APPENDIX D Midwestern State Fees
By virtue of their location in the center of the U.S., the Midwestern states are frequently traversed by shipments of radioactive waste and materials. The state governments in the Midwest bear the responsibility for protecting the health and safety of the public and the environment within their borders. Training emergency response personnel, monitoring shipments, conducting inspections, and providing escorts are some of the ways states carry out this responsibility. To defray the costs of these and other activities, seven states in the Midwestern region have enacted fees on shipments of radioactive waste and materials. Recognizing the need to help shippers and carriers stay informed about state shipment fees, the Midwestern states jointly produced this flyer to provide a single source for information on all six state fee programs in the region. Federal hazardous materials transportation law allows states, political subdivisions of states, and Indian tribes to “impose a fee related to transporting hazardous material only if the fee is fair and used for a purpose related to transporting hazardous material, including enforcement and planning, developing, and maintaining a capability for emergency response” (49 U.S.C. 5125). Some states in the Midwest use revenue from fees to cover the state’s cost of inspecting and escorting a shipment. Other states use their fees to pay for things like training and equipment for state and local emergency responders. The following table provides detailed information on the fees charged by the states in the Midwest. For each state, the table identifies the statutory or regulatory citation, the type of cargo covered by the fee, payment options, and a program point of contact. Shippers or carriers who have questions about any particular state fee should contact the person identified in the table. Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin accept online payments for fees; other states may follow their example by putting their fee- payment processes on-line. Sharing best practices and coordinating on activities like this flyer are examples of how the states work together to improve their programs for their own benefit as well as that of the shippers and carriers who must comply with state fee statutes and rules.
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