Billing Code - PHMSA - Department of Transportation

Instructions.
Harmonization serves to facilitate international commerce; at the same time,
harmonization promotes the safety of people, property, and the environment by reducing
the potential for confusion and misunderstanding that could result if shippers and
transporters were required to comply with two or more conflicting sets of regulatory
requirements. While the intent of this rulemaking is to align the HMR with international
standards, we review and consider each amendment on its own merit based on its overall
impact on transportation safety and the economic implications associated with its adoption
into the HMR. Our goal is to harmonize without sacrificing the current HMR level of
safety and without imposing undue burdens on the regulated community. Thus, as
explained in the corresponding sections above, we are not harmonizing with certain
specific provisions of the UN Model Regulations, the IMDG Code, and the ICAO
Technical Instructions. Moreover, we are maintaining a number of current exceptions for
domestic transportation that should minimize the compliance burden on the regulated
community. Additionally, the following external agencies were consulted in the
development of this rule:
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of Interior
U.S. Department of Justice
2. 49 U.S.C. 5120(b) authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to ensure that, to
the extent practicable, regulations governing the transportation of hazardous materials in
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