Hazmat employee training requirements and grants

§ 5107. Hazmat employee training requirements and grants (a) Training Requirements.—The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe by regulation requirements for training that a hazmat employer must give hazmat employees of the employer on the safe loading, unloading, handling, storing, and transporting of hazardous material and emergency preparedness for responding to an accident or incident involving the transportation of hazardous material. The regulations— (1) shall establish the date, as provided by subsection (b) of this section, by which the training shall be completed; and (2) may provide for different training for different classes or categories of hazardous material and hazmat employees. (b) Beginning and Completing Training.—A hazmat employer shall begin the training of hazmat employees of the employer not later than 6 months after the Secretary of Transportation prescribes the regulations under subsection (a) of this section. The training shall be completed within a reasonable period of time after— (1) 6 months after the regulations are prescribed; or (2) the date on which an individual is to begin carrying out a duty or power of a hazmat employee if the individual is employed as a hazmat employee after the 6-month period. (c) Certification of Training.—After completing the training, each hazmat employer shall certify, with documentation the Secretary of Transportation may require by regulation, that the hazmat 108 STAT. 764employees of the employer have received training and have been tested on appropriate transportation areas of responsibility, including at least one of the following: (1) recognizing and understanding the Department of Transportation hazardous material classification system. (2) the use and limitations of the Department hazardous material placarding, labeling, and marking systems. (3) general handling procedures, loading and unloading techniques, and strategies to reduce the probability of release or damage during or incidental to transporting hazardous material. (4) health, safety, and risk factors associated with hazardous material and the transportation of hazardous material. (5) appropriate emergency response and communication procedures for dealing with an accident or incident involving hazardous material transportation. (6) the use of the Department Emergency Response Guidebook and recognition of its limitations or the use of equivalent documents and recognition of the limitations of those documents. (7) applicable hazardous material transportation regulations. (8) personal protection techniques. (9) preparing a shipping document for transporting hazardous material. (d) Coordination of Training Requirements.—In consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that the training requirements prescribed under this section do not conflict with— (1) the requirements of regulations the Secretary of Labor prescribes related to hazardous waste operations and emergency response that are contained in part 1910 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations; and (2) the regulations the Agency prescribes related to worker protection standards for hazardous waste operations that are contained in part 311 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. (e) Training Grants.—In consultation with the Secretaries of Transportation and Labor and the Administrator, the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences may make grants to train hazmat employees under this section. A grant under this subsection shall be made to a nonprofit organization that demonstrates— (1) expertise in conducting a training program for hazmat employees; and (2) the ability to reach and involve in a training program a target population of hazmat employees. (f) Relationship to Other Laws.—(1) Chapter 35 of title 44 does not apply to an activity of the Secretary of Transportation under subsections (a)–(d) of this section. (2) An action of the Secretary of Transportation under subsections (a)–(d) of this section and sections 5106, 5108(a)–(g)(1) and (h), and 5109 of this title is not an exercise, under section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1)), of statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational safety or health.