Transportation Department, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
The Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., preempts California's reusability mandate for propane cylinders in California Public Resources Code, Sections 42395- 42395.2. The reusability mandate imposes localized design and manufacturing requirements on a container that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for use in the transportation of a hazardous material--specifically, propane--that are not substantively the same as the requirements in the HMR. The reusability mandate is also an obstacle to accomplishing and carrying out the HMTA. By banning a federally authorized, safety-compliant packaging based on localized waste management preferences, California creates a fragmented regulatory patchwork that undermines the primacy and uniformity of the Federal transportation safety framework.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA-2025-0776; PD-41(R)] AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of administrative determination of preemption. SUMMARY: The Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., preempts California's reusability mandate for propane cylinders in California Public Resources Code, Sections 42395-42395.2. The reusability mandate imposes localized design and manufacturing requirements on a container that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for use in the transportation of a hazardous material—specifically, propane—that are not substantively the same as the requirements in the HMR. The reusability mandate is also an obstacle to accomplishing and carrying out the HMTA. By banning a federally authorized, safety-compliant packaging based on localized waste management preferences, California creates a fragmented regulatory patchwork that undermines the primacy and uniformity of the Federal transportation safety framework. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samantha Vrscak, Office of Chief Counsel, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; Telephone No. 202-366-4400; Facsimile No. 202-366-7041. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (Worthington) applied fo…
Other Federal Register documents from the same docket.
Citation: 91 FR 57684
