USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

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

Interpretation Response #14-0113 ([Ms. Alisha Horst])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: Ms. Alisha Horst

Individual Name:

Location State: PA Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

September 19, 2014

Ms. Alisha Horst
575 Westfield Drive
New Holland, PA 17557

Reference No. 14-0113

Dear Ms. Horst:

This is in response to your March 28, 2014 letter to Mr. Magdy El-Sibaie, Associate Administrator, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), requesting clarification on the regulations for transporting hazardous waste under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180; see § 171.1, and § 171.8). Dr. El-Sibaie's Office forwarded your letter to PHMSA's Standards and Rulemaking Division for a response. In your letter, you ask why there are differences in the regulation of hazardous wastes between some states, instead of a nationwide standard of regulation for these materials.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency responsible for developing and issuing the United States' regulations on the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes. The EPA gives states the opportunity to have either the EPA or the state hazardous waste regulatory agency assume primary responsibility for implementing and enforcing a state's hazardous waste program. To learn which states have chosen to permit the federal EPA to manage their hazardous waste programs, you may contact EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response at telephone number (202) 566-0200, or view its website: http://www.epa.gov/wastes/laws-regs/regs-haz.htm, or write to US EPA, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (5305P), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460.

While the EPA regulates the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, PHMSA regulates the pre-transportation and transportation functions, movement, and loading, unloading, and storage incidental to the movement of hazardous materials that are transported in commerce within, to, or from the United States and its territories under the HMR (see § 171.1). The HMR define a “hazardous waste” as a hazardous material if it is subject to the EPA's Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest requirements, specified in 40 CFR Part 262 (see “hazardous waste” defined in § 171.8). The HMR require hazardous wastes to be properly classed, packaged, and described on a shipping paper and package marking when

transported in commerce. The HMR also require those persons preparing and transporting these materials for transportation to be hazmat and security trained in conformance with 49 CFR Part 172, Subparts H (Training) and I (Safety and Security Plans).

I hope this satisfies your request.

Sincerely,

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

171.1, 171.8

Regulation Sections