Hazardous Materials Transportation Act

Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
Long title	Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975
Acronyms (colloquial)	HMTA
Enacted by	the 93rd United States Congress
Effective	January 3, 1975
Citations
Public law	P.L. 93-633
Statutes at Large	88 Stat. 2156
Codification
Acts amended	Hazardous Material Transportation Control Act of 1970
Titles amended	49 (Transportation)
U.S.C. sections created	49 U.S.C. §§ 5101–5127
Legislative history
	Signed into law by President Gerald Ford on January 3, 1975;
Major amendments
	The Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act of 1990; Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act of 1994

The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), enacted in 1975, is the principal federal law in the United States regulating the transportation of hazardous materials. Its purpose is to "protect against the risks to life, property, and the environment that are inherent in the transportation of hazardous material in intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce" under the authority of the United States Secretary of Transportation. ^[1]

The Act was passed as a means to improve the uniformity of existing regulations for transporting hazardous materials and to prevent spills and illegal dumping endangering the public and the environment, a problem exacerbated by uncoordinated and fragmented regulations.^[2] Regulations are enforced through four key provisions encompassing federal standards under Title 49 of the United States Code:

Procedures and policies
Material designations & labeling
Packaging requirements
Operational rules

Violation of the HMTA regulations can result in civil or criminal penalties, unless a special permit is granted under the discretion of the Secretary of Transportation.^[3]

^ "49 U.S.C." Retrieved 28 March 2013. et seq.
^ Cite error: The named reference hmtahistory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ U.S. Department of Transportation. "Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Law Secs. 5116 to 5119". Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Retrieved 19 April 2013.

[title49-1] "49 U.S.C." Retrieved 28 March 2013. et seq.

[hmtahistory-2] Cite error: The named reference hmtahistory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[permits-3] U.S. Department of Transportation. "Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Law Secs. 5116 to 5119". Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Retrieved 19 April 2013.

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