A Research and Special Programs (RSPA) plan to temporarily lower registration fees for certain hazardous materials transportation has been delayed, pending congressional appropriations for the Department of Transportation (DOT) for 2003, according to information published in the Federal Register March 14, 2002.
The registration fees under the existing regulations remain $300 for small businesses and $2,000 for all other registrants. RSPA had proposed that small businesses and non-profit organizations (regardless of their size) would pay $250 (plus a $25 processing fee), and all others would be required to pay $475. The proposal was designed to eliminate a surplus in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grants fund. The program supports hazardous material emergency response planning, training, and related activities by states, local governments, and Indian tribes.
In 2001, RSPA first delayed final action on the proposal, pending enactment of the 2002 DOT appropriations. In that budget request, the president proposed to fund a portion of RSPA's hazardous materials safety program from fees collected through the Hazardous Materials Registration program. Although that proposal was not adopted by Congress in 2002, the president's 2003 budget request to Congress again proposes to fund a portion of RSPA's hazardous materials safety program budget from fees collected through the Hazardous Materials Registration program.
For more information, contact David Donaldson, 202-366-4484, or Deborah Boothe, 202-366-8553, or visit the Federal Register at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a020314c.html.