After two years of delays, DOT's Research and Special Programs Administration has announced temporary reductions in registration fees for hazardous materials haulers.

The agency has also revised its regulations so that not-for-profit organizations will pay the same fee as small businesses.
For registration years 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006, the annual fee for hazmat haulers that qualify as small businesses under the North American Industry Classification System drops from $300 to $125. Larger carriers will pay $275 versus $1,975. Not-for-profit organizations (i.e. those that are exempt from taxation under federal law) will pay $125. All registrants will pay a $25 processing fee in addition to the annual fee. Carriers that paid in advance will receive refunds.
The annual fee for registration years 2006-2007 and beyond will be $250 for small businesses and not-for-profit organizations, and $975 for all others. However, RSPA said it will assess the situation before then and may make changes. The $25 processing fee will still apply to all registrants.
RSPA originally proposed the reduction in 2000, citing a surplus in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant Fund established in the early 1990s to fund state and local hazardous materials planning and training. Final action was delayed because the President's 2002 and 2003 budget requests proposed using excess registration fees to help fund RSPA's hazardous materials safety program, but neither proposal was adopted by Congress.
Last summer several organizations, including the American Trucking Assns., filed a lawsuit asking the court to force RSPA to go ahead with the reductions.