Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration July 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5117(c), PHMSA is publishing the following list of special permit applications that have been in process for 180 days or more. The reason(s) for delay and the expected completion date for action on each application is provided in association with each identified application.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR Part 107, Subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. This notice is abbreviated to expedite docketing and public notice. Because the sections affected, modes of transportation, and the nature of application have been shown in earlier Federal Register publications, they are not repeated here. Request of modifications of special permits (e.g. to provide for additional hazardous materials, packaging design changes, additional mode of transportation, etc.) are described in footnotes to the application number. Application numbers with the suffix ``M'' denote a modification request. There applications have been separated from the new application for special permits to facilitate processing.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that PHMSA forwarded an Information Collection Request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of the currently approved collection of information ``Incorporation by Reference of Industry Standard on Leak Detection'' (2137-0598). The purpose of this notice is to invite the public to submit comments on the request to OMB.

PHMSA is in the process of reviewing widely-used special permits to identify those that have proven safety records and should be converted into the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) as regulations of general applicability. A special permit is an authorization issued by PHMSA that allows a company or individual to package or ship a hazardous material in a manner that varies from the regulations provided an equivalent level of safety is maintained or that, in an emergency, is necessary to protect life or property. Incorporation of special permits into the HMR is a regulatory reform effort.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on an information collection under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 2137-0586, pertaining to Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning Grants. PHMSA will request approval from OMB for a revision to the current information collection. The revision implements a statutory provision authorizing PHMSA to request information from states concerning fees related to the transportation of hazardous materials. In addition, we are revising the current information collection to include more detailed information from grantees to enable us to more accurately evaluate the effectiveness of the grant program in meeting emergency response planning and training needs.