United States v. Oilfields Trucking Company

Appellant Oilfields was convicted in district court of permitting its drivers to remain on duty in excess of 70 hours over an eight day period while transporting hazardous materials, in violation of administrative regulations formulated under the Explosives and Other Dangerous Articles Act (EODAA), 18 U.S.C. § 834 (1970). Appellant is a carrier engaged in both interstate and intrastate commerce. The drivers involved here were engaged in the transportation of hazardous materials moving wholly intrastate. The only issues on appeal are whether Congress intended in the EODAA to regulate wholly intrastate shipments by interstate carriers and, if so, whether such regulation exceeds Congress’ power under the Interstate Commerce Clause.

The EODAA, on its face, would appear to apply to appellant’s intrastate shipments:

The legislative history of the EODAA also supports the Department of Transportation’s regulation of appellant’s intrastate carriage of hazardous materials. The statutory language “within the United States” was substituted by Congress in 1921 for the more limited language “from one State to another.” According to the then chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission,…