RSPA Delays Implementation of New Hazmat Regulation

The Research and Special Programs Administration said May 28 it was delaying the effective date for rules that some trucking industry experts said would have hurt the hazardous material-hauling sector.

The rule, which would have allowed other government agencies to regulate some aspects of hazmat transportation, was slated to go into effect on Oct. 1, but will now be delayed until Jan. 1, 2005, the Department of Transportation’s RSPA said in a Federal Register notice.

“We had to push back the date because we got 14 appeals from when we put out the initial notice,” RSPA spokesman Damon Hill told Transport Topics June 2. “We wanted to have sufficient time to address the appeals and coordinate with the appropriate government agencies.”

Among the agencies Hill said RSPA would be coordinating with were the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The original rule was published Oct. 30, 2003, and drew criticism almost immediately.

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