D.C. DELAYS HAZMAT BAN FOR MOTOR CARRIERS
The District of Columbia's
Department of Transportation has issued emergency regulations implementing
the Terrorism Prevention in Hazardous Materials Transportation Emergency
Act of 2005. The Act requires carriers transporting certain ultra-hazardous
materials within 2.2 miles of the Capitol to obtain a permit. Most
significantly, the D.C. DOT has determined that on April 11, 2005, the
hazmat restrictions will apply only to rail carriers; the restrictions will
apply to motor vehicle carriers "when legal issues are resolved."
Among the legal challenges to be resolved is ATA's preemption petition
challenging the D.C. ordinance as an impermissible routing restriction. The
new regulations contain the application procedures for the permits, the
enforcement and adjudication provisions and the schedule of fines. Copies
of the emergency regulations and the proposed permit application may be
accessed through http://dc.gov/indx.asp. For more information, contact Rich
Moskowitz at 703-838-1910 or rmoskowitz@trucking.org.
ATA TO PROPOSE REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS AT DOT
PUBLIC MEETING
ATA
will present recommendations before the U.S. Department of Transportation's
administrative leadership on April 12 to enhance their regulatory agenda.
The focus of the public meeting is to consider ways to make rules more
effective and less burdensome; identify rules that may be needed or no
longer needed; and help prioritize DOT's rulemaking activities. In the
limited time for presentation, ATA will offer several additions and changes
involving controlled substance testing procedures, hazmat incident
reporting, hours-of-service supporting documents requirements, commercial
vehicle lighting equipment interchangeability, hazmat permitting by states
and locales, and safety requirements for intermodal equipment providers.
For more information, contact Dave Potts at 703-838-1848 or
dpotts@trucking.org.
AFTC CHAIRMAN URGES SENATE PASSAGE OF AG EXEMPTION
LEGISLATION
ATA's
Agricultural and Food Transporters Conference Chairman, Greg Owens, has
urged the Senate to include a provision in its Highway Bill using language
in an amendment offered by Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS) that overwhelmingly
passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 9 by a bi-partisan vote
of 257-167. Owens called for the action in advance of Senate markup on
April 14 of the safety title for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and
Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005. "This provision, which is
similar to language included in the Senate highway bill last Congress, is
needed to safeguard the continuation of a necessary agricultural
transportation exemption for U.S. agriculture," Owens
said. Congress established an exemption to the hours-of-service rules for
the agriculture industry in 1995, " but more must be done to protect
this exemption to ensure that agricultural commodities and farm supplies
can continue to be transported to and from the farm during the peak
planting and harvesting seasons," he said. The Moran amendment would
provide more permanent protection for the agricultural exemption and more
clearly define the term 'agricultural commodity' to include feed, fiber,
and livestock in line with the definition used in the Agricultural Trade
Act of 1978 and the intent of Congress in 1995. "AFTC recognizes the
importance of this issue to our nation's agricultural community and
economy. It's essential that we meet our nation's food and fiber needs and
remain competitive in a global marketplace and I urge the Senate to include
the HOS agricultural exemption provision in the Senate highway bill this
year." For more information, contact Fletcher Hall at 703-838-7999 or
fhall@trucking.org.
ATA LITIGATION CENTER FORUM SET FOR JULY
The ATA Litigation
Center's Forum for Motor Carrier
General Counsels is set for July 24 to 27 in La Jolla, CA.
The educational seminar will focus on legal and policy issues of specific
interest to trucking industry attorneys (both in-house and outside
counsel), other trucking industry executives, and insurance professionals.
Included will be sessions on the federal hours-of-service rule,
cross-border operations, trucking labor law concerns, owner-operator
litigation, freight charge collection and freight claims issues, and a full
day symposium on issues related to defending highway accident cases. The
forum will feature two guest speakers: William Kristol, political analyst
and commentator and editor of The Weekly Standard , and former U.S. Senator
Alan Simpson. The forum will offer continuing legal education credits,
including ethics credits. Brochures are available online at
www.truckline.com/upcomingevents/ and may also be obtained from Kelli Brown
at 703-838-1857 or kbrown@trucking.org.
NEW ATA MEMBERS
ATA
has added the following companies as new members during the past week:
Douglas L. Myovich Trucking, Fresno, CA; F. D. McRae Trucking, New Castle,
DE; Jacobsen Transport, Wahpeton, ND; and SEK Transportation, Parson, KS.
For information on ATA membership call toll free 888-333-1759.
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