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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Interpretation Response #13-0021 ([DHS – Transportation Security Administration] [Mr. William B. Thomas])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: DHS – Transportation Security Administration

Individual Name: Mr. William B. Thomas

Location State: FL Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

February 8, 2013     

 

                                      

Mr. William B. Thomas
DHS – Transportation Security Administration
Counsel for Orlando FSD & FAM SAC, Jacksonville FSD
5850 T.G. Lee Boulevard, Suite 610
Orlando, FL 32822-4048

Reference No.: 13-0021

Dear Mr. Thomas:

This is in response to your August 21, 2012 email to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to acceptance and inspection requirements when a rail carrier accepts a rail car in interchange from another rail carrier.  You also describe a scenario in which a carrier accepts a rail car placarded for hazardous material but is unaware they are transporting a hazardous material due to receipt of an incorrect Standard Transportation Commodity Classification (STCC) and are seeking clarification of the carriers responsibilities.

As identified in §174.24(a), a person may not accept a hazardous material for transportation or transport a hazardous material by rail unless that person receives a shipping paper prepared in accordance Part 172, Subpart C.  In addition, §174.26(a) requires the train crew must have a document that reflects the current position in the train of each rail car containing a hazardous material and §174.26(b) requires that a member of the crew of a train transporting a hazardous material must have a copy of a document for the hazardous material being transported showing the information required by Part 172, including the requirements in §172.604(b) applicable to emergency response information.

Section 174.9(a) specifies that at each location where a hazardous material is accepted for transportation or placed in a train, the carrier must inspect each rail car containing the hazardous material, at ground level, for required markings, labels, placards, securement of closures, and leakage.  Section 174.9(b) requires that for a rail car containing an amount of hazardous material requiring placarding, the carrier must visually inspect the rail car at ground level for signs of tampering and §174.9(c) prohibits a carrier from transporting a rail car until the deficiencies have been corrected.

An inspection required by §174.9 provides an opportunity for a rail carrier to identify any discrepancies between the shipping paper in the carriers possession and the placards and/or markings displayed on the rail car prior to transporting.

In your scenario, a carrier accepted a rail car placarded for hazardous material but did not receive the accompanying shipment information due to receipt of an incorrect STCC that failed to indicate the presence of a hazardous material and therefore were unaware of the hazardous material being transported.  The accepting carrier claims that per accepted railroad industry practice, they can solely rely on the STCC from the shipper when determining if the rail car contains hazardous material and had no duty to further investigate. 

Although the use of STCC codes via an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a method utilized in the railroad industry for providing shipment information, the HMR do not contemplate or require the use of STCC codes. The carrier's claim that the receipt of an inaccurate STCC exempts them from any part the provisions set forth in §§174.9, 174.24 or 174.26 is incorrect.  As provided above, the HMR do require that (1) the carrier receive a shipping paper prior to acceptance and (2) the carrier must visually inspect each rail car containing a placard.  In the situation of a rail car that is displaying a hazardous material placard but the carrier's shipping paper or system information does not indicate the presence of a hazardous material, it imposes a duty of the accepting carrier to inquire further and to reject the shipment if it is improperly described (see Appendix B to 49 CFR Part 209 referencing §174.24(a)).  Further, a rail car that is placarded as containing a hazardous material provides notice to the receiving carrier as to the contents contained within and should be observed during inspection as required by §174.9.  If a carrier were to forward a placarded rail car in transportation without a proper shipping paper, the carrier could be subject to a civil penalty enforcement action for violation of §174.24(a).

I trust this satisfies your inquiry.  Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Charles Betts
Director          
Standards and Rulemaking Division

174.9, 174.24, 174.26

Regulation Sections