(a) With the exception of highway routing matters covered under 49 U.S.C. 5125(c), any person, including a State or political subdivision thereof or an Indian tribe, directly affected by any requirement of a State or political subdivision thereof or an Indian tribe, may apply to the Chief Counsel for a determination as to whether that requirement is preempted by §107.202(a), (b), or (c).

(b) Each application filed under this section for a determination must:

(1) Be submitted to the Chief Counsel:

(i) By mail addressed to the Chief Counsel, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, East Building, PHC-1, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001;

(ii) By facsimile to 202-366-7041; or

(iii) Electronically to the Chief Counsel at phmsachiefcounsel@dot.gov.

(2) Set forth the text of the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement for which the determination is sought;

(3) Specify each requirement of the Federal hazardous materials transportation law, regulations issued under the Federal hazardous material transportation law, or hazardous material transportation security regulations or directives issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security with which the applicant seeks the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement to be compared;

(4) Explain why the applicant believes the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement should or should not be preempted under the standards of §107.202; and

(5) State how the applicant is affected by the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement.

(c) The filing of an application for a determination under this section does not constitute grounds for noncompliance with any requirement of the Federal hazardous materials transportation law, regulations issued under the Federal hazardous material transportation law, or hazardous material transportation security regulations or directives issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

(d) Once the Chief Counsel has published notice in the Federal Register of an application received under paragraph (a) of this section, no applicant for such determination may seek relief with respect to the same or substantially the same issue in any court until final action has been taken on the application or until 180 days after filing of the application, whichever occurs first. Nothing in §107.203(a) prohibits a State or political subdivision thereof or Indian tribe, or any other person directly affected by any requirement of a State or political subdivision thereof or Indian tribe, from seeking a determination of preemption in any court of competent jurisdiction in lieu of applying to the Chief Counsel under paragraph (a) of this section.

[Amdt. 107-24, 56 FR 8622, Feb. 28, 1991, as amended by Amdt. 107-25, 57 FR 20428, May 13, 1992; Amdt. 107-32, 59 FR 49131, Sept. 26, 1994; Amdt. 107-38, 61 FR 21098, May 9, 1996; 68 FR 52847, Sept. 8, 2003; 71 FR 30067, May 25, 2006; 72 FR 55683, Oct. 1, 2007]