Texas Administrative Code › Title 43 - TRANSPORTATION › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 25 - TRAFFIC OPERATIONS › Subchapter F - HAZARDOUS MATERIAL ROUTING DESIGNATIONS › Section 25.103 - Routing Designations by Political Subdivisions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Purpose. Title 49, Code of Federal
				  Regulations (C.F.R.), Part 397, Subpart C, authorizes a political subdivision
				  of a state to establish NRHM route designations on roads and highways open to
				  the public under the jurisdiction of the political subdivision. Transportation
				  Code, §
										644.202
				  requires a municipality with a population of more than 850,000 to develop a
				  route for commercial motor vehicles carrying NRHM on a road or highway in the
				  municipality and to submit the proposed route to the department for approval.
				  This section prescribes the responsibilities of political subdivisions in
				  establishing NRHM route designations and requires a political subdivision
				  proposing the establishment of a new or revised NRHM routing designation to
				  comply with this section in order to ensure that all route designations are
				  properly established.
(b) Costs.
				  The political subdivision is responsible for all costs of NRHM route
				  development, including proposal preparation, public hearings, signs, sign
				  supports, sign installation, and sign maintenance.
(c) Initial contact. A political subdivision
				  considering the establishment of a NRHM route shall contact the local district
				  office of the department and any other political subdivisions within a 25 mile
				  radius of any point along the proposed NRHM route, and shall consult with those
				  entities during the process for determining the best NRHM route. Coordination
				  with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the local emergency planning
				  council or committee is encouraged.
(d) Route analysis and proposal. A political
				  subdivision intending to establish a NRHM routing designation shall fully
				  consider and address in writing all of the federal standards and factors listed
				  in
				  49 C.F.R.
				  §397.71(b) in the route
				  determination process. When analyzing these standards and factors, the
				  political subdivision shall use the most current version of the United States
				  Department of Transportation publication entitled "Guidelines for Applying
				  Criteria to Designate Routes for Transporting Hazardous Materials" or an
				  equivalent routing analysis tool to develop a route proposal. If an equivalent
				  routing analysis tool is used, the political subdivision shall include in its
				  route proposal a written explanation of how the tool is equivalent to the
				  United States Department of Transportation standards.
(e) Local public hearing. A political
				  subdivision shall hold at least one public hearing on any proposed NRHM routing
				  designation. Public hearings may take the form of a city council or
				  commissioners court meeting and shall conform with all applicable state laws
				  governing public meetings, including the Texas Open Meetings Act, Government
				  Code, Chapter 551. Public notification of the hearing shall comply with the
				  following criteria.
(1) The public shall be
				  given 30 days prior notice of the hearing through publication in at least two
				  newspapers of general circulation in the affected area, one of which is a
				  newspaper with statewide circulation.
(2) The notice shall contain a complete
				  description of the proposed route, including the location, route name, highway
				  number if the route is on the state highway system, and beginning and ending
				  points of the route, together with the date, time, and location of the public
				  hearing.
(3) The notice shall
				  initiate a 30-day public comment period and shall inform the public where to
				  send any written comments.