Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
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| Long title | Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975 |
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| Acronyms (colloquial) | HMTA |
| Enacted by | the 93rd United States Congress |
| Effective | January 3, 1975 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | P.L. 93-933 |
| Statutes at Large | 88 Stat. 2156 |
| Codification | |
| Acts amended | Hazardous Material Transportation Control Act of 1970 |
| Titles amended | 49 (Transportation) |
| U.S.C. sections created | 49 U.S.C. §§ 5101–5127 |
| Legislative history | |
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| Major amendments | |
| The Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act of 1990 Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act of 1994 |
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The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), enacted in 1975, is the principal federal law in the United States regulating the transportation of hazardous materials. Its purpose is to "protect against the risks to life, property, and the environment that are inherent in the transportation of hazardous material in intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce" under the authority of the United States Secretary of Transportation.
The Act was passed as a means to improve the uniformity of existing regulations for transporting hazardous materials and to prevent spills and illegal dumping endangering the public and the environment, a problem exacerbated by uncoordinated and fragmented regulations. Regulations are enforced through four key provisions encompassing federal standards under Title 49 of the United States Code:
Violation of the HMTA regulations can result in civil or criminal penalties, unless a special permit is granted under the discretion of the Secretary of Transportation.
In the 1970s, landfills throughout the United States began to refuse the acceptance of hazardous wastes for the protection of property, the environment, and liability from what would later become known as Superfund sites, which dramatically increased the cost of disposal. The high cost of disposal led to increased dumping of materials that were increasingly being deemed "hazardous" by the public and government. Illegal dumping took place on vacant lots, along highways, or on the actual highways themselves. At the same time, increased accidents and incidents with hazardous materials during transportation was a growing problem, causing damage to property and the environment, injury, and death. At the time, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimated that 75% of all hazardous waste shipments violated existing regulations due to a lack of inspection personnel and poor coordination among the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Railroad Administration. The increasing frequency of illegal "midnight" dumping and spills, along with the already existing inconsistent regulations and fragmented enforcement, led to the passing of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. It was signed into law on January 3, 1975 by President Gerald Ford, as a means to strengthen the Hazardous Materials Transportation Control Act of 1970 and unify existing regulations.
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