Alliance for Uniform Hazmat Transportation Procedures
Special Meeting of the Alliance Governing Board
Jefferson City, Missouri
October 4-5, 2005
Meeting Summary
The Alliance for Uniform Hazmat Transportation Procedures consists of seven states that have implemented uniform forms and procedures for the permitting and registration of motor carriers of hazardous materials pursuant to 49 USC 5119. This approach, called the Uniform Program (UP), has been adopted by Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. A governing board made up of member Alliance states oversees activities related to implementation and operation of the Uniform Program. The Alliance is governed by several documents including the final report of the Alliance working group to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and the Uniform Program Administrator’s Manual. The Alliance is staffed by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Attendees
Alliance States:
John Canty, Ohio
Mike Nechvatal, Illinois
Donna Redman, Nevada
Sherry Soliz, Oklahoma
Sherri Twidwell, Oklahoma (by phone)
Larry AuBuchon, Michigan (by phone)
Alan Abbott, West Virginia (by phone)
Jim Reed, NCSL, staff to the Alliance
Missouri:
Ben Goodin, MO Department of Transportation (MODOT)
Kim Burton, MODOT
Mark Biesemeyer, MODOT
Charles Gohring, MODOT
Darrell Chute, MODOT
Ann Vaught, MODOT
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA):
Bill Coleman, Missouri
Joseph Boyd, Missouri
Terry Pollard, Missouri
Loretta Bitner, Washington, D.C.
Industry:
Steve Ahrens, Missouri Propane Gas Association
Ronald Breau, Missouri Motor Carriers Association
Presentation of "Hazmat Alliance 101"
John Canty opened with introductions around the table. He then made a presentation on the Hazmat Alliance. It recounted the history of the Alliance and the elements of the current program. The impending equivalency with the federal safety permit and the new incentive grant program were covered as well. The presentation can be found at http://www.ncsl.org/slides/transportation/0605hazmat_jpg_files/frame.htm.
Questions ensued about the fees associated with the program at both the federal and state levels. Registration fees and per vehicle fees were explained. The processing fee will not be apportioned. How apportionment occurs was discussed. It was explained that hazardous waste states will go ahead and do the review for a hazardous materials carrier.
The availability of incentive grants was discussed briefly. It is on the agenda for tomorrow.
Benefits to the industry were discussed. The streamlined benefits of going to only one state for a permit that is valid in several states were emphasized. The biggest battle is that a new program will generate new fees. The way it has been implemented in existing states is that the same fee is being paid a different way. Sometimes, states actually collect less than before.
The extent of industry support of the Uniform Program was emphasized.
A benefit to industry that needs emphasis is that under the Alliance program, hazardous waste states can do the hazardous materials permit that is valid in other hazardous materials states, since the programs are identical.
The extent of federal preemptive authority was discussed. Ultimately, states will be forced to comply with some type of uniform program mandated federally. Having a state come in now can be a benefit and they can proactively participate in molding the program that FMCSA will eventually adopt as the national state program.
Another benefit to industry in Alliance states will be to receive the new federal permit without further review.
Missouri now has MODOT administer the permit program, but the fee goes to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
To forestall political opposition due to perceived unfairness, intrastate carriers could be exempted from fees though a review would still be done.
Specifics of Alliance Application
Copies of the interim Alliance Administrator’s Manual were distributed which included the newest version of the Alliance application. Sherry Soliz walked through the Alliance application. She covered Parts I and Part II. The nature of the Alliance review in each state was discussed. The use of the safety rating was discussed. It was stated that an equivalent state safety rating would be acceptable to use. How is an Alliance state notified that a carrier has become unsatisfactory? The carrier is required to convey this information to the Alliance. The federal permit only allows satisfactory carriers to be permitted.
E-mails are sent to member states when a bad actor is detected. The Alliance quarterly list of transporters is a resource for determining the status of particular carriers. Some carriers try to elude a bad history by moving across state lines.
John Canty explained Part III of the application. Only Minnesota, Ohio and Nevada use the Part III, which consists of additional disclosures concerning the applicant's management structure.
Sherry Soliz picked up with Part IV which consists of several certifications. It is submitted every year. Then she walked through the fee worksheet. In response to a question about fee distribution, she said that within 30 days of the end of a quarter, base states send a spreadsheet and a check to the other states. Ron Breau asked about how states notify each other about fee changes. To date, fees have not changed, thus a process is not currently in place. For example, IRP sends an e-mail to notify member states.
The short form contains only Parts I and IV. The long form is filed at the beginning and every three years. The short form is filed in years 2 and 3.
One Missouri participant mentioned how he sees a close connection between the application and meeting the goals of safety and security. He suggested that he could see a few additions that would further ensure security, especially Part III. It was noted that Missouri’s entry into the program now will enable it to exercise greater influence over program changes.
Minor application changes that were noted and agreed to by the Board include:
Part I--Change RSPA registration to PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration)
Part III-- change “firs” to first.
Administrator’s Manual
Jim Reed briefly described elements of the Alliance's Administrator’s Manual. Larry AuBuchon was asked to run a search for Missouri carriers that are in the program to get an idea of how many carriers it might have. A total of 86 carriers have a Missouri address and 16 are hazardous waste. Added to this will be intrastate carriers and those from surrounding states that are not in the program.
A short discussion of auditing ensued. Audit procedures that were approved by the Alliance Board at the January 2005 meeting in Ft. Lauderdale will be included in the next iteration of the manual. It was requested that the Alliance audit procedures be e-mailed to the group, which was done on November 22, 2005. The audit procedure is included as Appendix A to this summary.
Missouri Joining the Program
Criteria for obtaining incentive grants were discussed. Planning and implementation grants are available. It was noted that the available funds will not be available after March 31, 2005.
Ron Breau asked if a hazardous waste state would collect the fees for a hazardous materials carrier. He was referred to pages 3-7 and 3-8 where it says that the base state shall collect registration fees for all participating states.
FMCSA Presentation
Loretta Bitner gave a presentation on the federal hazardous materials safety permit. (See power point) To date, 1,265 applications have been received and 448 have been issued, 143 were temporary issuances, while 162 are pending, and 506 have been denied. Many of the denials related to a lack of PHMSA registration or lack of a "Satisfactory" safety rating. Those denied reapplied after obtaining the necessary registration or rating. 85 have been issued in Alliance states. In the proposed FMCSA-Alliance MOU, FMCSA would like to include a provision to ensure that the Alliance program changes when the federal program is revised. She also gave an update of the FMCSA-NCSL cooperative agreement that was extended to March 31, 2006.
She also spoke about the FMCSA Uniform Forms and Procedures Working Group set up by SAFETEA-LU. FMCSA will be the lead agency. In the first 18-month period (Phase I), FMCSA will:
- Establish the Working Group (WG)
- WG will develop a procedure for harmonizing existing state programs
- WG will produce a report containing their recommended uniform forms and procedures
A second 18-month period (Phase II) will involve preparation of a rulemaking based on the WG Report and the issuance of regulations. What FMCSA doesn’t know is how much funding will be allocated, when the funds will be allocated, how many months to implement Phase I, and how many months to implement Phase II.
The plan for implementation of the WG (if approved) would involve:
Phase I:
- Hiring a contractor to facilitate the WG activities and prepare the rulemaking
- Inviting the named parties to participate in the WG
- Holding four to six meetings of the WG
- The 1993 and 1996 reports of the Alliance will be used as the starting point for the discussions
- The contractor assisting the WG in preparing the final report to the Secretary.
Phase II:
- FMCSA HM Division Staff will work with the contractor to draft the rulemaking
- Navigate the FMCSA rulemaking process
- Issue regulations
State Reports
Oklahoma—40 carriers with hazardous waste credentials, one expired, one cancelled.
Michigan--85-90 hazardous waste carriers and 360 in the liquid industrial waste program. Larry AuBuchon mentioned that his district office has moved.
Illinois—90 hazardous waste carriers, $9,800 collected in fees this past quarter. All is working smoothly. Ben Goodin asked if he could have some ball park numbers on what fees would be to help sell the program up his chain of command, including an estimate of what other states would send. Then they could construct some scenarios based on what carriers would be base stating in Missouri.
West Virginia—314 carriers. The state is using the new applications and doing specialized hazardous materials checks 3-6 days per month. They have not found many issues with these carriers—a few lack shipping papers or do not have the Alliance credential. Citations are being issued to those in non-compliance.
Nevada—702 carriers, in the middle of renewals, 275 are completed. Nevada is trying to complete all renewals by the first of the year.
Ohio—2,400 hazardous materials carriers, 175 are hazardous waste. They are using the new application form. Quarterly renewals make this number of carriers manageable. Cross-check of inspections with Alliance registration list results in citations to many carriers who are improperly registered in Ohio.
A discussion of number of FTEs needed to run the state programs ensued. Examples include Nevada which uses 1.5 FTE and West Virginia, one FTE. In most Alliance states, employees who do the hazardous materials program also have other duties. Missouri is trying to determine the number of FTEs this program will take.
Missouri—Jan Scobey, Ben Goodin’s director at MODOT is very interested in the program. He said it was good to have the industry and FMCSA here today to share information. It’s possible that Missouri may not have to enact legislation. A legal opinion is under development to make a determination on this. Mike Nechvatal brought up the issue of the problem of state agencies losing money when switching to the Alliance fee program, something that Missouri should be aware of.
Ben Goodin asked that a letter of support be sent to Jan Scobey, MODOT from the Alliance, ATA, and FMSCA to help get the program rolling in Missouri. Also, he requested a copy of the letter Rich Moskowitz of ATA sent to his state motor carrier associations. Also, it was suggested to approach the Interested Parties group for a letter of support. Missouri Rep. Tom Meadows is interested in the program and should be approached to get his support.
NCSL report—NCSL has supported the Alliance Uniform Program since 1994. An FMCSA presentation was made by James Simmons to the NCSL Transportation Committee at the NCSL Annual Meeting in Seattle in August 2005. It was well received.
Transporter List
Two issues arose regarding the quarterly transporter list. The first is the problem of slowness of data being sent to Larry AuBuchon. States were urged to be timelier in their submittals. Also, it was asked if this could be done on a monthly basis. Most were not in favor of going from quarterly to monthly reporting. It was asked if there was a specific reason to do it and none were offered. John Canty moved to do it monthly but it died for lack of a second.
Alliance Board Meeting--Day Two
October 5, 2005
Chairman John Canty reconvened the Alliance Board meeting. The first item of business was recent outreach efforts.
Outreach
The outreach matrix was examined. The extent of state hazmat transportation programs in each state was discussed. Jim Reed will send out information on state programs and contact information. The possibility of Canadian provinces being involved was discussed. The state outreach matrix was examined on a state-by-state basis. The status of contacts was discussed and the matrix was updated.
Incentive Grant Policy and Procedures and Application
Jim Reed went over the draft incentive grant policy and procedure. An application is still under development. It was suggested that the MCSAP high priority grant application be used as a model. It was agreed to that the procedure and application be finalized by e-mail vote within 30 days. (This was done on unanimous Board e-mail vote on November 2-3, 2005. The policy and procedure paper and the application can be found at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/transportation/Alliancegrants.htm.)
Other Issues
Mike Nechvatal moved that a spot for county be added to the application. Illinois uses county for its database inventory system. The motion died for lack of a second.
Donna Redman asked that her application process be staggered and asked if any other states had an objection. It would have a slight impact on fees. It would help Nevada in terms of workload. There was no objection.
The new contact for Oklahoma will now be changed to Sherri Twidwell in all places that Sherry Soliz appears. Her phone number was given out.
It was suggested to add terrorism to list of crimes in Part III. The Board agreed to consider.
A conference call with the Alliance and FMCSA will be scheduled for late November or early December. The next Alliance meeting will be in conjunction with COHMED in San Diego January 25-27, 2005.
Mike Nechvatal recognized Sherry Soliz’s contributions to the Alliance as this is her last meeting. The Board formally thanked her for her service and she will be missed.
Sherry expressed her enjoyment of the time spent on Alliance activities. Missouri was thanked for their hospitality in hosting the meeting.
The meeting adjourned.
Post Meeting To-Do List
- Application changes--Sherry Soliz
- E-mail audit procedures--Jim Reed
- Provide fee numbers to Missouri, help construct scenarios--Alliance states
- Send letter supporting Alliance Program to Jan Scobey, MODOT--John Canty/Jim Reed, also ATA, and FMCSA
- Update outreach matrix--Jim Reed
- Send out info on state hazmat programs and contacts to Alliance states--Jim Reed
- Finalize incentive grant procedure and application, send out same to prospective states, post on web site--Alliance states/Jim Reed
- Hold Alliance - FMCSA conference call in late November--Jim Reed to arrange
(All done except #3 and 4 as of January 2006.)
 Hazmat Meetings
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