Opinion ID: 574329
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Nuclear incident clean-up plan

Text: 44 Colorado requires the carrier to submit a plan to local officials that includes provisions for removing a truck and its cargo from an accident scene, preventing or minimizing radioactivity releases, and decontaminating the environment. This requirement specifically overlaps the provisions of 49 C.F.R. § 177.825(d), which provides that a driver must be trained in the procedures to follow in case of an accident or emergency. Colorado's regulations expand on federal regulations, requiring a carrier to generate more documentation and then supply that same documentation to a local authority.d. Vehicle equipment failure plan 45 Colorado requires the carrier to submit to the CPUC a plan for replacing or repairing equipment that has been placed out of service or that has become inoperative for other reasons. Vehicle equipment is regulated by the HMR only to the extent the HMR incorporates the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations by reference. 49 C.F.R. § 177.804. Although the Secretary's regulations establish requirements for driver training and require drivers to carry certificates of completion of the required training, 49 C.F.R. § 177.825(d), the regulations do not, unlike Colorado's requirements, require drivers to submit these documents, in advance, to officials in the various jurisdictions through which they transport hazardous materials. 46 All four of these provisions require carriers to generate and to submit documentation to local authorities that is in excess of the HMR's documentation requirements. The Secretary's regulations contain hundreds of information and documentation requirements, all of which have been established by the Secretary to ensure the health and safety of citizens in every jurisdiction. Congress specifically found that additional documentation and information requirements in one jurisdiction create unreasonable hazards in other jurisdictions and could confound shippers and carriers which attempt to comply with multiple and conflicting regulations. 49 U.S.C.App. § 1801. 47 Colorado's regulations clearly exceed the information and documentation requirements set forth in the Secretary of Transportation's regulations governing the transportation of radioactive materials. The enactment of separate information and documentation requirements in even a few of the thousands of local jurisdictions across the country would lead to the multiplicitous regulations Congress sought to avoid by enacting the HMTUSA. 11 Because Colorado's regulation forces transporters of hazardous materials to generate and maintain additional documentation and information, we conclude that it is likely to confound shippers and carriers and to increase the potential for hazards in other jurisdictions. Colorado's regulations simply do not further the federal purpose of promoting safety through uniformity. Therefore, we hold that NT-8 is preempted. 12