Attorney General Bonta Urges Caution in the Development of Regulations for Experimental Autonomous Transportation of Hazardous Materials

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a multistate comment letter encouraging the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to fully weigh the potential risks before developing regulations to allow for the transportation of hazardous materials using highly automated transportation systems, such as drones, delivery robots, and driverless freight vehicles in rail, air, water, and road transportation. In its notice, PHMSA states that it is seeking to gather stakeholder input to incorporate with its own research and findings “to identify necessary Hazardous Materials Regulations revisions, guidance, legal clarification, and educational resources needed to inform future work” in this regulatory space. Given the early stages of this technological capability, the multistate coalition urges PHMSA to ensure that the technology and infrastructure for automated transportation is developed, tested, and safely demonstrated before it considers approving automated transportation of hazardous materials.

“California has the most experience dealing with the development and regulation of autonomous vehicles, and that experience tells us one thing clearly: Almost ready is not safe enough. If an autonomous transportation system is still being developed, it has no business hauling hazardous materials through our communities, putting many at risk,” said Attorney General Bonta. “There should be no unanswered questions when catastrophic risks are on the line — reliability must be proven through regulations and testing. Until then, deploying autonomous transport of hazmat creates unnecessary safety and security risks. That’s why, I, alongside other attorneys general, urge the Trump Administration to ensure adequate confirmation of safety before authorizing automated transportation of hazardous materials and its implementation.”

Due to the early stages of this technological capability, which is still largely limited to passenger vehicle transportation and small package delivery, it is premature to develop regulations specific to hazmat before a baseline level of reliability and safety has been achieved for everyday transportation. Hazmat transportation will involve unique risks and logistical complications beyond those for passenger transportation or package delivery. The safety of passenger travel and construction of nationwide electric vehicle infrastructure should be prioritized and supported before the federal government commits limited resources to automated transportation of hazmat. Once reliable safety levels have been reached, PHMSA should undertake a careful, deliberative, and collaborative process that builds upon the framework developed for non-hazmat automated transportation testing and implementation.

California has the most autonomous vehicles in testing and deployment on public roads, and it has recognized the primary importance of ensuring public safety through regulation of autonomous vehicles as a still-developing technology. Since 2018, California has prohibited, with very limited exclusions, the testing or deployment on public roads of autonomous vehicles that transport hazmat. California is currently in the process of updating its regulations in order to allow for the further testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles within the state, including heavy-duty commercial autonomous vehicles, which are currently prohibited; however, California has remained committed to public safety during this next developmental stage by continuing to prohibit the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles that transport hazmat.

In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition caution against PHMSA’s initiation of a regulatory program that permits autonomous vehicles to transport hazmat before the safety of these new autonomous technologies is tested and demonstrated. Attorney General Bonta and the coalition also urge PHMSA, if it were to proceed with a rulemaking process here, to do the following:

• Engage directly and extensively with state and local agencies, including first responders, emergency management personnel, state homeland security, and environmental regulators, and assist States with trainings on the new technology and supportive systems.
• Establish a risk-based list of hazardous materials ineligible or eligible for automated transportation.
• Respect the States’ authority over route designations by which hazardous materials may or may not be transported by motor vehicle.
• Design and implement a nationwide hazard communication system and protocol prior to approving any hazmat transportation.
• Develop security plans and measures designed to identify, prevent, and respond to security threats specific to each modality’s security risks.
• Promulgate enforceable regulations and permits rather than using guidance documents or performance-based systems to oversee automated transportation of hazmat.
• Consider, tailor, and implement protective measures for railroad and air transportation.

In filing the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Minnesota, District of Columbia, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Vermont.