Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a final rule from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for “Hazardous Materials: Suspension of HMR Amendments Authorizing Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas by Rail”.
According to the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking:
“This rulemaking action would amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to suspend authorization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation by rail tank car pending completion of the companion rulemaking under RIN 2137-AF54 [link added], or June 30, 2024.”
As a practical matter, this rulemaking is of little
consequence. According to the latest
information that I can find (a 2021 article) there are few if any of the
special DOT-113C120W9 railcars needed to transport LNG. Of course, part of the
reason that no one is ordering these railcars is the uncertainty of whether LNG
transportation by rail is going to be continued to be allowed or, if still
allowed, whether there will be changes to the requirements for the railcars
under the other rulemaking. The railcars cost too much for this lack of
certainty.
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