NY Transp L § 14-F (2021)
2021 New York Laws TRA - Transportation Article 2 - Powers, Duties and Jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation 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.