PHMSA Sends 2 Deregulation ANPRMs to OMB

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received two advanced notices of proposed rulemaking (ANPRMs) from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA):

Hazardous Materials: Mandatory Regulatory Review to Unleash American Energy and Improve Government Efficiency, and

Pipeline Safety: Mandatory Regulatory Reviews to Unleash American Energy and Improve Government Efficiency

Neither rulemaking was listed in the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda, so there is no formal explanation about the purpose and scope of either rulemaking. It does appear, however, that these two rules are in response to the requirements of §3(a) and §3(b) of EO 14154, Unleashing American Energy, requiring agencies to “identify those agency actions that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources” and then “develop and begin implementing action plans to suspend, revise, or rescind all agency actions identified as unduly burdensome”.

Under the Hazardous Materials rulemaking, I suspect that PHMSA will address the suspension of the authorization to ship liquified natural gas by railcars that was implemented by the Biden Administration.