[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR105.5]

[Page 7-8]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
 CHAPTER I--RESEARCH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
                             TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 105_HAZARDOUS MATERIALS PROGRAM DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
                          Subpart A_Definitions
 
Sec.  105.5  Definitions.


    (a) This part contains the definitions for certain words and phrases 
used throughout this subchapter (49 CFR parts 105 through 110). At the 
beginning of each subpart, the Research and Special Programs 
Administration (``RSPA'' or ``we'') will identify the defined terms that 
are used within the subpart--by listing them--and refer the reader to 
the definitions in this part. This way, readers will know that RSPA has 
given a term a precise meaning and will know where to look for it.
    (b) Terms used in this part are defined as follows:
    Associate Administrator means Associate Administrator for Hazardous 
Materials Safety, Research and Special Programs Administration.
    Approval means written consent, including a competent authority 
approval, from the Associate Administrator or other designated 
Department official, to perform a function that requires prior consent 
under subchapter C of this chapter (49 CFR parts 171 through 180).
    Competent Authority means a national agency that is responsible, 
under its national law, for the control or regulation of some aspect of 
hazardous materials (dangerous goods) transportation. Another term for 
Competent Authority is ``Appropriate authority'' which is used in the 
International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Technical 
Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. The 
Associate Administrator is the United States Competent Authority for 
purposes of 49 CFR part 107.
    Competent Authority Approval means an approval by the competent 
authority that is required under an international standard (for example, 
the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous 
Goods by Air and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code). Any 
of the following may be considered a competent authority approval if it 
satisfies the requirement of an international standard:
    (1) A specific regulation in subchapter A or C of this chapter.
    (2) An exemption or approval issued under subchapter A or C of this 
chapter.
    (3) A separate document issued to one or more persons by the 
Associate Administrator.
    Exemption means a document issued by the Associate Administrator 
under the authority of 49 U.S.C. 5117. The document permits a person to 
perform a function that is not otherwise permitted under subchapter A or 
C of this chapter, or other regulations issued under 49 U.S.C. 5101 et 
seq. (e.g., Federal Motor Carrier Safety routing requirements.)

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    Federal hazardous material transportation law means 49 U.S.C. 5101 
et seq.
    File or Filed means received by the appropriate RSPA or other 
designated office within the time specified in a regulation or 
rulemaking document.
    Hazardous material means a substance or material that the Secretary 
of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable 
risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and 
has designated as hazardous under section 5103 of Federal hazardous 
materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103). The term includes 
hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated 
temperature materials, materials designated as hazardous in the 
Hazardous Materials Table (see 49 CFR 172.101), and materials that meet 
the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of 
subchapter C of this chapter.
    Hazardous Materials Regulations or HMR means the regulations at 49 
CFR parts 171 through 180.
    Indian tribe has the same meaning given that term in section 4 of 
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
450b).
    Person means an individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, 
company, association, or joint-stock association (including any trustee, 
receiver, assignee, or similar representative); or a government or 
Indian tribe (or an agency or instrumentality of any government or 
Indian tribe) that transports a hazardous material to further a 
commercial enterprise or offers a hazardous material for transportation 
in commerce. Person does not include the following:
    (1) The United States Postal Service.
    (2) Any agency or instrumentality of the Federal government, for the 
purposes of 49 U.S.C. 5123 (civil penalties) and 5124 (criminal 
penalties).
    (3) Any government or Indian tribe (or an agency or instrumentality 
of any government or Indian tribe) that transports hazardous material 
for a governmental purpose.
    Political subdivision means a municipality; a public agency or other 
instrumentality of one or more States, municipalities, or other 
political body of a State; or a public corporation, board, or commission 
established under the laws of one or more States.
    Preemption determination means an administrative decision by the 
Associate Administrator that Federal hazardous materials law does or 
does not void a specific State, political subdivision, or Indian tribe 
requirement.
    Regulations issued under Federal hazardous material transportation 
law include this subchapter A (parts 105-110) and subchapter C (parts 
171-180) of this chapter, certain regulations in chapter I (United 
States Coast Guard) of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations, and in 
chapters III (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) and XII 
(Transportation Security Administration) of subtitle B of this title, as 
indicated by the authority citations therein.
    State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or any other 
territory or possession of the United States designated by the 
Secretary.
    Transports or Transportation means the movement of property and 
loading, unloading, or storage incidental to the movement.
    Waiver of Preemption means a decision by the Associate Administrator 
to forego preemption of a non-Federal requirement--that is, to allow a 
State, political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement to remain in 
effect. The non-Federal requirement must provide at least as much public 
protection as the Federal hazardous materials transportation law and the 
regulations issued under Federal hazardous materials transportation law, 
and may not unreasonably burden commerce.

[67 FR 42951, June 25, 2002, as amended at 68 FR 52846, Sept. 8, 2003]