Research and Special Programs Administration January 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This is to notify the public that RSPA has determined that a number of DOT specification compressed gas cylinders seized by the State of Maine, Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP), may have been marked as requalified in accordance with the HMR when the cylinders were not subjected to testing. During property seizure proceedings, MDEP took possession of numerous cylinders owned by Harry J. Smith, Jr., and his daughter, Dawn Smith, of Meddybemps, Maine, in accordance with a state mandated environmental clean-up of the Smiths' property. RSPA has gathered evidence that suggests the high-pressure DOT specification industrial gas cylinders owned by the Smiths may have been marked, certified and returned to service when the cylinders had not been properly requalified in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). A hydrostatic retest and visual inspection are used to verify the structural integrity of compressed gas cylinders. If a hydrostatic retest and visual inspection are not performed within the time period required by the HMR, cylinders with compromised structural integrity may be returned to service when they should be condemned. Extensive property damage, serious personal injury, or death could result from rupture of a cylinder.

This final rule amends the Hazardous Materials Regulations by incorporating into the regulations the provisions of certain widely used exemptions which have established a history of safety and which may be converted into regulations for general use. We are also making minor revisions to the requirements for use of packagings authorized under exemptions. The revisions provide wider access to the benefits of the provisions granted in these exemptions and eliminate the need for the current exemption holders to reapply for renewal of the exemption, thus reducing paperwork burdens and facilitating commerce while maintaining an acceptable level of safety.

This direct final rule makes a minor editorial correction to the definition of ``transmission line'' in the Federal safety regulations for natural gas pipelines. The correction is intended to clarify that gathering lines are excluded from the definition of transmission line. Because gathering lines have never been included in the definition of transmission line, the correction will not result in any substantive change in the definition.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, exemptions 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 exemptions (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. The applications have been separated from the new application for exemption to facilitate processing.

This notice announces a public meeting to be held on January 27, 2005, to solicit public comments on amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations adopted by RSPA in an interim final rule published on December 15, 2004. This interim final rule imposed a limited prohibition on offering for transportation and transportation of primary (non-rechargeable) lithium batteries and cells as cargo aboard passenger-carrying aircraft.

Each year pipeline operators randomly select employees to test for prohibited drugs. The number of selections may not be less than the minimum annual percentage rate the Research and Special Programs Administration's (RSPA) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) determines, either 50 percent or 25 percent of covered employees, based on the industry's positive rate of random tests. In accordance with applicable standards, RSPA/OPS has determined that the positive rate of random drug tests reported by operators this calendar year for testing done in calendar year 2003 is less than 1.0 percent. Therefore, in calendar year 2005, the minimum annual percentage rate for random drug testing is 25 percent of covered employees.