Overview
ATA works to ensure laws and regulations governing the transportation of hazardous materials promote the safe and efficient movement of these materials. Such federal regulations should include the loading, unloading, and storage incidental to transportation of hazardous materials, as well as manage classifying, describing, packaging, marking, labeling, and placarding requirements for hazardous materials movements, and establishing guidelines for reporting HM incidents and for training. Such requirements should incorporate environmental, labor, and security concerns into the HM regulations by working collaboratively with other appropriate federal government agencies.
Security-Sensitive HazMat & Credentialing
ATA supports security-training information for all HM movement, elevated security requirements for moving security-sensitive hazmat, and efforts to rationalize duplicative security credentials required for the movement of hazmat and for accessing chemical facilities.
Equitable Enforcement
ATA seeks to properly direct the enforcement of violations of the Hazardous Materials Regulations such that shippers, rather than carriers, are held responsible for violations that driver could reasonably neither have noticed nor repaired.
HazMat Safety & Special Permits
ATA advocates for the use of FMCSA’s HM Safety Permit and the use of PHMSA Special Permits. We also support the incorporation of regularly used special permits into the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
Routing, Permitting, & Reporting Requirements
ATA supports HM routing and state permits for moving hazmat. We also work to combat state and local requirements that undermine the uniform interstate movement of hazmat.
Equipment
ATA advocates for HM-specific equipment including changes to the definition of a tank vehicle and efforts to prevent PHMSA’s issuing a regulation for the transportation of flammable liquids in cargo-tank wetlines.