Federal law blocks District of Columbia's local hazmat rule

A unit of the Department of Transportation ruled last week that federal regulations preempt an attempt by the District of Columbia to prohibit trucks from carrying hazardous materials within 2.2 miles of the U.S. Capitol building. In a Federal Register notice published April 10, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it agrees with a petition filed by the American Trucking Associations that asserts that the District enacted its ban without regard to the procedures set forth in federal hazmat routing regulations. As a result, FMCSA says the 1990 Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act preempts the local ordinance. The administration ruled that the District failed to comply with a number of procedural rules, such as providing a notice and comment period and developing a risk analysis of alternative routes. "From our perspective, it's an appropriate decision because FMCSA looked at the District's ordinance and determined that it is preempted under federal hazmat law," says Thomas E. Schick, senior director of distribution for the American Chemistry Council. He says the ruling does not affect a pending lawsuit in which the railroad industry and shipper organizations are asking a U.S. district court to overturn the District's ordinance, charging it would interfere with interstate commerce and set a precedent leading to a patchwork of similar laws in other regions.