Diesel laws 'red tape' | Rural

New laws surrounding the transportation of diesel has been labelled as "bureaucracy gone mad" by North Otago fuel supply manager Ken McKeown.

Under new law which has reclassified diesel as a dangerous goods product, the New Zealand Land Transport Agency (NZTA) now requires anyone, including farmers and contractors, carrying extra supplies of diesel in ute and trailer tanks to use stickers on the containers.

Mr McKeown believed the new laws surrounded the diesel transportation issue with unnecessary red tape.

"Basically, you can drive your silage chopper down the road with 1000 litres of diesel in the fuel tank with no problem, but anything over five litres on, in or behind your vehicle, such as a trailer tank, has to have the revised signage." he said.

"The stickers, which are available from us, need to be applied to the letter of the law or drivers run the risk of having to deal with hefty fines. We understand some fines have already been handed out."

The bigger the container and the greater the litre quantity, the more stickers have to be applied according to Mr McKeown, who manages McKeown Petroleum.

Quantities less than five litres must be marked with the correct shipping name (Environmentally Hazardous Substance N.O.S. Diesel), the class 9 dangerous goods classification diamond and the "Environmentally Hazardous Substance" mark.

Containers of between five and 25 litres require the same markings, except they must be bigger and the diamonds must be 50mm, measured along the sides. Containers between 25 and 450 litres must carry labels measuring 100mm, also measured along the sides.

Larger containers between 450 and 2000 litres must use labels of 250mm measured along the sides, and display an "Emergency Information Panel".

Portable tanks including ute tanks, but not trailer tanks, which contain over 450 litres, must have the class 9 diamond sticker, the EHSM sticker and the EIP sticker on each side, or front and rear of the vehicle.

Trailer tanks must carry both the EHSM and EIP stickers on each side and the rear of the tank, and the class 9 diamond on the front.

Vehicles transporting diesel on the road with any quantity exceeding five litres, must also carry an "Emergency Response Information" sheet.