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

PHMSA proposes to make miscellaneous amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations to update and clarify certain regulatory requirements. These proposed amendments are designed to promote safer transportation practices; eliminate unnecessary regulatory requirements; address a petition for rulemaking; incorporate a special permit into the Hazardous Materials Regulations; facilitate international commerce; and simplify the regulations. Among other provisions, PHMSA is proposing to update various entries in the Hazardous Materials Table and corresponding special provisions, clarify the lab pack requirements for temperature-controlled materials, and revise the training requirements to require that a hazardous material employer must make hazardous materials employee training records available upon request to an authorized official of the Department of Transportation (DOT) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 51I7(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 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 preparing to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the revision of several forms in two currently approved information collections. PHMSA is looking at making several minor revisions to the hazardous liquid pipeline systems accident report and the gas transmission and gathering pipeline systems incident report. In addition, PHMSA is considering a number of revisions to the annual report form for gas transmission and gathering pipeline systems. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, PHMSA invites comments only on the proposed revisions to the forms.

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeks to revise the Pipeline Safety Regulations to: Establish criteria and procedures for determining the adequacy of state pipeline excavation damage prevention law enforcement programs; establish an administrative process for making adequacy determinations; establish the Federal requirements PHMSA will enforce in states with inadequate excavation damage prevention law enforcement programs; and establish the adjudication process for administrative enforcement proceedings against excavators where Federal authority is exercised. Pursuant to the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety (PIPES) Act of 2006, establishment of review criteria for state excavation damage prevention law enforcement programs is a prerequisite should PHMSA find it necessary to conduct an enforcement proceeding against an excavator in the absence of an adequate enforcement program in the state where the violation occurs. The development of these criteria and the subsequent determination of the adequacy of state excavation damage prevention law enforcement programs is intended to encourage states to develop effective excavation damage prevention law enforcement programs to protect the public from the risk of pipeline ruptures caused by excavation damage, and allow for Federal administrative enforcement action in states with inadequate enforcement programs.