Groups Question Proposed Increase for PHMSA’s Hazmat Program

wo trucking groups expressed reservations last week over a Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration proposal to raise the annual registration fee for a hazardous material safety program.

In August, PHMSA proposed raising the registration fee for hazmat haulers that do not qualify as a small business or nonprofit organization in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness program. The registration fee would rise to $1,975 from $975 a year, plus a $25 administrative fee, for the 2007-08 registration year. It would then rise to $2,975 a year, plus the administrative fee, beginning in the 2008-09 registration year.

PHMSA said the increase is necessary because the Bush administration’s fiscal 2007 budget called for the program to issue $28 million in grants.