Question (12.08.20):

Hi Daniel,

I enjoy reading your articles, find them concise and easy to interpret. I was reading your piece on the government employee exemption, and wanted to get your opinion on something. Since the word “commerce” seems to be an operative word here, would you consider the transportation of hazmat by a non-government company on public roads from one university building to another “in commerce”? The materials are not being sold, but rather just moved to a new building so the old one can be renovated. I assume that since we would be giving money to the vendor to transport the hazmat, even if it is just ½ mile up the road, that this would be considered in commerce, but just wanted to check with someone else. I know we could transport them with our university vehicles without complying, but we just don’t have the manpower right now. I appreciate your input on this, thanks again,

Kind Regards,

My answer:

Thank you for contacting me. Please see below.

The transport of HazMat by a private company for a government agency is considered to be “in commerce” and therefore subject to all USDOT regulations.

It is not eligible for the Government Employee Exemption.

You are correct that a you may transport some HazMat yourself as a private motor carrier for a non-transportation related business under the Materials of Trade Exception.

That seems to answer your question.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

After a pause of almost three months, he provided an update on March 02, 2021:

And just an update as far as this goes. I spoke with USDOT/PHMSA about this some, and what I understand is acceptable, which we plan on doing, is having our local university police temporarily block off access to the public road that the vendor would use to transport chemicals from one building to the next to get around DOT regs. It is about ¼ a mile, so not far at all. The difference in price for packing to DOT vs. just using best management practices is huge. We decided to contract this out rather than use our university vehicles to transport, which we could obviously do without DOT if we wanted. All happening in September or October, and can let you know how it all goes down. Take care,

And my confirmation:

Correct, per 49 CFR 171.1(d)(4) movement by motor vehicle is not subject to the HazMat Regulations if access to the public road is restricted by signals, lights, gates, or similar controls.