Aaron assists clients with regulatory issues associated with the transport of hazardous materials or dangerous goods under the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) and their international counterparts.  Examples of his work in this area are provided below. Outcomes in individual matters may vary significantly, depending on the facts and other factors.

Regulatory Counseling

Aaron advises clients on compliance with the regulations for hazardous materials and dangerous goods transport, including the requirements for classifying materials, packaging, marking, labeling, placarding, shipping papers, emergency response information, security planning, registration, and personnel training. His work has covered virtually all types of hazardous materials and dangerous goods, all modes of transportation—road, air, rail, and sea—and transport both in the U.S. and worldwide.

Compliance System Development

Aaron assists companies in developing training programs and other internal systems to ensure that products and/or wastes are properly shipped. For example, he helped a nationwide retailer prepare a personnel training program, a security plan, and a practical guide for ensuring that its numerous shipments with varying combinations and amounts of products satisfied applicable regulatory requirements.

Enforcement Action Defense

Aaron has favorably resolved numerous enforcement actions brought by the DOT Office of Hazardous Materials Enforcement and other agencies with HMR enforcement authority, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In many instances, he has convinced the authorities that the activities in question did not represent actual regulatory violations, did not warrant penalties, or warranted substantial reductions in proposed penalties.

Special Permits and Competent Authority Approvals

Aaron has had considerable success in developing successful applications to DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for special permits and approvals that authorize shipments of hazardous materials that would otherwise not be allowed under the HMR.  For example:

• For a manufacturer of large-scale equipment, he secured a unique special permit that effectively overrode the fundamental HMR prohibition against the shipment of products that create electrical sparks during transport.
• For a reverse logistics company, he prepared a successful application for a special permit that streamlined the requirements for complex and diverse shipments of products containing lithium batteries.
• For an importer of industrial gas cylinders, he obtained an emergency special permit allowing accidentally mislabeled cylinders to be transported to a facility where they could be properly relabeled.
• For a manufacturer that had previously obtained an emergency special permit to facilitate a nationwide product recall, he helped draft a successful application for modifications to improve the system for collection and recycling/disposal of the products.

Letters of Interpretation Applications

On many occasions, Aaron has sought and obtained favorable interpretations of applicable rules from both PHMSA and international dangerous goods regulators. Such interpretations have taken the form of informal verbal opinions and/or formal letters from the relevant authorities.

Preemption Determinations

Aaron has developed and pursued arguments that certain state rules for transport of hazardous wastes are preempted by the HMR.  For example, he played a key role in the successful effort of a major trade association to obtain a determination by PHMSA that certain rules issued by the State of Washington, which amounted to a de facto ban on Bakken crude oil entering the state, were preempted.