Interpretation Response #14-0178 ([South Carolina State Transport Police] [First Sergeant Dean Dill])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date: 06/26/2015

Company Name: South Carolina State Transport Police

Individual Name: First Sergeant Dean Dill

Location State: SC Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

June 26, 2015

First Sergeant Dean Dill
South Carolina State Transport Police
10311 Wilson Boulevard
Blythewood, SC 29016

Reference No. 14-0178

Dear First Sergeant Dill:

This is in response to your recent e-mail and telephone conversations with a member of my staff requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the marking requirements for multi-compartment cargo tanks containing petroleum distillate fuels. You state you encountered a four-compartment cargo tank with all of its compartments filled with " NA 1993, Diesel fuel, 3, PG III" that was marked with the identification number for "UN 1203, Gasoline, 3, PG II." You ask if this marking is permitted.

The answer is no. The regulatory text in former § 172.336(c)(6), currently listed as the fifth item in the table under § 172.336(c) (see 78 FR 65454), permits a compartmented cargo tank loaded with more than one liquid petroleum distillate fuel to display only the identification number of the fuel with the lowest flash point being transported. In your example, all of the compartments in the cargo tank were loaded with only one petroleum distillate fuel. Therefore, it must be marked with the " NA 1993" identification number.

You also state, according to the driver of the cargo tank, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) stated in its Reference No. 00-0208 clarification letter that marking the vehicle with " UN 1203" is permitted when all of its compartments contain " NA 1993" diesel fuel under former § 172.336(c)(6). You ask if the driver’s understanding of this letter is correct. The answer is no. The clarification letter PHMSA issued under Reference No. 00-0208 applies to a marking exception for the display of an identification number on a multi-unit cargo tank containing different as opposed to containing the same liquid petroleum distillate fuels in all of its tanks. Therefore, a multi-unit cargo tank that contains the same material, e.g., " UN 1993," in each compartment must be marked with the identification number " 1993."

I hope this information satisfies your request.

Sincerely,

T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

172.336(c)(6), 172.336(c)

Regulation Sections