CG Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting Announced

Today the Coast Guard published a meeting notice in the Federal Register (81 FR 6028-6030) for a three-day meeting of the Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee starting March 1^st, 2016 in Houston, TX. The first two-days of the meeting will be at the sub-committee level with the final day being a public full-committee meeting.

The separate subcommittee meetings will address the following topics:

• Task Statement 13-06: Harmonization of Response and Carriage Requirement for Oil-Like Substances, including Biofuels and Biofuel Blends.

• Task Statement 13-03: Safety Standards for the Design of Vessels Carrying Natural Gas or Using Natural Gas as Fuel.

• Task Statement 13-07: Recommendations for Safety Standards for Ship to Ship Transfer of Hazardous Material Outside of the Baseline.

• Task Statement 13-01: Recommendations for Guidance on the Implementation of Revisions to MARPOL Annex II and the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (commonly known as IBC code) and 46 CFR 153 Regulatory

• Task Statement 13-04: Improve Implementation and education of discharge requirements related to solid bulk cargo residues.

• Task Statement 15-01: Marine Vapor Control System (VCS) Certifying Entities (CE) Guidelines update and VCS supplementary guidance for the implementation of the final rule.

Additional information on the task statements can be found under the CTAC tab on the left side of the CG Homeport page. Sorry the CG does not use live links on the Homeport site so you have to click through the menu options. Someday the Coasties will really join the internet age.

The full committee meeting will address the topics described above and will attempt to formulate recommendations to the Commandant on each of the topics. Additionally, the Committee will receive CG updates on:

• International Maritime Organization activities as they relate to the marine transportation of hazardous materials.

• U.S. regulations and policy initiatives as they relate to the marine transportation of hazardous materials.

These meetings are open to the public and there will be public comment periods scheduled in each subcommittee meeting as well as at the full committee meeting. People wishing to attend the meetings should pre-register via email (Cristina.E.Nelson@uscg.mil). Those wishing to pre-register to make an oral public comments can do so by email (Evan.D.Hudspeth@uscg.mil). Written comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # USCG-2016-0031). Those comments should be submitted by February 12^th, 2016 so that they can be distributed to Committee members before the meeting.