For and on behalf of numerous foreign businesses, I have been involved with submitting designated agent agreements pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 105.40 (“Agent Agreements”). In my experience, PHMSA issues a form notice of approval, entitled Pipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Agent Acknowledgement (the “Agent Acknowledgement”); as it explicitly states, the document evidences…
All too often, manufacturers create one fireworks device that is also suitable for many other effects or sizes. Indeed, series applications fall into one of two categories: (i) shell effects and (ii) shell dimension. PHMSA acknowledges that the hazardous properties of certain fireworks devices may be identical, and it also recognizes that the current policy…
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has recently issued a clarification of the prevailing fireworks policy regarding approvals or certifications for specialty devices. [Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0206; Notice No. 13-15; dated October 2, 2013]. Interestingly, this Agency may have deliberately elected to issue a clarification to bypass seeking public comment; PHMSA routinely seeks public comment…
Effective October 1, 2010, PHMSA may begin to issue violations for failure to institute new practices in order to fully comply with new rules and procedures. For instance, PHMSA is adopting new criteria for the 24-hour Emergency Response System (ERS). The new regulation requires shippers of hazardous materials to include their ChemTel issued ‘Contact Number’…
Most recently, in March 2013, PHMSA issued a safety guidance clarifying EX Classification Approvals with Expiration Dates, “as it applies to the manufacturing and the transportation of the firework devices.” (italics added). This explicitly means that the guidance distinguishes between transportation activities and manufacturing activities, and it does. Importantly, EX Approvals remain valid for items…
The industry has experienced an unprecedented growth in regulation and compliance matters, and PHMSA continues to lead the charge in sheer number of changes to its existing protocol and regulations. Since June 2011, PHMSA has released a series of clarifications and proposals that profoundly alter, and impact, trade practices. The most recent announcement is dated…
In response to a disturbing finding of the industry practice of transporting aerial shells alone, and without reloadable tubes, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently issued a formal guidance on the requirements for transporting an aerial shell kit with a reloadable tube as UN0336, 1.4G. Aerial shell kits are designed to operate…
Just when you thought it could not get any worse on the regulatory front, on the eve of the New Year, PHMSA released another clarification on its fireworks approval policy. In the process, it appears that PHMSA has both upended and compromised certain accepted industry practices of businesses located in the United States and, at…
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has recently issued a clarification of the prevailing fireworks policy regarding approvals or certifications for specialty devices. [Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0206; Notice No. 13-15; dated October 2, 2013]. Interestingly, this Agency may have deliberately elected to issue a clarification to bypass seeking public comment; PHMSA routinely seeks public comment…
This article examines PHMSA’s recent proposal to revise the HMR to allow DOT-approved fireworks certification agencies; see PHMSA 2010-0320 (HM-257), Fed. Reg. Vol. 77, No 169, 52636 et seq.. PHMSA is seeking comments regarding whether a two-track approach to securing approvals of explosives is both warranted and practical. One track is the current PHMSA approvals…
