Texas Tank Truck Carriers Association, Inc.

Circular Letter No. 1251

September 7, 1998

· RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS OIL & GAS WASTE PERMIT, MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN RCT & TNRCC

· UPDATE ON COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE COMPULSORY INSPECTION PROGRAM

· DPS: LICENSE & WEIGHT REORGANIZATION; COMPLIANCE REVIEWS AND WEIGH STATIONS

· TXDOT REPORT

· MAPS ON TEXAS CLEAN AIR STRATEGY PROPOSED REGIONAL VOC ZONE, CLEANER BURNING GASOLINE ZONE, AND PROPOSED REGIONAL NOX ZONE

At our recent quarterly meeting on August 27, 1998, we had guest speakers including Mr. Bart Sims, Manager of Hazardous Waste and Waste Minimization for Environmental Services, and Leslie Savage, Assistant Director of Environmental Services, both from the Railroad Commission of Texas; Major Lester Mills, Traffic Law Enforcement, Texas Department of Public Safety; and Mr. Lawrance Smith, Director of the Motor Carrier Division, Texas Department of Transportation. The major points of their presentations are included in this circular letter along with the handouts.

RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS OIL & GAS WASTE PERMIT

Mr. Bart Sims of the RCT prepared a paper which covers the Memorandum of Understanding between the RCT and TNRCC concerning the division of jurisdiction among the two agencies over waste materials related to oil and gas development, production and refining. We have attached his four-page summary along with the complete text of the Memorandum of Understanding. In future circular letters, we will discuss specific details as they affect our member carriers. What we have included in this circular is an excellent summary and should bring you up to date. Any specific questions or problems should be directed our Association offices for further assistance.

UPDATE ON COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE COMPULSORY INSPECTION PROGRAM

The DPS is very active on roadside inspections. In 1997, it conducted 105,474; there were 13,100 (11%) drivers put out of service; and 27,765 (23%) vehicles put out of service. These averages are above the national average. During the first six months of 1998, the DPS has conducted 60,289 roadside inspections with 6,259 (11%) drivers put out of service; and 14,525 (24.1%) vehicles put out of service. They estimate that there will be 120,000 inspections and that they will be slightly above the national average.

Since we have had some inquiries on the compulsory inspection program in Texas, we are attaching a summary which gives the history of the program as well as the current application. In the summary we list all of the states and provinces which have been certified by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as meeting the requirements of 49 CFR 396.23.

If your vehicle has Texas plates, you must have a Texas inspection, or an inspection from one of the approved jurisdictions. You may not conduct a self-inspection in order to qualify.

For vehicles registered in states that are not covered by the reciprocity agreement, carriers may conduct self-inspection programs under the FHWA guidelines which will be accepted in Texas. This only applies to vehicles which are registered in states that do not have reciprocity with Texas.

The Texas Department of Public Safety adopted an amendment to §23.101 and §23.102 (acceptance of out-of-state commercial vehicle inspection certificates) in accordance with the mandate from SB 1486, passed during the 75th Session of the Texas Legislature.

A new §23.102 was necessary in order to establish procedures that would provide an owner or operator of a Texas-registered commercial vehicle and opportunity to comply with the provisions of the commercial vehicle inspection requirements in Texas.

The major provisions of §23.101 concerning commercial motor vehicle compulsory inspection program are as follows:

1. All commercial motor vehicles registered in this state shall be required to pass an annual inspection of all safety equipment required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations on or before the expiration of the current state inspection certificate and not later than December 31, 1994.

2. All commercial motor vehicles required to be inspected under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations are also subject to the regular state inspection requirements as provided in V.A.T.S. Article 6701d.

3. A unique inspection certificate is issued by the department to designate that the vehicle has met the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and state inspection requirements.

Section 23.102 refers to the acceptance of out-of-state commercial vehicle inspection certificates.

1. Acceptance of commercial vehicle inspection certificates issued outside of Texas require a valid commercial vehicle inspection certificate issued in a jurisdiction having an inspection program certified by FHWA 49 CFR 396.23.

2. A commercial vehicle which is required to be registered in Texas will be required to be inspected at an official commercial vehicle inspection station and obtain a vehicle identification certificate, Form VI-30-A. Valid out-of-state inspection certificates will not be honored on commercial vehicles required to be registered.

3. Jurisdictions certified under the provisions of Title 49 CFR 396.23 are listed in the attached paper.

DPS LICENSE & WEIGHT REORGANIZATION

We have included an updated map and registry of the Texas Department of Public Safety License and Weight Services. If you have any specific problems, you should first contact the department in your region. If you have problems concerning uniformity of enforcement, please contact the Association offices.

COMPLIANCE REVIEWS

The DPS is actively conducting compliance reviews. They have created an intrastate version of the Safestat list which Major Mills indicates is still in the works. Currently there are 17 cities in the program who have trained officers under the DPS guidance. Three cities are going to opt out of the program. They are Deer Park, Eagle Pass and Del Rio. Major Mills indicates that the DPS may seek oversight authority over the cities in the next legislative session.

We have supported this position because uniformity in the application of enforcement is crucial.

Major Mills also encourages everyone to keep a sharp lookout on their compliance review reports. In other words, get a carrier profile and review it often. Any errors should be corrected immediately and it is important to correct these errors before they get in to the Washington DOT program where it is traditionally more difficult to amend.

WEIGH STATIONS

Several cities are attempting to create new weigh stations. For example, Austin and Pasadena. One of the objectives of weigh stations is to create more revenue for the city, but under the program, the city is limited to 110% of the cost of the program. Major Mills also indicates there have been some calls from the sheriffs and constables to get in to the program, but the statute limits it to municipalities.

We encourage members to notify the Association immediately of any inspections that are not uniform with the federal requirements. We will also assist any member in amending their compliance review report with DPS and U.S. DOT.

TXDOT REPORT

We have included a one-page summary showing the major differences to Texas DOT under the new TEA-21 as compared to the old ISTEA. The bottom line is Texas will get a little bit more money under the TEA-21.

Lawrance Smith, Director of the Motor Carrier Division at TxDOT, encouraged us to use

1-800-299-1700 to get direct information from TxDOT. By pressing 8, you can also get directly to the DPS and press any region number in order to get the main office of the DPS regions.

Recently, the Commissioner of Transportation for the Texas Transportation Commission testified before the Senate Interim Committee on Transportation for the State of Texas. We have included a copy of that report. The major points of interest that affect the tank carrier industry are as follows:

1. The point of motor fuel tax collection. It is proposed to move the point of collection of our state motor fuel taxes from the retail to the wholesale level in the distribution process. TxDOT anticipates that would generate between $ 50 and $ 100 million per year in additional revenue.

2. Registration fees. There will be an effort to increase the registration fees by $ 10 for each class, which would raise $ 125 to $ 130 million per year.

3. Overweight truck permits. The 2060 permit (also known as the 1547 permit) allows for overweight permits issued for specific counties. It is anticipated that TxDOT will seek an increase in the permit fee, but that the permit itself will not be attacked. The one objection that TxDOT has, and has had historically, is the use of the permit over load zone bridges. Therefore, we can expect some discussion of this problem during the next legislative session.

Some of the counties in East Texas have combined and will seek a change in the 2060 permitting to require carriers to notify the county of any vehicles that may be using the permit so that the county can route them properly.

4. TxDOT has had a major reorganization. We will provide an organizational chart as soon as that is available. Currently, Wes Hill is the new Executive Director. He has all of the assistant directors reporting directly to him. Under the new organization, 53 departments report directly to Wes Hill. His philosophy is to allow economy by each division with accountability.

The TxDOT is also creating a new website which will allow for one-stop shopping within a year for overweight permits, apportion registration, insurance registration and fuel tax. The trend is to a paperless operation as much as possible.

We have also noticed that the Canadian DOT has started inspections in the Texas area. The last time they did this, we understand, was in 1994. Their authority is such that they cannot fine a carrier, but they can just advise. However, you may get on their "bad list" in Canada. It is basically the same as the DOT audit concerning maintenance files and drivers files.

VAPOR RECOVERY

We have included three maps for your review. One is the Texas Clean Air Strategy Proposed Regional VOC Zone; second is the area proposed for Cleaner Burning Gasoline; and third is the Texas Clean Air Strategy Proposed Regional NOX Zone.

The TNRCC is enforcing the Stage I Vapor Recovery more vigorously. There are reports from our members of fines up to $ 5,000 for a single violation. We are therefore attending the Vapor Recovery programs of the TNRCC. If you are given a ticket, you may want to refer it to the Association offices for review. In some instances, there may be a question concerning the inspection. The TNRCC has issued new rules on Stage I Vapor Recovery. We have circulated those rules to you under our Circular Letter 1249. We ask that you seriously review those proposed rules and send us your comments.

Included in these rules will be some amendment in response to the proposal of TPCA concerning owner/operator certification of compliance of underground storage tanks (USTs). You will recall in our Circular Letter 1241 in March 1998, we summarized the proposal of the Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association. They are still working to implement some of these ideas and they may find their way into this proposed rule. We will be watching and reporting this to the members.

It is important to note that when the driver pulls on the lot, the unloading begins. The first thing the driver should do is hook up the vapor recovery hose. It is also important that the company have a carefully documented training program in which the driver signs off at each stage of the training. This procedure could be very important if a fine is assessed. If the carrier can show it has a thorough training program, the fine may be assessed on the driver individually rather than the company. Any carrier interested in more information on this matter should contact the Association offices.

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