2020-041 - Authorizing the Designation of a Hazardous Material Route through the City of Paris Along Loop 286

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Introduction The transport of hazardous materials through densely populated areas presents potential dangers and unintended consequences to a community. These dangers can pose great risk unless the community is prepared for action. Limiting public exposure, planning proper emergency response, implementing containment methods, and organizing clean up after an unfortunate event involving hazardous materials is crucial to minimizing these risks. In an effort to reduce the risk of exposure to hazardous materials resulting from a crash involving trucks carrying Non -radioactive Hazardous Materials (NRHM), the US Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) implemented regulations in 1985 that limit the through -routing movement of commercial vehicles carrying non -radioactive materials classified as hazardous, such as petrochemicals, gases, and corrosive substances, to designated highways or routes. The regulation requires each state to designate NRHM routes within their jurisdictions. In Texas, the Department of Transportation delegates the authority to complete the FHWA prescribed process of designating specific highways as NRHM routes to local municipalities who also have the legal authority to enforce the use of these routes through municipal ordinances. Therefore, the City of Paris, Texas (City), proposes a NRHM route designation along Loop 286 for all trucks carrying hazardous materials through its city limits. The purpose of this report is to summarize the steps taken in consideration of this proposal and to justify the designation of Loop 286 as the local NRHM route. II. Hazardous Materials Definition Hazardous material means a substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has been designated as hazardous under Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 CFR, Subtitle III, Chpt. 51, Sec. 5103) (including an explosive, radioactive material, infectious substance, flammable or combustible liquid, solid, or gas, toxic, oxidizing, or corrosive material, and compressed gas) . The term includes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials, materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (49 CFR, Subtitle B, Chpt. 1, Subchpt. A, Part 172.101, pages 132-300), and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part (49 CFR, Subtitle B, Chpt. 1, Subchpt. A, Part 173.2). If these substances are released or misused they can cause death, serious injury, long lasting health effects, or damage to structures and other properties as well as to the environment. Hazardous materials sites are those sites required under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations to maintain material safety data sheets (MSDSs) for hazardous chemicals stored or used in the work place and must submit a Tier II report to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. 2