On February 5, 2013 the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the US DOT signed a Compromise Order finding DOT, Inc of Denver, CO had committed three violations of the Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR).  As part of the compromise agreement, DOT, Inc agreed to pay a civil penalty of $3,876 for the violations.  This amount is quite reasonable given the maximum possible civil penalty for these violations is $165,000.

This outcome had its beginning on September 27, 2011 when a PHMSA investigator conducted a compliance investigation at the facility.  The investigator reported three alleged violations of the HMR and discussed them with company representatives during an exit briefing.  The investigator’s report, when filed, resulted in a recommendation to initiate the civil penalty action.  A Notice of Probable Violation was issued for three violations of the HMR proposing a $5,390 civil penalty.  DOT, Inc.’s reply and corrective action resulted in a reduction of the proposed civil penalty to that finally agreed upon.

Violations of the HMR noted were:

1. Respondent represented, certified, and marked DOT specification cylinders as having been successfully retested, when Respondent failed to perform a complete visual inspection, in violation of 49 CFR 171.2(a), (c), (g), & (j) and §180.205(f).  $0 civil penalty for this violation.
2. Respondent represented, certified, and marked DOT specification cylinders as having been successfully retested, when Respondent failed to confirm the accuracy of the pressure indicating device to within 500 psi of the test pressure, in violation of 49 CFR 171.2(a), (c), (g), & (j) and §170.205(g)(3).  $2,568 for this violation.
3. Respondent allowed employees to perform functions subject to the HMR when the hazardous material employees had not received current training and testing, and Respondent did not maintain complete records of hazardous materials training, in violation of 49 CFR 171.2(a), (b), (e), and (f), and §172.702(a), (b), & (d) and §172.704(a), (b), and (d).  $1,308 for this violation.

Take note of the third violation as it indicates not only the absence of the required HazMat Employee Training but also that the Respondent did not maintain a complete set of records to document the training.  This is no surprise since the failure to train HazMat Employees and then to keep complete training records are the top two of the  US DOT’s six most frequently cited violations.

You may read here for the full Compromise Order from the PHMSA.

Compliance begins with training.  49 CFR 172, Subpart H requires you to train all of your HazMat Employees within 90 days of new employment or job responsibility and at least every three years after that.  My training will not only fulfill this regulatory requirement, but it will inform you and your employees of what they must do to perform their job duties in compliance with the regulations.  My Onsite Training goes further then this where for one low, flat fee I will come to your site and train all of your employees on just what they need to know to comply with the regulations.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me for a free training consultation.