Recommendations for Tank Cars Used for the Transportation of Petroleum Crude Oil by Rail, 27370-27371 [2014-10914]
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27370
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 92 / Tuesday, May 13, 2014 / Notices
occur. DOT finds this collection of
information is essential to the mission
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requesting OMB approval of this
collection of information as soon as
possible.
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CFR 320.5(b), 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA
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displays a currently valid OMB control
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Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.
Issued in Washington, DC on May 8, 2014.
Erin McCarthy,
Acting Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014–10991 Filed 5–12–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Safety Advisory 2014–01]
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–2014–0049; Notice No.
14–07]
Recommendations for Tank Cars Used
for the Transportation of Petroleum
Crude Oil by Rail
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA) and Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory.
AGENCY:
This safety advisory provides
notice to all persons who offer for
transportation, or transport, in tank cars
by rail in commerce to, from or within
the United States, a bulk quantity of UN
1267, petroleum crude oil, Class 3, that
originates in or is sourced from the
Bakken formation in the Williston Basin
(Bakken crude oil). The purpose of this
advisory is to encourage offerors and
rail carriers to take additional
precautionary measures to enhance the
safe shipment of bulk quantities of
Bakken crude oil by rail throughout the
United States. Specifically, in light of
recent accidents involving the shipment
of Bakken crude oil by rail, the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) and the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Administration (PHMSA) urge offerors
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:27 May 12, 2014
Jkt 232001
and carriers of Bakken crude oil by rail
tank car to select and use the railroad
tank car designs with the highest level
of integrity reasonably available within
their fleet for shipment of these
hazardous materials by rail in interstate
commerce. Further, FRA and PHMSA
advise offerors and carriers of Bakken
crude oil to avoid the use of older,
legacy DOT Specification 111 or CTC
111 tank cars for the shipment of such
oil to the extent reasonably practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl
Alexy, Staff Director, FRA Hazardous
Materials Division, 1200 New Jersey
Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590–0001,
telephone (202) 493–6245 or Charles
Betts, Director, Standards and
Rulemaking Division, telephone (202)
366–8553, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Changes
in railroad operations over the last
several years, including increased rail
traffic, higher in-train forces due to the
transportation of hazardous materials
tank cars at higher gross rail loads, and
the likelihood of individual tank cars
accumulating more miles annually, have
resulted in tank car design changes to
accommodate these increased stresses
and to significantly reduce the chances
of a catastrophic failure (i.e., the sudden
and total failure of the tank resulting in
a release of the tank’s contents). Design
changes include new tank car steel and
improvements of structural features.
Older ‘‘legacy’’ tank cars, however,
without more modern construction and
design enhancements, continue to be
used to transport hazardous materials,
including Bakken crude oil. Petroleum
crude oil (including petroleum crude oil
from the Bakken) is a hazardous
material subject to regulation under 49
CFR 172.101 of the Hazardous Materials
Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171 to
180).
While the overall number of railroad
accidents and derailments has actually
decreased over the past several years,
the number and type of railroad
accidents involving Bakken crude oil
that have occurred during the last year
has increased, and the quantity of
petroleum crude oil released as a result
of those accidents is higher than past
precedents. Due to the volume of
Bakken crude oil currently being offered
for rail transportation resulting in the
demonstrated recent propensity for rail
accidents involving trains transporting
Bakken crude oil to occur, and the
subsequent releases of large quantities
of such oil, FRA and PHMSA
recommend that offerors and carriers of
Bakken crude oil select and use the tank
car designs with the highest level of
PO 00000
Frm 00094
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
integrity reasonably available within
their fleet.
The United States has experienced a
rapid growth in the quantity of
petroleum crude oil being shipped by
rail in recent years. The growth has
largely been sparked by developments
in North Dakota, where the Bakken
formation in the Williston Basin (the
Bakken) has become a major source of
petroleum crude oil in the United
States. Much of the Bakken crude oil is
shipped via rail to refineries located
near the U.S. Gulf Coast or to pipeline
connections, most notably to
connections located in Oklahoma.1
Shipping hazardous materials is
inherently dangerous. Transporting
petroleum crude oil can be problematic
if released into the environment because
it is flammable. This risk of ignition is
compounded in the context of rail
transportation because petroleum crude
oil is commonly shipped in unit trains
that consist of over 100 loaded tank
cars. With the rising demand for rail
carriage of Bakken crude oil 2
throughout the United States, the risk of
rail incidents increases.
In light of the above discussion, and
in an effort to maintain the safety of the
Nation’s rail system and the
communities through which trains
transporting Bakken crude oil travels,
FRA and PHMSA recommend that
offerors and carriers of Bakken crude oil
by rail select and only use the tank car
designs with the highest level of
integrity reasonably available within
their fleet. The features that offerors
should consider in assessing tank car
integrity include, without limitation,
tank shell jacket systems, head shields,
and top fittings protection. Further, FRA
and PHMSA advise offerors and carriers
of Bakken crude oil to avoid the use of
older, legacy DOT Specification 111 or
CTC 111 tank cars for the shipment of
such oil to the extent reasonably
practicable.
1 See Association of American Railroads’ (AAR)
December 2013 paper ‘‘Moving Crude Oil by Rail’’,
available online at: https://www.aar.org/keyissues/
Documents/Background-Papers/Crude-oil-byrail.pdf.
2 In 2011 there were 65,751 originations of tank
car loads of crude oil. In 2012, there were 233,811
originations. AAR, Moving Crude Petroleum by Rail,
https://www.aar.org/keyissues/Documents/
Background-Papers/Moving%20Crude%20
Petroleum%20by%20Rail%202012-12-10.pdf
(December 2012).
E:\FR\FM\13MYN1.SGM
13MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 92 / Tuesday, May 13, 2014 / Notices
Issued in Washington, DC on May 7, 2014.
Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety
and Chief Safety Officer, Federal Railroad
Administration.
Magdy El-Sibaie,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous
Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014–10914 Filed 5–12–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of
Guarantee Availability (NOGA) Inviting
Qualified Issuer Applications and
Guarantee Applications for the
Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFI) Bond Guarantee
Program
Announcement Type: Announcement
of opportunity to submit Qualified
Issuer Applications and Guarantee
Applications.
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.011.
DATES: Qualified Issuer Applications
and Guarantee Applications may be
submitted to the CDFI Fund starting on
the date of publication of this NOGA.
Applications will be reviewed by the
CDFI Fund on an ongoing basis, in the
order in which they are received or by
such other criteria that the CDFI Fund
may establish and publish, in its sole
discretion. In order to be considered for
the issuance of a Guarantee under FY
2014 program authority, Qualified
Issuer Applications must be submitted
by June 23, 2014 and Guarantee
Applications must be submitted by June
30, 2014. Qualified Issuer Applications
and Guarantee Applications received in
FY 2013 and that were neither
withdrawn nor declined in FY 2013 will
be considered under FY 2014 authority.
Executive Summary: This NOGA is
published in connection with the CDFI
Bond Guarantee Program, administered
by the Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI
Fund), the U.S. Department of the
Treasury (Treasury). The purpose of this
NOGA is to notify the public that: (i)
Parties interested in being approved as
Qualified Issuers may submit Qualified
Issuer Applications and (ii) Qualified
Issuers may submit Guarantee
Applications to be approved for a
Guarantee under the CDFI Bond
Guarantee Program. This NOGA also
explains application submission and
evaluation requirements and processes,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:27 May 12, 2014
Jkt 232001
agency contacts, and information on
CDFI Bond Guarantee Program outreach.
I. Guarantee Opportunity Description
A. Authority; Program summary;
Additional reference documents;
Definitions
1. Authority. The CDFI Bond
Guarantee Program is authorized by the
Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Pub.
L. 111–240; 12 U.S.C. 4713a) (the Act).
Section 1134 of the Act amended the
Riegle Community Development and
Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12
U.S.C. 4701, et seq.) to provide authority
to the Secretary of the Treasury to
establish and administer the CDFI Bond
Guarantee Program.
2. Program summary. The purpose of
the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program is to
support CDFI lending by providing
Guarantees for Bonds issued for Eligible
Community or Economic Development
Purposes, as authorized by section 1134
and 1703 of the Act. The Secretary, as
the Guarantor of the Bonds, will provide
a 100 percent Guarantee for the
repayment of the Verifiable Principal,
Interest, and Call Premium of Bonds
issued by Qualified Issuers. As the CDFI
Bond Guarantee Program has been
structured, a Qualified Issuer, approved
by the CDFI Fund, will issue Bonds that
will be purchased by the Federal
Financing Bank. The Qualified Issuer
will use Bond Proceeds to provide Bond
Loans to Eligible CDFIs. The Eligible
CDFIs will use Bond Loan proceeds for
Eligible Community and Economic
Development Purposes, including
providing Secondary Loans to
Secondary Borrowers.
In FY 2014, the Secretary may
guarantee Bond Issues having a
minimum Guarantee of $100 million
each up to an aggregate total of $750
million. The maximum maturity of the
Bonds will be 30 years; the Bonds will
be taxable. The Bonds will support CDFI
lending in Investment Areas by
providing a source of low-cost, longterm capital to CDFIs.
3. Guarantee availability. Pursuant to
this NOGA, the Guarantor may provide
Guarantees requested by Qualified
Issuers in FY 2014, including
applications that were submitted, but
not withdrawn or declined, in FY 2013.
Guarantees will be provided in the order
in which Guarantee Applications are
approved. The review and evaluation of
Guarantee Applications will be initiated
in chronological order by date of
receipt; however, Guarantee
Applications that are incomplete or
require the CDFI Fund to request
additional or clarifying information may
delay the ability of the CDFI Fund to
move the Guarantee Application to the
PO 00000
Frm 00095
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
27371
next phase of review. Submitting an
incomplete Guarantee Application
earlier than other applicants does not
ensure first approval.
4. Additional reference documents. In
addition to this NOGA, the CDFI Fund
encourages interested parties and
applicants to review the following
documents, which will be posted on the
CDFI Bond Guarantee Program page of
the CDFI Fund’s Web site at https://
www.cdfifund.gov.
(a) CDFI Bond Guarantee Program
Regulations. The interim rule that
governs the CDFI Bond Guarantee
Program was published on February 5,
2013 (78 FR 8296; 12 CFR part 1808)
(the Regulations) and provides the
regulatory requirements and parameters
for CDFI Bond Guarantee Program
implementation and administration
including general provisions, eligibility,
eligible activities, applications for
Guarantee and Qualified Issuer,
evaluation and selection, terms and
conditions of the Guarantee, Bonds,
Bond Loans, and Secondary Loans. In
addition to the Regulations, the CDFI
Fund has provided a document that
summarizes certain program terms and
conditions, which may be found on the
CDFI Fund’s Web site.
(b) Application materials. Details
regarding Qualified Issuer Application
and Guarantee Application content
requirements are found in this NOGA
and the respective applications
materials.
(c) Program documentation.
Interested parties should review certain
CDFI Bond Guarantee Program template
documents, which will be used in
connection with each Guarantee and
will be posted on the CDFI Fund’s Web
site for review. Such documents
include, among others:
(i) The Agreement to Guarantee,
which describes the roles and
responsibilities of the Qualified Issuer,
will be signed by the Qualified Issuer
and the Guarantor and will include term
sheets as appendices that will be signed
by each individual Eligible CDFI;
(ii) The Bond Trust Indenture, which
describes responsibilities of the Master
Servicer/Trustee in overseeing the
servicing of the Bonds and will be
entered into by the Qualified Issuer and
the Master Servicer/Trustee (selected by
the CDFI Fund);
(iii) The Bond Loan Agreement,
which describes the terms and
conditions of Bond Loans and will be
entered into by the Qualified Issuer and
each Eligible CDFI that receives a Bond
Loan;
(iv) The Bond Purchase Agreement,
which describes the terms and
conditions under which the Bond
E:\FR\FM\13MYN1.SGM
13MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 92 (Tuesday, May 13, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27370-27371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10914]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Safety Advisory 2014-01]
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2014-0049; Notice No. 14-07]
Recommendations for Tank Cars Used for the Transportation of
Petroleum Crude Oil by Rail
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This safety advisory provides notice to all persons who offer
for transportation, or transport, in tank cars by rail in commerce to,
from or within the United States, a bulk quantity of UN 1267, petroleum
crude oil, Class 3, that originates in or is sourced from the Bakken
formation in the Williston Basin (Bakken crude oil). The purpose of
this advisory is to encourage offerors and rail carriers to take
additional precautionary measures to enhance the safe shipment of bulk
quantities of Bakken crude oil by rail throughout the United States.
Specifically, in light of recent accidents involving the shipment of
Bakken crude oil by rail, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and
the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) urge
offerors and carriers of Bakken crude oil by rail tank car to select
and use the railroad tank car designs with the highest level of
integrity reasonably available within their fleet for shipment of these
hazardous materials by rail in interstate commerce. Further, FRA and
PHMSA advise offerors and carriers of Bakken crude oil to avoid the use
of older, legacy DOT Specification 111 or CTC 111 tank cars for the
shipment of such oil to the extent reasonably practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl Alexy, Staff Director, FRA
Hazardous Materials Division, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC
20590-0001, telephone (202) 493-6245 or Charles Betts, Director,
Standards and Rulemaking Division, telephone (202) 366-8553, Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Changes in railroad operations over the last
several years, including increased rail traffic, higher in-train forces
due to the transportation of hazardous materials tank cars at higher
gross rail loads, and the likelihood of individual tank cars
accumulating more miles annually, have resulted in tank car design
changes to accommodate these increased stresses and to significantly
reduce the chances of a catastrophic failure (i.e., the sudden and
total failure of the tank resulting in a release of the tank's
contents). Design changes include new tank car steel and improvements
of structural features. Older ``legacy'' tank cars, however, without
more modern construction and design enhancements, continue to be used
to transport hazardous materials, including Bakken crude oil. Petroleum
crude oil (including petroleum crude oil from the Bakken) is a
hazardous material subject to regulation under 49 CFR 172.101 of the
Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171 to 180).
While the overall number of railroad accidents and derailments has
actually decreased over the past several years, the number and type of
railroad accidents involving Bakken crude oil that have occurred during
the last year has increased, and the quantity of petroleum crude oil
released as a result of those accidents is higher than past precedents.
Due to the volume of Bakken crude oil currently being offered for rail
transportation resulting in the demonstrated recent propensity for rail
accidents involving trains transporting Bakken crude oil to occur, and
the subsequent releases of large quantities of such oil, FRA and PHMSA
recommend that offerors and carriers of Bakken crude oil select and use
the tank car designs with the highest level of integrity reasonably
available within their fleet.
The United States has experienced a rapid growth in the quantity of
petroleum crude oil being shipped by rail in recent years. The growth
has largely been sparked by developments in North Dakota, where the
Bakken formation in the Williston Basin (the Bakken) has become a major
source of petroleum crude oil in the United States. Much of the Bakken
crude oil is shipped via rail to refineries located near the U.S. Gulf
Coast or to pipeline connections, most notably to connections located
in Oklahoma.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Association of American Railroads' (AAR) December 2013
paper ``Moving Crude Oil by Rail'', available online at: https://www.aar.org/keyissues/Documents/Background-Papers/Crude-oil-by-rail.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shipping hazardous materials is inherently dangerous. Transporting
petroleum crude oil can be problematic if released into the environment
because it is flammable. This risk of ignition is compounded in the
context of rail transportation because petroleum crude oil is commonly
shipped in unit trains that consist of over 100 loaded tank cars. With
the rising demand for rail carriage of Bakken crude oil \2\ throughout
the United States, the risk of rail incidents increases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ In 2011 there were 65,751 originations of tank car loads of
crude oil. In 2012, there were 233,811 originations. AAR, Moving
Crude Petroleum by Rail, https://www.aar.org/keyissues/Documents/Background-Papers/Moving%20Crude%20Petroleum%20by%20Rail%202012-12-10.pdf (December 2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In light of the above discussion, and in an effort to maintain the
safety of the Nation's rail system and the communities through which
trains transporting Bakken crude oil travels, FRA and PHMSA recommend
that offerors and carriers of Bakken crude oil by rail select and only
use the tank car designs with the highest level of integrity reasonably
available within their fleet. The features that offerors should
consider in assessing tank car integrity include, without limitation,
tank shell jacket systems, head shields, and top fittings protection.
Further, FRA and PHMSA advise offerors and carriers of Bakken crude oil
to avoid the use of older, legacy DOT Specification 111 or CTC 111 tank
cars for the shipment of such oil to the extent reasonably practicable.
[[Page 27371]]
Issued in Washington, DC on May 7, 2014.
Robert C. Lauby,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer,
Federal Railroad Administration.
Magdy El-Sibaie,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-10914 Filed 5-12-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
