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Under provisions of Part 107, Subpart B of the Hazardous Materials Regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has authority to grant special permits or administrative relief from the Hazardous Materials Regulations based on equivalent levels of safety as provided in the regulations, or levels of safety consistent with the policy of the Transportation Safety Act. Often such special permits will allow, for example, a particular hazardous material to be shipped in a packaging that is not specified by the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
Scope
Applications for special permits are most often submitted by the shipper for a given product or class of product. However, other applications are submitted by package manufacturers with a packaging not currently authorized by the regulations but which they feel meet the needs of shippers and still offer the same degree of safety as existing authorized packagings for the same types of materials.
Regulatory citations
- Part 107, Subpart B — Special permits
Key definitions
- None
Summary of requirements
It is under Part 107 that relief from particular sections of the Hazardous Materials Regulations may be obtained. Such special permits are based on the applicant(s) ability to demonstrate that a special provision achieves a level of safety at least equal to that required by the regulations, or if a required safety level does not exist, is consistent with the public interest.
Special permits are granted for a given period of time and must be renewed periodically. In order to provide sufficient time for consideration, the request for renewal is to be submitted at least 60 days prior to the expiration date of the special permit.
After a packaging authorized under a special permit has proven itself to meet the safety standards of the regulations, the Office of Hazardous Materials Standards may adopt the special permit as a rule of general application through incorporation into the regulations.
Many packaging special permits issued to shippers contain special instructions for the carrier. In such instances, the shipper is required to furnish a copy of the special permit to the carrier.