N.Y. Transportation Law § 14-f: Transportation of hazardous materials

§ 14-f. Transportation of hazardous materials. 1. The commissioner of

transportation is hereby authorized to promote safety in the

transportation of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation,

and in connection therewith shall:

(a) Have the power to make rules and regulations governing

transportation of hazardous materials, which shall mean a substance or

material in a quantity and form which may pose an unreasonable risk to

health and safety or property when transported in commerce, by all modes

as defined by the rules and regulations of the department.

Such rules and regulations shall be no less protective of public

safety than the rules and regulations promulgated by the federal

government with respect to the transportation of hazardous materials.

The regulations shall set forth the criteria for identifying and

listing, and a list of hazardous materials subject to this section as

may be amended by the commissioner of transportation from time to time

in a manner consistent with the state administrative procedure act and

consistent with those substances and materials designated by the United

States secretary of transportation as hazardous under section 5103 of

title 49 of the United States code as amended from time to time,

including those designated as hazardous in the hazardous materials table

set forth in section 172.101 and materials that meet the defining

criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of subchapter C of

title 49 of the code of federal regulations as amended from time to

time. Such regulations shall include specifications for marking and

placarding of vehicles transporting hazardous materials as will be

applied pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision three of this section.

The regulations promulgated hereunder shall include notice that a

violation of the rules and regulations is subject to a fine or a period

of imprisonment, and the rules and regulations shall set forth the

penalty provisions contained in subdivision four of this section.

Provided, however, that all local laws or ordinances, except those of

cities having a population of one million or more, regulating the

transportation of flammable liquids in trucks, trailers or

semi-trailers, are hereby superseded and without force and hereafter no

such local law or ordinance shall be adopted to regulate or control the

equipment or means of transporting flammable liquids in trucks, trailers

or semi-trailers.

For the purposes of this section, a "vehicle" shall mean every device

in which property may be transported upon a highway, stationary rails or

tracks, or on the navigable waterways of the state.

(b) Have power to enforce said rules and regulations through the use

of department staff or others pursuant to cooperative agreement.

(c) Have power and is hereby authorized to enter into cooperative

agreements with agencies of this and other states and of the federal

government in relation to enforcement of said rules and regulations.

(d) Consult with and receive the full cooperation from the

commissioner of environmental conservation and other agencies in order

to aid the commissioner of transportation in establishing an information

system capable of identifying the amount and type of hazardous materials

transported in New York, and the methods used for transporting such

materials. This system shall be established and maintained in order to

assess the volume and potential danger of hazardous materials

transported in commerce, by all modes.

(e) Establish and publicize, after consultation with the commissioner

of environmental conservation, a public education program to provide

publications and technical assistance regarding the regulations

governing the transportation of hazardous materials.

(f) Develop a training program for the state police and environmental

conservation officers in order to aid such officers in the enforcement

of the rules and regulations made pursuant to this section.

2. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company,

association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to transport or

cause to be transported hazardous materials in violation of the rules

and regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to this

section.

3. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company,

association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to operate or

cause to be operated in this state a vehicle transporting hazardous

materials unless the vehicle is conspicuously marked or placarded to

identify the material transported or its principal hazard in a manner

specified in rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner that

are consistent with related federal requirements; provided that the

commissioner may, by rules and regulations prescribe with respect to any

specific hazardous materials the minimum quantities below which no

placard shall be required.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company,

association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to operate or

cause to be operated in this state a vehicle transporting those

hazardous wastes identified and listed pursuant to section 27-0903 of

the environmental conservation law or those regulated wastes listed and

defined pursuant to section 27-0303 of the environmental conservation

law unless such person complies with the requirements applicable to the

transport of such wastes as set forth in article twenty-seven of the

environmental conservation law and any rules and regulations promulgated

thereunder.

4. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, any

person, corporation, company, association or partnership found guilty of

violating any such rule or regulation shall be guilty of a traffic

infraction, and all of the provisions of the vehicle and traffic law,

except as otherwise specifically provided herein, shall be applicable

thereto, and shall be subject to a fine of not less than three hundred

fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for the first offense,

and upon being found guilty of a second or subsequent offense committed

within eighteen months by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars

nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for

not more than ninety days or by both such fine and imprisonment. Except

as otherwise provided by law, such a violation shall not be a crime and

the penalty or punishment imposed therefor shall not be deemed for any

purpose a criminal penalty or punishment and shall not impose any

disability upon or affect or impair the credibility as a witness, or

otherwise, of a person found guilty thereof; provided, however, that any

person transporting hazardous waste in violation of article twenty-seven

of the environmental conservation law shall be subject to the penalties

provided in article seventy-one of such law.

(b) Any person, corporation, company, association or partnership found

guilty of violating any such rules or regulations involving an

out-of-service defect relating to brake systems, steering components

and/or coupling devices shall be subject to a fine of not less than five

hundred dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars, or by

imprisonment for not more than sixty days or by both such fine and

imprisonment, and upon being found guilty of a second or subsequent

offense committed within eighteen months by a fine of not less than one

thousand five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred

dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than ninety days or by both

such fine and imprisonment.

(c) Operation of an out-of-service vehicle shall constitute a

misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than two

thousand five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or by

imprisonment for not more than one year or by both such fine and

imprisonment. A conviction for a second or subsequent offense committed

within eighteen months shall constitute a class E felony and shall be

punished by a fine of not less than three thousand five hundred dollars

or by a period of imprisonment as provided in the penal law, or by both

such fine and imprisonment.

(d) If any person does not appear in response to an appearance ticket

or the court's direction, or pay any fine imposed, the commissioner of

motor vehicles shall have the power to suspend the registration or

privilege of operation of any such vehicle operated or alleged to have

been operated in violation of such rules and regulations.

(e) (i) Any complaint issued for an equipment violation, except for a

violation involving an out-of-service defect or except for a violation

involving the operation of any motor vehicle after it has been placed

out of service, shall be dismissed by the court before such summons is

returnable if the violation as set forth in the summons is corrected not

later than one-half hour after sunset on the first full business day

after the issuance of the summons and proof of such correction as set

forth in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph is submitted to the court.

For the purposes of this subparagraph, "business day" shall mean any

calendar day except Sunday, or the following business holidays: New

Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor

Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

(ii) Acceptable proof of repair or adjustment shall consist of

submission to the court on or before the return date of the summons of

(A) a statement of correction from an officially designated state

inspection station duly executed by the person performing or making such

inspection and bearing the official stamp of the state inspection

station, (B) a statement of correction from an automobile repair shop on

the letterhead of such repair shop duly executed by the person who made

the correction or (C) a signed statement of any police officer or a

department inspector that the necessary corrections have been made. The

statement required by this subparagraph shall be directed to the court

having jurisdiction of the alleged violation, shall be affirmed as true

under penalty of perjury, and shall include the name, occupation and

position of the person making the statement, the time and date that the

repairs or inspection were made and a statement that the defective

equipment, cited in the violation, on the vehicle in question, is in

proper working order.

5. With respect to the transportation of radioactive materials,

nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate or effect the

provisions of any federal or state statute or local ordinance,

regulation or resolution which are more restrictive than or which

supersede the provisions of this section.

6. Any police officer having lawfully stopped any vehicle which he has

reason to believe is transporting hazardous materials or hazardous waste

may require that such vehicle shall be driven to a place designated by

such police officer to be inspected pursuant to the provisions of this

section and the rules and regulations of the commissioner concerning

transportation of hazardous materials or pursuant to title nine of

article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law. Provided,

however, that such place designated by such police officer shall not

exceed a distance of five miles from the place at which such vehicle was

stopped. Furthermore, that when such place designated by such officer or

any other place utilized for inspection of vehicles pursuant to this

section is a roadside rest area, such rest area shall be kept open for

the use of the public to the extent practicable.