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

This withdrawal advises the public that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has assumed the lead role from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for rulemaking addressing the security of motor carrier shipments of hazardous materials under this docket. Accordingly, PHMSA is withdrawing the ANPRM issued under this docket and closing its rulemaking proceeding. This action is consistent with and supportive of the respective transportation security roles and responsibilities of the Department of Transportation and DHS as delineated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed September 28, 2004, and of TSA and PHMSA as outlined in an Annex to that MOU signed August 7, 2006. PHMSA will continue to consider alternatives for enhancing the safety of explosives stored during transportation under another rulemaking docket. PHMSA will consult and coordinate with TSA on hazardous materials transportation security issues in accordance with the PHMSA-TSA Annex.

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. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice requests public participation in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval process for a new PHMSA information collection. This proposed information collection is a survey of hazardous liquid pipeline operators to obtain information on unregulated low-stress hazardous liquid pipeline characteristics. With this notice, PHMSA invites the public to submit comments over the next 60 days on ways to minimize the related burden.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice requests public participation in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval process for the renewal and extension of two information collection requirements: ``Reporting of Safety-Related Conditions on Gas, Hazardous Liquid, and Carbon Dioxide Pipelines and Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities'' and ``Drug and Alcohol Testing of Pipeline Operators.'' PHMSA invites the public to submit comments over the next 60 days on whether the collection of this information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of DOT.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice requests public participation in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval process for the renewal of existing leak detection information collection. PHMSA invites the public to submit comments over the next 60 days on whether the existing information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department of Transportation.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICR) abstracted below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. The ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on February 26, 2007 [72 FR 8421]. In response to our Notice, we received one comment concerning the renewal of OMB Control No. 2137-0586, ``The Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning Grants.'' A summary of the comment and our response can be found under the abstract for OMB Control No. 2137-0586.

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 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. These applications have been separated from the new application for special permits to facilitate processing.

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.

PHMSA is amending the statutorily mandated registration and fee assessment program for persons who transport or offer for transportation certain categories and quantities of hazardous materials. In this final rule, we are eliminating the 24- hour, seven-days-per-week telephonic expedited registration option because it is no longer necessary now that there is an internet option. In addition, we are adopting an explicit exception from registration requirements for Indian Tribes. We are not increasing registration fees in this final rule.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request has been forwarded to OMB for an extension of the currently approved information collection. PHMSA published a Federal Register notice soliciting comments on this information collection and received none. The purpose of this notice is to allow the public an additional 30 days to submit comments.

This final rule requires operators to use design and construction features in new and replaced gas transmission pipelines to reduce the risk of internal corrosion. The design and construction features required by this rule will reduce the risk of internal corrosion and related pipeline failures by reducing the potential for accumulation of liquids and facilitating operation and maintenance practices that address internal corrosion.

This notice announces the first public workshop on PHMSA's ``Prevention Through People'' (PTP) initiative. This workshop will gather information about noteworthy pipeline safety and integrity practices in control room operations, including measures for managing human risk factors such as fatigue. The information gathered will be used to develop an approach to control room management that enhances safety.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is granting Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline, LLC (KMLP) a waiver of compliance from the Federal pipeline safety regulations for a new natural gas transmission pipeline. The regulations establish the maximum stress level and overpressure protection limits for natural gas pipelines.

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 compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA published a notice with request for comments in the Federal Register on February 12, 2007 (72 FR 6664) and received no comments. PHMSA is now forwarding the information collection request to the OMB and providing an additional 30 days for comments.

This notice cancels the Wednesday, April 25 and Thursday, April 26, 2007 meetings of PHMSA's Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Advisory Committee (TPSSC) and Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee (THLPSSC) and a public workshop.

Freeport LNG (FLNG) requested a waiver of compliance from the Federal pipeline safety regulation that requires liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities constructed after March 31, 2000 to comply with the National Fire Protection Association's Standard 59A (NFPA 59A), 2001 Edition. The waiver specifically requested permission to use ultrasonic examination as an acceptable alternative non-destructive testing method for welds on LNG tanks.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is issuing this advisory to inform the traveling public and airline employees about the importance of properly packing and handling batteries and battery-powered devices when they are carried aboard aircraft. Thousands of batteries and battery-powered devices are safely carried aboard passenger aircraft each day, but several recent incidents involving batteries in checked or carry-on baggage illustrate the risks of overheating and fire that can occur when the regulations are not followed. Federal regulations require that electrical storage batteries or battery-powered devices carried aboard passenger aircraft be properly packaged or protected to avoid short- circuiting or overheating. In this safety advisory, we suggest various practical measures for complying with the regulations and minimizing transportation risks. Recommended practices include keeping batteries installed in electronic devices; packing spare batteries in carry-on baggage; keeping spare batteries in their original retail packaging; separating batteries from other metallic objects such as keys, coins and jewelry by packing individual batteries in a sturdy plastic bag; securely packing battery-powered equipment in a manner to prevent accidental activation; and ensuring batteries are undamaged and purchased from reputable sources.

This notice requests public participation in the OMB approval process for the renewal of an existing National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) information collection. PHMSA is requesting OMB approval for renewal of this information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). With this notice as required by the PRA, PHMSA invites the public to submit comments over the next 60 days on whether the existing information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department.

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 207, subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

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 Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on certain information collections pertaining to hazardous materials transportation for which PHMSA intends to request renewal from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

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. These applications have been separated from the new applications for special permits to facilitate processing.

This notice requests public participation in the OMB approval process regarding the renewal of an existing PHMSA information collection. This renewal of information complies with the hazardous liquid and carbon dioxide pipeline operator's annual report requirement. PHMSA is requesting OMB approval for renewal of this information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. With this notice, PHMSA invites the public to submit comments over the next 60 days on ways to minimize the burden associated with the collection of information related to the hazardous liquid and carbon dioxide pipelines operator's annual report.

The federal pipeline safety laws allow a pipeline operator to request PHMSA to waive compliance with any part of the federal pipeline safety regulations. We are publishing this notice to provide a list of requests we have received from pipeline operators seeking relief from compliance with certain pipeline safety regulations. This notice seeks public comment on these requests, including comments on any environmental impacts. In addition, this notice informs the public that we are changing what we will call a decision granting such a request to a special permit. At the conclusion of the comment period, PHMSA will evaluate each request individually to determine whether to grant a special permit or deny the request.