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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 #19-0122

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: Smart-Hose Technologies

Individual Name: Mr. Daylen Borders

Location State: PA Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

May 27, 2020

Mr. Daylen Borders
Sales Engineer
Smart-Hose Technologies
701 Ashland Avenue
Folcroft, PA  19032

Reference No. 19-0122

Dear Mr. Borders:

This letter is in response to your October 16, 2019, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to hoses equipped with safety devices that permit a cargo tank motor vehicle (CTMV) to be loaded and unloaded without full time attendance by a qualified person during loading operations. You explain that your company engineers and manufactures specialized hoses, such as those described in Department of Transportation Special Permits (DOT-SPs) 13484 and 14447. Specifically, you ask whether the final rule issued under Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0042 (01/21/2016, 81 FR 3636) (HM-233F), "Hazardous Materials: Adoption of Special Permits," eliminates the need for these special permits by adopting the language they contain into the HMR.

The answer is yes. The HM-233F final rule amended § 177.834(i)(3) and (i)(4) of the HMR to permit loading or unloading "attendance" of a CTMV through the use of hoses equipped with cable connected wedges, plungers, or flapper valves located at each end of the hose that can stop the flow of product from both the source and the receiving tank within one second without human intervention in the event of a hose rupture, disconnection, or separation. These amended paragraphs also prescribe inspection requirements and operational controls for use of these hoses.

The amendments to § 177.834(i)(3) and (i)(4) do not affect the requirements in § 176.76(i) for cargo transport units packed or loaded with Division 2.1 (flammable) gas or Class 3 (flammable) liquid having a flashpoint below + 23 °C transported on deck. Additionally, § 177.840(p) prescribes the requirements to unload liquefied petroleum gas and anhydrous ammonia in metered delivery service and does not include a reference to the type of hoses in DOT-SPs 13484 and 14447. The description in § 177.834(i)(3)(i) of a qualified person attending a cargo tank loading or unloading operation does not apply to cargo tank loading or unloading requirements in §§ 177.840(p) or (q) or 177.837(d).

I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

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

177.834(i)(3) and (i)(4), 176.76(i), 177.840(p) or (q), 177.837(d), 177.834(i)(3)(i)

Regulation Sections