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

PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to remind each owner and operator of a pipeline facility that the ``Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020'' (PIPES Act of 2020) contains a self-executing mandate requiring operators to update their inspection and maintenance plans to address eliminating hazardous leaks and minimizing releases of natural gas (including intentional venting during normal operations) from their pipeline facilities. Operators must also revise their plans to address the replacement or remediation of pipeline facilities that are known to leak based on their material, design, or past operating and maintenance history. The statute requires pipeline operators to complete these updates by December 27, 2021.

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.

This proceeding was initiated in February 1998, when the National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. (NTTC) applied to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration \1\ (PHMSA) for a determination that the HMTA preempted certain marking and record keeping requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). PHMSA found that the HMTA preempted the NYSDEC requirements because the requirements were not substantively the same as requirements in the HMR on the marking, maintaining, repairing, or testing of a package or container that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for transporting hazardous material. NYSDEC's petition for reconsideration of that decision is dismissed on the grounds of mootness. NYSDEC has made significant revisions to its regulations, and the revised rules do not appear to impose the same requirements on regulated entities as the previous version of the rules that were challenged in this proceeding. It therefore does not appear that reconsidering PHMSA's preemption determination regarding the now- superseded NYSDEC rules would have any practical effect.

In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, DOT published a final rule on May 3, 2021 to provide the 2021 inflation adjustment to civil penalty amounts that may be imposed for violations of certain DOT regulations. This rule corrects an error in that rulemaking resulting from an inaccurate amendatory instruction. The rule does not change any civil penalty amounts established in the final rule published on May 3, 2021.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from the National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (NFG). The special permit request is 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 request.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from the Tejas Pipeline, LLC (Tejas). The special permit request is 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 request.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on four information collections pertaining to hazardous materials transportation for which PHMSA intends to request renewal from the Office of Management and Budget.

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 issuing this notice to serve process in accordance with 49 CFR 105.35(a)(3) and inform all persons who currently hold Explosive (EX) approvals for four specific Division 1.4S explosives of the process necessary for maintaining or upgrading these approvals.

This notice announces that PHMSA's Office of Hazardous Materials Safety will host four public meetings during 2021 in advance of certain international meetings. The first meeting will be held in preparation of the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP) Working Group 21 (WG/21) virtual meeting scheduled for May 24-28, 2021. The second meeting will be held in preparation of the 58th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG) scheduled for June 28 to July 2, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. The third meeting will be held in preparation of the ICAO DGP 28 Meeting (DGP/28) scheduled for September 27 to October 1, 2021. The fourth meeting will be held in preparation of the 59th session of the UNSCOE TDG scheduled for November 29 to December 8, 2021. For each of these meetings, PHMSA will solicit public input on current proposals.

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 accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2021, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, titled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,'' PHMSA delays the effective date of the final rule, ``Pipeline Safety: Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform,'' until March 21, 2021. PHMSA also delays until March 21, 2021, its withdrawal of the March 26, 2019, ``Exercise of Enforcement Discretion Regarding Farm Taps'' and the unpublished October 27, 2015, letter to the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America announcing a stay of enforcement pertaining to certain pressure vessels.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from the Tejas Pipeline, LLC (Tejas). The special permit request is 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 request.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, PHMSA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew the following information collections that are scheduled to expire in 2021 under OMB control numbers: 2137-0632 Post-Accident Drug Testing for Operators (6/30/21); 2137-0594 Customer-Owned Service Lines (8/31/21); 2137-0622 Public Awareness Program (9/30/21); 2137-0048 Recordkeeping Requirements for Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities (9/30/21); 2137-0618 Periodic Underwater Inspection and Notification of Abandoned Underwater Pipelines (10/31/21); 2137-0600 Qualification of Pipeline Safety Training (10/31/21), and 2137-0634 Recordkeeping for Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities (10/31/21). PHMSA has reviewed each of these collections and considers them vital to the continuity of promoting and maintaining pipeline safety. As such, PHMSA will request a renewal, without change, to each of the information collections detailed below.

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 publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, LLC (NGPL). The special permit request is 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 request.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from the Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C. (SNG). The special permit request is 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 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.

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 publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, L.L.C. (NGPL). The special permit request is 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 request.

This final rule corrects editorial errors and improves the clarity of certain provisions in the Hazardous Materials Regulations and PHMSA program and procedural regulations. The intended effect of this rulemaking is to enhance the accuracy and reduce misunderstandings of the regulations. The amendments contained in this final rule are non-substantive changes and do not impose new requirements.

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, 2-Rail freight, 3-Cargo vessel, 4-Cargo aircraft only, 5-Passenger-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.