CFR is the abbreviation for "Code of Federal Regulations." CFR 49 ? Transportation, contains nine volumes that cover all forms of surface transportation and transportation security, including: pipelines; railroads, both passenger and freight railways, waterways; cars, trucking, and highways. The nine volumes are:
Within 49 CFR there are 338 parts. The numbers in parenthesis above are the range of part numbers available for use within that section.
The Office of the Federal Register National Archives and Records Administration published 49 CFR in book form. That book contains 907 pages. Yes, there are a lot of regulations in 49 CFR, so any summary can only look at a small part of this CFR.
Important parts of CFR 49 are the regulations covering the transportation of dangerous goods. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 49 CFR 171 covers the transportation of hazardous materials in commerce, and:
This means that both those transporting hazardous materials in commerce, as well as those offering hazardous materials to be transported, are subject to these regulations.
49 CFR 171.2(a) states:
No person may offer or accept a hazardous material for transportation in commerce unless that person is registered in conformance with subpart G of Part 107 of this chapter, if applicable, and the hazardous material is properly classed, described, packaged, marked, labeled, and in condition for shipment as required or authorized...
Four words are underlined in the above paragraph: person, offer (sometimes stated as the shipper), accept, and commerce. These are four key words because they define who is subject to the 49 CFR regulations ? all people who ship (offer), or transport (accept) hazardous materials in a commercial transaction.
Are there any exceptions to this?
Even Federal Agencies, including the Department of Defense, are considered those that "offer" when they ship hazardous materials by commercial carriers.
A government agency may use their own transportation to move a hazardous material. In that case the agency is considered a commercial carrier, and the shipment is subject to 49 CFR. What this means is that all shipments of hazardous materials, whether by rail, truck, or pipeline, are regulated by 49 CFR.
The only time a shipment of hazardous material is not covered by 49 CFR is when the military ships hazardous materials using their own vehicles. However, even those may still be subject to state regulation as a result of regulations governing the use of state and local roads.
When hazardous materials are being transported, a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit (HMSP) must be obtained prior to transportation of any of the following:
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