by-case basis, and is dependent on the facts of the specific situation.

I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if you require additional assistance

Sincerely,

John A. Gale
Chief, Regulations Development
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards

172.204, 173.22

Regulation Sections