Hazardous Materials: California's Reusability Mandate for Propane Cylinders

Official abstract: The Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), 49 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., preempts California's reusability mandate for propane cylinders in California Public Resources Code, Sections 42395- 42395.2. The reusability mandate imposes localized design and manufacturing requirements on a container that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for use in the transportation of a hazardous material--specifically, propane--that are not substantively the same as the requirements in the HMR. The reusability mandate is also an obstacle to accomplishing and carrying out the HMTA. By banning a federally authorized, safety-compliant packaging based on localized waste management preferences, California creates a fragmented regulatory patchwork that undermines the primacy and uniformity of the Federal transportation safety framework.