Welding & Gases Today Outlines Special Permits Final Rules

Aug. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued two recent final rules that may affect gases and wedling distributor operations. GAWDA Consultant for Government Affairs, Human Resources and General Counsel Richard P. Schweitzer, Esq., outlines the impact of forthcoming regulations in “Special Permits, Enforcement Top DOT Agenda.” His article appears in the Summer 2011 issue of Welding & Gases Today, the leading magazine for the gases and welding equipment industry.

Special permits, formerly known as exemptions, are alternative methods for complying with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). PHMSA now requires each special permit application to include the name of the corporate CEO of the applicant, a point of contact for information about the special permit, a Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System identification number, and the address of every physical location where the special permit will be used (this might include multiple applicant locations and even customer facilities) that are known at the time of the application.

Effective May 1, 2011 applicants were able to apply for special permits online at the PHMSA website; however, and the information on an applicant’s locations may be saved in the data fields and reused for renewals or other SP applications. In addition, PHMSA has issued a new rule on procedures for issuing emergency orders (restrictions, prohibitions, recalls and out-of-service orders) to address unsafe conditions or practices posing an imminent hazard; opening packages to identify undeclared or non-compliant shipments when the person in possession of the package refuses a request to open it; and the temporary detention and inspection of potentially non-compliant packages. This new authority went into effect May 2, 2011.

To find out how these proposals will affect your company, read “Special Permits, Enforcement Top DOT Agenda” (http://www.weldingandgasestoday.org/index.php/2011/07/spe...) at Welding & Gases Today Online.  For more information, contact Devin O’Toole, content editor at Welding & Gases Today at devin@weldingandgasestoday.org or 315-445-2347.

About GAWDA
Founded in 1945, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its member journals (www.weldingandgasestoday.org), e-magazines, newsletters and industry wiki (www.gawdawiki.org), GAWDA connects suppliers of gases and manufacturers of related equipment as well as manufacturers of welding equipment and distribution leaders, to safely delivering optimal solutions to the users of those products. GAWDA publications are the industry’s voice for the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning welding equipment and products and services.