Interpretation Response #06-0162 ([Missouri Gas Energy] [Ms. Crystal Callaway])
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: Missouri Gas Energy
Individual Name: Ms. Crystal Callaway
Location State: MO Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
Aug 10, 2006
Ms. Crystal Callaway Reference No. 06-0162
Environmental Compliance Specialist
Missouri Gas Energy
3420 Broadway
Kansas City, MO 64111
Dear Ms. Callaway:
This is in response to your July 11, 2006 letter regarding applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to unloading and storage of hazardous materials. In your letter you describe a scenario where Missouri Gas Energy transports a trailer loaded with twelve or more compressed natural gas cylinders. The trailer is delivered to a customer whose natural gas supply (via pipeline) has been interrupted. You ask if the driver must stay at the customer site and attend the cylinders while they are in use by your customer (i.e., until the customer’s natural gas supply is restored).
The HMR regulate the transportation of hazardous materials in commerce. Transportation of a hazardous material in commerce begins when a carrier takes physical possession of a hazardous material and continues until the package containing the hazardous material is delivered to the destination indicated on a shipping document. Therefore, if the shipping paper indicates that the destination of your compressed natural gas cylinders is the customer’s site, the cylinders are no longer subject to the HMR when the driver unloads the cylinders from the transport vehicle or disconnects the mode of power from the trailer and leaves the premises.
In your letter you also ask about the applicability of 49 CFR § 397.5 (Attendance and surveillance of motor vehicles) to your scenario. Section 397.5 falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA; http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/). For questions regarding § 397.5 please contact the Hazardous Materials Division of the FMCSA at 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590, or (202) 366-6121.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.
Sincerely,
Hattie L. Mitchell
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
171.11, 177.840
Regulation Sections
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| 177.840 | Class 2 (gases) materials |