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

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

On October 14, 2016, PHMSA published an interim final rule (IFR) issuing temporary emergency order procedures and requesting public comment. This final rule adopts, with modifications, that IFR implementing the emergency order authority conferred on the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) by the ``Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016'' (PIPES Act). These regulations establish procedures for the issuance of emergency orders to address an unsafe condition or practice, or a combination of unsafe conditions or practices, that constitute or cause an imminent hazard to public health and safety or the environment. The regulations describe the duration and scope of such orders and provide a mechanism by which pipeline owners and operators subject to, and aggrieved by, emergency orders can seek administrative or judicial review.

NORA, An Association of Responsible Recyclers, has petitioned for an administrative determination that the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) preempts an Oregon hazardous waste regulation to the extent that Oregon interprets the regulation as imposing a strict liability standard on transporters of hazardous waste. Because the HMTA's preemption provisionsincluding the provision granting the Department the authority to make administrative preemption determinationsexpressly do not apply to a ``mental state . . . utilized by a State . . . to enforce a requirement applicable to the transportation of hazardous material,'' PHMSA lacks authority to act on NORA's petition. PHMSA therefore rejects the petition.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, 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: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, 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: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

This rulemaking responds to numerous petitions for rulemaking submitted by the regulated community that request PHMSA address a variety of provisions, including but not limited to those addressing packaging, hazardous communication, and incorporation by reference documents. PHMSA proposes amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations to update, clarify, improve the safety of, or provide relief from various regulatory requirements. The proposed amendments include adopting a phase-out schedule for certain railroad tank cars used to transport materials poisonous by inhalation, allowing the continued use of certain portable and mobile refrigerator systems commonly used in the produce industry, incorporating an industry standard that can help to enhance the production of oil and gas wells, and incorporating an updated consensus standard which applies to the existing market for fireworks; as well as additional proposed amendments derived from PHMSA's petition for rulemaking process.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, 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: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, 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 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, this final rule provides the 2019 inflation adjustment to civil penalty amounts that may be imposed for violations of certain DOT regulations.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to seek public comments on a request for a special permit seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the federal pipeline safety regulations. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to either grant or deny the special permit request.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to seek public comment on a request for special permit renewal, seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the federal pipeline safety regulations. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny the special permit renewal request.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

PHMSA is extending the comment period for the notice announcing the availability for public review of and comment on the draft environmental assessment for a special permit request to transport ``Methane, Refrigerated Liquid'' (i.e., liquefied natural gas) by rail tank car.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, 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: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the information collection requests abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the information collections was published on March 22, 2019. PHMSA invites comments on two information collections that will be expiring in 2019. PHMSA will request an extension, without change, for the information collections identified by OMB control number 2137-0578 and 2137-0605. During the public comment period, PHMSA received no comments in response to the information collections. PHMSA is publishing this notice to provide the public with an additional 30 days to comment on the renewal of the information collections referenced above and to announce that the information collection requests will be submitted to OMB for approval.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to seek public comments on four special permit requests received from the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC). AGDC is seeking compliance relief from certain requirements in the federal pipeline safety regulations for the construction of an integrated liquefied natural gas project with interdependent facilities for transporting and liquefying supplies of natural gas in Alaska.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) discussed below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal and extension. These ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burdens. A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on these ICRs was published in the Federal Register on February 25, 2019 under Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0114 (Notice No. 2018-24). PHMSA received two comments in response to the February 25, 2019 notice. One comment from Bruce Grimm was supportive of PHMSA continuing to collect information related to subsidiary hazards under OMB control number 2137-0613. The other comment was outside the scope of this notice.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, 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: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

PHMSA's Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) will hold a public meeting to solicit input on the development of the 2020 edition of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG2020). The meeting will take place on June 17, 2019, in Washington, DC. PHMSA developed the United States version of the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) for use by emergency services personnel to provide guidance for initial response to hazardous materials transportation incidents. Since 1980, it has been PHMSA's goal that all public emergency response personnel (e.g., fire-fighting, police, and rescue squads) have free and immediate access to the ERG. To date, PHMSA has distributed more than 14.5 million copies of the ERG to emergency service agencies and developed free online resources and downloadable mobile applications to make the ERG more accessible. Since 1996, PHMSA, Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communication and Transport of Mexico have collaborated in development of the ERG, with interested parties from government and industry providing additional assistance, including Argentina's Chemical Information Center for Emergencies (CIQUIME). ERG2020 will be published in English, French, and Spanish and will increase public safety by providing consistent emergency response procedures for hazardous materials transportation incidents throughout North America. During the meeting, PHMSA will respond to stakeholder requests for a public discussion of the methodology used to determine the appropriate response protective distances for poisonous vapors resulting from spills involving dangerous goods considered toxic by inhalation in the ERG2016 ``Green Pages.'' To pursue our objective of continually improving the ERG, PHMSA will solicit comments related to new methodologies and considerations for future editions of the ERG. Additionally, the meeting will include discussions on the outcomes of field experiments, ongoing research efforts to better understand environmental effects on airborne toxic gas concentrations, and updates to be published in the ERG2020. Time and Location: The meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Transportation Conference Center at 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590 on June 17, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Registration: DOT requests that attendees pre-register for this meeting by completing the form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ 82Z6KYM. Conference call-in and ``live meeting'' capability will be provided. Specific information about conference call-in and live meeting access will be posted, when available, at: https:// www.phmsa.dot.gov/research-and-development/hazmat/rd-meetings -and- events. DOT is committed to providing equal access for all Americans and ensuring that information is available in appropriate alternative formats to meet the requirements of persons who have a disability. If you require an alternative version of files provided or alternative accommodations, please contact PHMSA-Accessibility@dot.gov no later than June 3, 2019.

PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to remind owners and operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines of the potential for damage to pipeline facilities caused by earth movement from both landslides and subsidence in variable, steep, and rugged terrain and for varied geological conditions. These conditions can pose a threat to the integrity of pipeline facilities if those threats are not identified and mitigated.

This final rule makes minor technical corrections to the OST, FAA, FTA, and PHMSA regulations governing drug testing for safety- sensitive employees to ensure consistency with the recent amendments made to the Department of Transportation's regulation, ``Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs,'' which added requirements to test for oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone to DOT-regulated drug testing programs. The changes to the Department's regulation make it necessary to refer to these substances, as well as the previously covered drugs morphine, 6- acetylmorphine, and codeine, by the more inclusive term ``opioids,'' rather than ``opiates.'' This rule amends the term in the FAA, FTA, and PHMSA regulations to ensure that all DOT drug testing rules are consistent with one another and with the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. In addition, this rule makes a conforming amendment to include the term ``opioids'' in the wording of the Department's annual information collection requirement and clarifications to section 40.26 and Appendix H regarding the requirement for employers to follow the Department's instructions for the annual information collection.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, 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: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to remind all owners and operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines of the potential for damage to pipeline facilities caused by severe flooding and actions that operators should consider taking to ensure the integrity of pipelines in the event of flooding, river scour, and river channel migration.