Before we begin…

• The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT/PHMSA) creates and enforces the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) for the transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat) to, from, or through the U.S.
• According to 49 CFR 171.8 of the HMR, a hazmat employer is “A person who employs or uses at least one hazmat employee on a full-time, part time, or temporary basis.”
• According to §171.8, a hazmat employee is any employee who is “Employed on a full-time, part time, or temporary basis by a hazmat employer and who in the course of such full time, part time or temporary employment directly affects hazardous materials transportation safety”.

According to §172.702 of the HMR, “A hazardous materials (HazMat) employer shall ensure that each of its hazmat employees is trained in accordance with the requirements” of the regulations. Training is required for any person engaged in the pre-transportation functions, meaning a function that is required to assure the safe transportation of a hazardous material in commerce, including —

• Determining the hazard class of a hazardous material.
• Selecting a hazardous materials packaging.
• Filling a hazardous materials packaging, including a bulk packaging.
• Securing a closure on a filled or partially filled hazardous materials package or container or on a package or container containing a residue of a hazardous material.
• Marking a package to indicate that it contains a hazardous material.
• Labeling a package to indicate that it contains a hazardous material.
• Preparing a shipping paper. Including the uniform hazardous waste manifest required by USEPA.
• Providing and maintaining emergency response information.
• Reviewing a shipping paper to verify compliance with the HMR or international equivalents.
• For each person importing a hazardous material into the United States, providing the shipper with timely and complete information as to the HMR requirements that will apply to the transportation of the material within the United States.

Read: Importing Hazardous Materials into the U.S.

• Certifying that a hazardous material is in proper condition for transportation in conformance with the requirements of the HMR.
• Loading, blocking, and bracing a hazardous materials package in a freight container or transport vehicle.
• Segregating a hazardous materials package in a freight container or transport vehicle from incompatible cargo.
• Selecting, providing, or affixing placards for a freight container or transport vehicle to indicate that it contains a hazardous material.

The Bullet:

Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, PHMSA decided to temporarily halt enforcement actions against shippers and carriers that are unable to comply with training requirements included in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR).  The notice is limited to recurrent training requirements and does not apply to all other HMR obligations or applicable laws for hazardous materials shippers and carriers (aka: hazardous materials employers or HazMat Employers.

Read the notice

For additional information on PHMSA operations during this public health emergency, please contact phmsapublicaffairs@dot.gov

Who:

• Notice signed by: William S. Schoonover / Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety/ Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
• Enforcement discretion will be exercised by the following which regulate every mode of HazMat transportation (air, highway, rail, & vessel):
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
  • Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
  • PHMSA
  • United States Coast Guard (USCG)

What:

• PHMSA gives notice that it will not take enforcement action against any HazMat Employer who is unable to provide recurrent training consistent with HMR training requirements.
• This notice is limited to the recurrent training requirements found in 49 CFR 172. 704(c)(2).  HazMat Employers must comply with all other obligations under the HMR and other applicable laws.
• Note:  this enforcement discretion applies solely to the requirement to provide recurrent HazMat Employee training at least once every three years pursuant to §172.407(c)(2).  It does not apply to the responsibility of the HazMat Employer to provide initial HazMat Employee training within 90 days of personnel performing a regulated function and to provide for direct supervision of untrained personnel during the 90 day period.  The regulations for initial HazMat Employee training are at 172.704(c)(1).
  

  I can provide initial and recurrent HazMat Employee training as a webinar.

Where:

• This enforcement discretion is applicable throughout the U.S. and to any activity subject to USDOT/PHMSA authority.

When:

• Issued March 25, 2020, in Washington D.C.
• This notice will remain in effect for 90 days from the date of issuance (June 25, 2020).
• UPDATE: June 24, 2020 USDOT/PHMSA announced and extension of this enforcement discretion until October 31, 2020. Read: Notice of Extension of Enforcement Policy Regarding Training Requirements

Why:

• PHMSA understands that many HazMat Employers may be experiencing difficulty in either obtaining or providing recurrent training as required by the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR, 49 CFR Parts 171-180) due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

How:

• As the agency with the authority to create and enforce regulations for the transportation in commerce of hazardous materials, USDOT/PHMSA has also the authority to create an enforcement discretion such as this one.

A little something more:

PHMSA reminds HazMat Employers that the HMR does not require training to be provided in a traditional classroom setting or through on-the-job training.  Any method of training delivery, including web based, self-paced computer instruction, remotely delivered classroom instruction, on-the-job training, or some combination of those methods that cover the required elements in 49 CFR 172 Subpart H are acceptable.  PHMSA encourages the utilization of any of these training methods to provide HazMat Employees with appropriate recurrent training even if testing is not possible.

Something Else:

The notice twice refers to “recurrent training” and makes no mention of initial training.  Further, the first sentence of the last paragraph reads,

This notice is limited to the recurrent training requirements found in 49 CFR 172. 704(c)(2).

That statement excludes the requirements of 49 CFR 172.704(c)(1) for the HazMat Employer to provide initial training within 90 days of a HazMat Employee performing a regulated function and to ensure the HazMat Employee performs any regulated functions under the direct supervision of a trained and knowledgeable HazMat Employee.

A question from an employee of a utility district (01.20.17):

A municipal utility district uses chlorine cylinders to treat drinking water. The cylinders are leased and returned to the vendor for refill with a small amount of residual chlorine under pressure.

In your opinion would any of these activities define the municipal utility district employees as an offer/shipper under DOT rules requiring triannual training?

-Disconnecting cylinders from the treatment process
-Marking the cylinders as “empty”
-Affixing the correct cap to the cylinder
-Moving the cylinder to a desgnated location for pickup by the vendor
-Inspecting cylinders for damage prior to movement into the designated area

Thanks

Before I had a chance to reply he added this:

I wanted add one more employee activity to the scenario I emailed earlier.

-Employees inspecting cylinders for damaged hazmat labels and affixing a replacement label.

Thanks

My reply that same day:

OK, that’s a really good question(s) and one that may not have a clear-cut answer, but I will do my best.  Please see below:

The requirement for initial and triennial training of HazMat Employees can be found within the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) at 49 CFR 172, subpart H. Requirements include:

• Provide initial training within ninety (90) days of employment as a HazMat Employee or change of job function to those of a HazMat Employee.
• Prior to receiving initial training HazMat Employee must be under the direct supervision of a trained and knowledgeable person while performing the job function of a HazMat Employee.
• Recurrent training must be provided within three (3) years of the initial training date.
• HazMat Employee training must include the following:
  • General Awareness/Familiarization
  • Function Specific Responsibilities
  • Safety
  • Security General Awareness
  • In-Depth Security (if applicable)
  • Safe Driver (if applicable)
• HazMat Employee training must include a test.

What you may not know is that there are other training requirements specific to persons who transport HazMat by a particular mode of transportation.  These are identified below.

• 49 CFR 175.20: each HazMat Employee involved in the transportation by air of a HazMat must receive HazMat Employee training and the training required by 14 CFR parts 121 and 135.
• 49 CFR 177.800 and §177.816: each HazMat Employee that operates a motor vehicle over a public roadway for the transport of HazMat must receive HazMat Employee training as well as training on the following:
  • The requirements of §177.
  • The applicable regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle at §390 through §397.
  • Driver training must include the subjects specified at §177.816.

• 49 CFR 176.13: each HazMat Employee involved in the transportation of a HazMat by vessel must receive HazMat Employee training as well as receive training on the applicable requirements of §176.
• Interestingly, there are no modal-specific training requirements for the transportation of HazMat by rail within the HMR.

The above training is not required for those who ship or receive hazardous materials but is intended for those who take part in the HazMat transportation by the particular mode.  For example, the personnel at your shipping dock require solely HazMat Employee training while the truck driver who loads and transports the HazMat to its destination requires HazMat Employee training as well as the modal-specific training requirements of 49 CFR Part 177.

PHMSA’s Hazardous Materials Safety Assistance Team conducts workshops specialized to meet the needs of industry or the public safety community. These free one-day events are scheduled across the nation (see below).

The Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) specify requirements for the safe and secure transportation of hazardous materials in commerce by rail car, aircraft, vessel, and motor vehicle. These comprehensive regulations govern transportation-related activities by offerors (e.g., shippers, brokers, forwarding agents, freight forwarders, and warehousers); carriers (e.g., common, contract, and private); packaging manufacturers, reconditioners, testers, and retesters; and independent inspection agencies.

The HMR apply to each person who performs, or causes to be performed, functions related to the transportation of hazardous materials such as determination of, and compliance with, basic conditions for offering; filling packages; marking and labeling packages; preparing shipping papers; handling, loading, securing and segregating packages within a transport vehicle, freight container or cargo hold; and transporting hazardous materials.

This free one-day workshop provides an overview of how to use the HMR and a summary of many of the requirements found in the HMR which can affect transportation safety to include: Training Requirements, Packaging, Hazard Communications, and Security.

Who should attend?

Anyone who offers or transports hazardous materials in commerce or has a desire to learn more about US DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations.

What does it cost?

Nothing.  There is no cost for this one-day workshop on the hazardous material regulations.  It is sponsored by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Is prior registration required?

Yes, please register yourself and any others you wish to attend with you.  Information about the venues for the workshops and to register can be found here:  Registration page for PHMSA HazMat Transportation One-Day Workshops in 2015.

What information is covered at the one-day workshops?

The transportation workshops provide a basic overview of the regulatory requirements – what they are, how they apply, and how to comply with them, for shipping and transporting Hazardous Materials. The workshops address the same information as the Hazmat Basics track given at the Multimodal Seminars and include overviews of the Training and Security Requirements.

Will attendance at this PHMSA workshop fulfill my HazMat Employee training requirements (initial and/or triennial)?

Likely not, since the PHMSA workshop does not include a test, which is a requirement of HazMat Employee training per 49 CFR 172.702(d).  Also, the requirement to provide Function Specific Training at 49 CFR 172.704(a)(2) may be difficult to meet given the general nature of the PHMSA workshop.  However, a HazMat Employer may use a PHMSA workshop as the basis for his/her HazMat Employee training and may meet the regulatory requirements by providing any additional Function Specific Training that may be necessary and by administering a test (either written or verbal).  The final requirement would be to document the completion of the training per the requirements of 49 CFR 172.704(d).

Where and when are the PHMSA workshops being held?

Currently there are 30 workshops scheduled through September 2015.  Check back to the PHMSA website (Seminars, Workshops, and Meetings) for up-to-date information.

These PHMSA workshops are a great learning opportunity for all experience and knowledge-levels of HazMat Employees.  If this isn’t enough for you, consider the PHMSA’s two-day multimodal seminars.  I will definitely attend at least one of these workshops in 2015, and I hope you do as well.  You will likely come away with an improved knowledge of the HMR including the requirement to provide training for all of your HazMat Employees.  That’s where I come in.  Contact me for your mandatory HazMat Employee training and your Hazardous Waste Personnel (RCRA) training as well.