Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration February 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this document, PHMSA is responding to comments received from its initial Notice No. 11-6 clarifying PHMSA's policy regarding the fireworks approvals program. Furthermore, in this document PHMSA is restating its policy clarification that it will accept only those classification approval applications for Division 1.1 fireworks that have been examined and assigned a recommended shipping description, division, and compatibility group by a DOT-approved explosives test laboratory, or those that have been issued an approval for the explosive by the competent authority of a foreign government acknowledged by PHMSA's Associate Administrator. This policy clarification is intended to enhance safety by ensuring that fireworks transported in commerce meet the established criteria for their assigned classification, thereby minimizing the potential shipment of incorrectly classified or forbidden fireworks.

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.

The recent passage of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 has set forth several mandates and reports to Congress that PHMSA must complete. Reports on leak detection and automatic/remote control valves are among these mandates. PHMSA is sponsoring these public meetings to further study how to encourage operators to expand the use of leak detection systems (LDS) and improve system effectiveness on the Nation's pipeline infrastructure and how remote control and automatic control valves can be installed to lessen the volume of natural gas and hazardous liquid released during catastrophic pipeline events.