The United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) responded in a February 8th letter to a Florida Highway Patrol (“FHP”) request for:
… clarification pertaining to the shipping description of diesel fuel reclassified as a “combustible liquid” that under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180).
The FHP noted that § 172.202(a)(3)(ii) of the Hazardous Materials Regulations states that hazard class need not be included for the entry combustible liquid “Cl, n.o.s”. FHP also listed in its letter two proper shipping descriptions for diesel fuel reclassified as combustible liquid as:
- NA 1993, Diesel Fuel, Combustible liquid, PG III
- NA 1993, Combustible Liquid n.o.s. (diesel fuel) Combustible liquid, PG III
FHP asked if the shipping description “NA 1993, Combustible liquid n.o.s.” must be used when taking the exception in § 172.202(a)(3)(ii). It also asked which of the above shipping descriptions is correct.
PHMSA stated that the answer to the first question is yes. The agency noted:
As specified in §172.202(a)(3)(ii) of the HMR, the hazard class need not be included for the specific entry “Combustible liquid, n.o.s.”
The agency also stated that the exception is specific only to the “combustible liquid n.o.s.” shipping description. As a result, “NA 1993, Combustible liquid n.o.s., PG III” was deemed the shipping description.
As to the second question, PHMSA noted that shipping description number two would be appropriate for diesel fuel reclassified as combustible liquid.
Click here to download a copy of the letter.
The Between the Lines blog is made available by Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. and the law firm publisher. The blog site is for educational purposes only, as well as to give general information and a general understanding of the law. This blog is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Use of this blog site does not create an attorney client relationship between you and Mitchell Williams or the blog site publisher. The Between the Lines blog site should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.