OMB Approves PHMSA Fuel Transportation Final Rule – 12-23-25

On Tuesday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a final rule from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on “Eliminating Unnecessary Burdens On Fuel Transportation ”. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published on October 28^th, 2024.

According to the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking:

“PHMSA is adopting several amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens associated with the safe transportation of hazardous materials, including energy products, in commerce. These amendments will reduce costs on hazardous materials transporters and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on fuel transportation while maintaining or increasing the level of safety provided in the Hazardous Materials Regulations.”

This certainly sounds like the rulemaking is in response to the deregulatory demands of  EO 14154, Unleashing American Energy. An alert reader will have noticed, however, that the NPRM for this rulemaking was published under the Biden Administration under the title of “Hazardous Materials: Advancing Safety of Highway, Rail, and Vessel Transportation”. To be fair, the rulemaking was initiated under the 45 Administration as the “Hazardous Materials: Modal Regulatory Reform Initiatives”.

The first mention of this rulemaking showed up in the Fall 2018 Unified Agenda:

“This rulemaking amends the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 100-185) to adopt a number of actions that will ease regulatory burdens on modal transportation while continuing to protect our communities from the risks inherent to transporting hazardous materials. These modal-specific (e.g., rail, highway, and vessel) amendments include deregulatory actions identified by internal agency review and public comments on the Department of Transportation regulatory reform and infrastructure notices.”

Biden’s PHMSA slightly modified that description in the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda:

“This rulemaking would amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to adopt a number of modal specific amendments that would enhance the safe transportation of hazardous materials. PHMSA, in consultation with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the United States Coast Guard, proposes amendments identified during Departmental review and from industry petitions for rulemaking.”

The final rule should be published in the Federal Register in early January.