Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration April 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) 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 ICRs was published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2009 (73 FR 7955) under Docket No. PHMSA-2009-0057. Two comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to allow the public an additional 30 days to submit comments on the information collections described below and respond to comments submitted to the 60-day notice.

PHMSA is publishing this notice of several special permit requests we have received from pipeline operators, seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the Federal pipeline safety regulations. This notice seeks public comments on these requests, including comments on any safety or environmental impacts. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will evaluate the requests and determine whether to grant or deny a special permit and the terms and conditions of any grant.

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 applications 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. Requests for modification 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.

PHMSA is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations to revise certain requirements applicable to the manufacture, maintenance, and use of DOT and MC specification cargo tank motor vehicles, DOT specification cylinders and UN pressure receptacles. The revisions are based on petitions for rulemaking submitted by the regulated community and are intended to enhance the safe transportation of hazardous materials in commerce, clarify regulatory requirements, and reduce operating burdens on cargo tank and cylinder manufacturers, requalifiers, carriers, shippers, and users. The most significant