Today the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (78 FR
59328-59333) revising the definition of ‘tank vehicle’ for the purpose of
determining which Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) holders are required to
have a tank vehicle endorsement. This is being done to align
the regulatory language with the 2012 guidance document on the matter.
Rule Summary
The rule would modify the definition of ‘tank vehicle’ in 49
CFR 383.5 to clarify two points:
• That the quantity amounts apply
regardless of the method of tank securement; and
• That the transportation of tanks
manifested as empty or as residue, provided they are actually empty or contain
only residue, does not require the driver to have a tank endorsement.
The preamble discussion
notes that this new definition clearly means that transportation of multiple IBCs
(greater than 119 gallons) that contain an aggregate capacity of 1,000 gallons,
providing they are not empty or just contain residues, will require the driver
to have a tank vehicle endorsement. This requirement may specifically affect
LTL drivers.
Public Feedback
FMCSA is soliciting public comments on this proposed rule.
Comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # FMCSA-2013-0140)
and should be submitted by November 25th, 2013.
Commentary: While
this is not really new {it was stated in a guidance document published in the
Federal Register on May 12, 2012 (76 FR 26854)},
this will have at least temporary effect of further reducing the number of
drivers that allowed to carry chemical shipments if/when it goes into effect. I
would suspect that it will have the greatest impact on LTL carriers.
BTW: This rule
was not published in the latest Unified Agenda nor was it apparently reviewed
by the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
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