Interpretation Response #24-0103
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: HOYER Global (USA), Inc.
Individual Name: Payton Den Herder
Location State: TX Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
March 31, 2025
Payton Den Herder
Sales Manager
HOYER Global (USA), Inc.
2100 Space Park Drive, Suite 200
Houston, TX 77058
Reference No. 24-0103
Dear Mr. den Herder:
This letter is in response to your October 23, 2024, email and subsequent email conversation requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to data plate marking requirements for United Nations (UN) portable tanks. Specifically, you describe a UN portable tank with a country of approval other than the United States (e.g., the Netherlands). The UN portable tank's design was approved by an approval agency authorized to review and approve the design of UN portable tanks by the competent authority of the country of approval. The approval agency has also been authorized to approve the design of a UN portable tank by the competent authority of the United States (i.e., the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)). The approval agency maintains valid approval numbers issued by both competent authorities. Is the UN portable tank's data plate (see 49 CFR § 178.274(i)) required to display the approval number assigned by PHMSA, in addition to the approval number of the country of approval?
No. The data plate of a UN portable tank marked with the United States as the country of approval must display the approval number issued by PHMSA to the approval agency. The data plate of a UN portable tank marked with a country other than the United States as the country of approval is subject to the regulations and requirements of that particular competent authority. UN portable tanks with a country of approval other than the United States may be used in the United States in accordance with 49 CFR § 173.24(d)—see previously issued Letters of Interpretation Reference Nos. 23-0004 and 13-0151, enclosed with this response. Moreover, regarding this scenario, the HMR does not restrict a person from permissively marking the approval number issued by PHMSA on the data plate.
I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Dirk Der Kinderen
Chief, Standards Development Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
173.24(d), 178.274(i)