PHMSA Publishes Petition Response Final Rule

Today the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule in the Federal Register (85 FR 7568-075717) for “Adoption of Miscellaneous Petitions To Reduce  Regulatory Burdens”. The notice of proposed rulemakings (NPRM) for this action was published in August of 2019.

Actions taken in this final rule include:

Phase-out of non-normalized tank cars used to transport PIH materials (revising §173.31),

Limited quantity shipments of hydrogen peroxide {revising Column (8A) of the HMT},

Markings on portable tanks {revising §172.302(b)(2)},

Reconditioning of metal drums {revising §173.28(c)(1)(i)},

Limited quantity harmonization {revising  Column (8A) (exceptions) of the HMT},

Mobile refrigeration units (revising §173.5b),

Incorporation by reference of CGA Standards (revising §171.7),

Special provision for explosives (revising §172.102),

Alternative reports for cargo tanks {revising §180.417(a)(3)},

Weight tolerances for paper shipping sacks (revising §178.521),

Markings on closed transport containers {revising §173.308(d)(3},

Finalization of the HM-246 tank car standard {revising §173.314(c) and revising §173.244(a)(2)},

Phase-out of non-HM-246 compliant rail tank cars (revising § 173.31),

Allow non-RCRA waste to use lab pack exception (revising § 171.8),

Incorporation of ASME Code sections II, V, VIII, and IX {revising §171.7(g)(1)},

Import of foreign Pi-marked cylinders (revising § 171.23, revising §173.302, and revising §173.304),

Placement of the word “stabilized” in shipping description {revising §172.101(c)},

Incorporation by reference of an AESC/IME standard {revising §171.7(r), and adding § 173.67},

Incorporation by reference of an updated APA Standard 87-1 {revising §171.7(f)}

PHMSA did not take action on the safety devices petition. It will be addressed in a separate rulemaking.

This final rule is effective on December 28^th, 2020. A delayed compliance date of November 26^th, 2021 is provided for the following changes:

• Phase-out of non-normalized tank cars used to transport PIH materials,

• Finalization of the HM-246 tank car standard, and

• Phase-out of non-HM-246 compliant rail tank cars.

PHMSA Sends Oil Spill Response Plan Rule to OMB

Yesterday the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration sent a final rule to the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) concerning oil spill response plans for Highly Hazardous Flammable Trains (HHFT). The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this rule was published in August of 2016.

According to the Unified Agenda abstract for this rulemaking, this final rule will:

• Expand the applicability of comprehensive oil spill response plans (OSRP) based on thresholds of liquid petroleum oil that apply to an entire train;

• Require railroads to share information about high-hazard flammable train operations with State and Tribal emergency response commissions to improve community preparedness in accordance with the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act); and

• Incorporate by reference an initial boiling point test [probably ASTM D7900] for flammable liquids for better consistency with the American National Standards Institute/American Petroleum Institute Recommend Practices 3000, "Classifying and Loading of Crude Oil into Rail Tank Cars," First Edition, September 2014.

As I have noted on a number of occasions, this rulemaking will not address the response to fires and explosions that have been such an obvious part of so many crude oil spills over the last five years. The OSRP requirements are derived from the Clean Water Act and deal with oil getting into water ways. Until Congress addresses the issue of responding to oil spill fires, this rulemaking will have little impact on addressing response to crude oil train fires.

PHMSA Announces HAZMAT Safety Research Meeting – 05-16/17-18

Yesterday the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration published a meeting notice in the Federal Register (83 FR 18126) for a public Research and Development Forum that will be held May 16 and 17, 2018, in Washington, DC. The meeting will review recently completed projects, provide updates on on-going investigations and solicit public input on possible future activities.

The notice comments that the PHMSA Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) is particularly interested in the research gaps associated with energetic materials characterization and transport, safe transport of energy products, safe containment and transportation of compressed gasses, safe packaging and transportation of charge storage devices, and others. As part of this focus OHMS intends to address the safety gaps recently identified in a 2017 cooperative research report completed by the National Academy of Sciences titled “Safely Transporting Hazardous Liquids and Gases in a Changing U.S. Energy Landscape”.

Those gaps are identified in the ‘Recommendations’ section of the report. They include recommendations that PHMSA should:

• Consult with industry on developments impacting energy liquids and gas transportation and report annually on steps that are being taken to monitor and assess the risk implications of such developments (pg 118);

• Evaluate the utility of existing incident- and traffic-reporting data for the purpose of identifying and assessing public safety and environmental risks associated with transporting energy liquids and gases, determine whether new and improved incident- and traffic-reporting systems are needed (pg 118):

• Encourage pipeline, barge, and rail carriers to make greater use of quantitative risk analysis tools to inform decisions about the routing of energy liquids and gases and about priorities for maintenance and integrity management of the equipment and infrastructure used (pg 119);

Regularly and systematically assess the risk-reducing effects of the HHFT rule, perhaps starting with a review of the crash and thermal performance of the new DOT-117 tank car designs (pg 119);

• Seek to model the full array of factors that can give rise to and affect the severity of flammable liquids train crashes (pg 119); and

• Make a concerted effort to ensure that federal emergency preparedness grants are being used to meet the planning, training, and resource needs of communities that are facing new and unfamiliar risks as a result of the changes that have occurred in the routing and volume of energy liquids and gas shipments (pg 120);

The registration page indicates that there will be a small-group discussion breakout on the second day of the meeting. The groups have been identified as:

• Risk management and communication (electronic hazard communication, GHS and PHMSA HM communications, and emergency response);

• Emerging technologies and risk mitigation (energy products classification, energy products packaging, and batteries and fuel cells);

• Packaging integrity (bulk packaging and non-bulk packaging); and

• Technical analysis of risk (energetic materials and compressed gases)

The meeting will include provisions for attending via teleconference and on-line participation. Details on those processes will become available at some future date on the PHMSA Research and Development Branch web site.

CG Announces CTAC Meeting

Today the Coast Guard published a meeting notice in the Federal Register (83 FR 5638-5640) for a three-day meeting of the Chemical Transport Advisory Committee on March 7-9, 2018 in Houston, TX. Subcommittee meetings will take up the first two days.

There are two subcommittees that maybe of specific interest to readers of this blog:

• Hazardous Substance Response Plans for Tank Vessels and Facilities (HAZSUB Twins) (Fall 2017 Report, PPT download); and

• Hazardous Cargo Transportation Security Subcommittee (Fall 2017 Report, PPT download).

The full Committee meeting will review the work of the subcommittees and formulate recommendations to the Commandant on their activities. Additionally, presentations will be made on:

• CG update on International Maritime Organization activities as they relate to the marine transportation of hazardous materials; and

• Presentation of interest related to safe and secure shipment of hazardous materials.

Public attendance is encouraged, but advance registration is required. Public comment periods will be included in all meetings. Written comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; docket # USCG-2018-0042). Comments to be considered at this meeting must be submitted by February 28^th, 2018.

DOT Publishes Energy Growth Report

On Friday the Department of Transportation published a notice in the Federal Register (82 FR 60693) announcing the publication of their report on “Agency Recommendations to Alleviate or Eliminate Actions That Burden Domestic Energy Production” that was required by EO 13783, Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.

The report addressed the following actions:

• Licensing of Deepwater Ports for Export of Oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (pg 4);

• Cylinder Requalification Requirements (pg 5)( 2137-AF30);

• Rail Transport of LNG (pg 5);

• Design Criteria and Limitations on the Use of Plastic Pipe (pgs 5-6)( 2137-AE93);

• Small Scale LNG Siting (pg 6);

• Small LPG Applicability (pgs 6-7); and

• Class Location Requirements (pg 7)( 2137-AF29).

Only three of the seven items have current rulemaking activities reported in the Fall 2017 Unified agenda; I have included links to those listings where they exist. The report explains that the Maritime Administration plans on publishing an Export Policy Notice in the Federal Register next month on the deep-water port issue. The report notes that PHMSA may consider issuing advanced notices of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on the three remaining activities.

There are no specific provisions in either the notice nor the report soliciting public comments on the report. 

OMB Approves PHMSA Shipping Papers ICR Revision

Last Friday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affair approved the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) information collection request (ICR) revision supporting requirements for hazardous material shipping papers and emergency response information. This ICR was filed in support of the most recent international harmonization of PHMSA hazardous material shipping regulations.

According to the abstract included in the recent notice, the ICR made the following changes to the ICR burden:

“This rulemaking reduced the burden to shippers by removing the requirement to provide a lithium battery handling document when shipping smaller lithium cells and batteries. While the rulemaking decreased the burden overall, the requirement that shippers communicate prototype or low production run battery shipments on a shipping paper resulted in an increase. The rulemaking also added new marine pollutant entries in Appendix B of § 172.101.”

While OIRA did not require any changes to the approved ICR, they did put PHMSA on notice about additional requirements that would be necessary for the next renewal of this ICR next spring. They noted that:

If PHMSA has not published a regulatory notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on paperless hazard communication by the time PHMSA must publish a 60 day notice to extend OMB approval of this collection, PHMSA should include at least the following information in the 60 and 30 day notices for extending approval of this collection, in addition to the standard information required by the PRA:

• Identification and explanation of any technical and other barriers to paperless hazard communication by mode and environment (e.g., rural, urban) if applicable, and requests for public comment on ways to address those barriers;

• Identification and explanation of any safety problems associated with paperless hazard communication that are not present with paper-based hazard communication;

• Identification of safety, business and any other benefits associated with paperless hazard communication, by mode if possible; and

• At least rough estimates of the potential burden and cost reduction from fully allowing paperless hazard communication, by mode if possible, the methodology/inputs for the estimates, and request public comment on those estimates.

PHMSA will probably have to publish the 60-day ICR notice in the next couple of months to be able to get the comment period and time to review the responses before it becomes necessary to publish the 30-day notice before April 30^th, 2018.

Commentary

This is not the first time that the Trump Administration’s OIRA has provided instructions to regulators to proactively move to electronic submission of information. This continues a regulatory theme that we have been seeing for the last couple of administrations. Not only will the electronic data collection reduce the data handling costs for the government, but it should provide at least some time burden reduction for industry.

As with my earlier post this morning, I do have some concerns about the cybersecurity protections for the data exchange process. If the data is submitted via email (a not very effective form of electronic data submission), this would provide a large number of emails (with attachments) from probably unauthenticated and unknown senders; a very sure method of increasing the general attack surface at PHMSA.

If, on the other hand, the data is directly provided to the database via a public web page, the security of that data can be subverted if the cybersecurity of the database (and the submission page) has not been properly implemented. More importantly, the cybersecurity protections need to be included in the design of the application and periodically reviewed and updated. This is an additional cost associated with electronic data submission that appears to be at least some what overlooked in the discussion of paperless government innovations.

PHMSA Submits Crude Oil Volatility ANPRM to OMB

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) concerning a potential rulemaking setting volatility standards for the safe shipment of crude oil. This rulemaking first appeared in the Fall 2016 Unified Agenda.

According to the abstract in the Unified Agenda this rulemaking is being considered because of a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Attorney General of the State of New York regarding vapor pressure standards for the transportation of crude oil. PHMSA could potentially apply vapor pressure standards to crude oil shipments and other class 3 materials.

Even if this ANPRM is published before January 20^th (not very probable given the holidays and other time constraints), it is unlikely that this rulemaking would proceed under the Trump Administration because of the opposition of crude oil and other flammable liquid shippers.

Note: I have discussed some of the issue related to  measuring crude oil volatility in my blog post about the introduction of HR 1679. The failure of that bill to even be considered in Committee is probably indicative of the lack of interest in Congress and the Republican leadership in general in considering this type of regulation.

House Passes S 546, the RESPONSE Act

Yesterday the House passed S 546, the RESPONSE Act, by a voice vote. There was less than five minutes of debate on the bill; mainly praise for the leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s efforts to refine the provisions of the bill.

The bill now goes back to the Senate for action on the amended language. The Senate will probably accept the House changes and send the bill to the President. This will most likely be accomplished under the Senate’s unanimous consent process. If the Senate does insist on their language, there is little chance that a conference committee could complete action before the 114^th Congress’ final session sometime towards the middle of December.

DHS Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations

Today the Department of Homeland Security published a notice in the Federal Register (81 FR 70060-70061) requesting public input into the Department’s periodic retrospective review of existing regulations. The regulations included in this review are found in the following Code of Federal Regulations chapters:

• 6 CFR Chapter I;

• 8 CFR Chapter I;

• 19 CFR Chapter I;

• 33 CFR Chapter I;

• 44 CFR Chapter I;

• 46 CFR Chapters I and III; and

• 49 CFR Chapter XII

This includes the following regulations that may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

• 6 CFR Part 27 - Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards

• 6 CFR Part 29 - Protected Critical Infrastructure Information

• 33 CFR Subchapter H - Maritime Security (Parts 101 - 107)

• 33 CFR Subchapter L - Waterfront Facilities (Parts 125 - 128)

• 33 CFR Subchapter N - Dangerous Cargoes (Parts 140 - 149)

• 33 CFR Subchapter O - Certain Bulk Dangerous Cargoes (Parts 150 - 155)

• 49 CFR Part 1520 - Protection of Sensitive Security Information

• 49 CFR Part 1572 - Credentialing and Security Threat Assessments

• 49 CFR Part 1580 - Rail Transportation Security

DHS notes that:

“DHS will afford significantly greater weight to feedback that identifies specific regulations, includes actionable data, or provides viable alternatives that meet statutory obligations and regulatory objectives. Feedback that simply states that a stakeholder feels strongly that DHS should change a regulation, but does not contain specific information on how the proposed change would impact the costs and benefits of the regulation, is much less useful to DHS. DHS is looking for new information and new economic data to support any proposed changes.” [emphasis in original]

DHS is soliciting public comment based upon specific principles and proposes a series of potential questions that such comments should address. Written comments can be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # DHS-2016-0072). Comments should be submitted by November 11^th, 2016.

Coast Guard Announces NMSAC Meeting – 10-18-16

Yesterday the Coast Guard published a meeting notice in the Federal Register (81 FR 66977-66978) for a two-day public meeting of the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee on October 10^th, 2016 in Leesburg, VA. There will be a webcast of the meeting as well as a teleconference link.

Topics of specific interest to readers of this blog will be addressed on the first day of the meeting. They include:

• Extremely Hazardous Cargo Strategy;

• Transportation Worker Identification Credential;

• Facility Security Officer Regulation and Training; and

• Regulatory Update.

There is no indication in the notice that advance registration is required to attend, view the web cast (https://share.dhs.gov/​nmsac/​) or listen to the teleconference connection (1-855-475-2447; pass code 764 990 20#).

Written comments on the above topics may be submitted to NMSAC for consideration. Comments can  be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # USCG-2016-0499).

Markup Hearing for S 546, RESPONSE Act, Scheduled

Earlier this week (after my hearing schedule blog post) the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee scheduled a markup hearing for a number of bills tomorrow. Of potential interest to readers of this blog is the markup of S 546, the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Act of 2015. This bill, passed in the Senate on May 9^th under the Senate’s unanimous consent process. The bill is virtually identical to HR 1043 that has yet to be acted upon by any of the five subcommittees of the Transportation Committee to which it has been assigned for consideration.

There is one amendment currently published for consideration in tomorrow’s hearing. The amendment contains a number of minor wording and procedural changes that do not substantially affect the purpose of the bill, establishing a subcommittee of the existing National Advisory Council to look at topics related to improving emergency responder training and resource allocation for hazardous materials incidents involving railroads.

This bill will almost certainly be passed on a voice vote in tomorrow’s hearing.

PHMSA Publishes New HMR Harmonization NPRM

Today the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (81 FR 61741-61831). PHMSA is initiating this latest version of their biennial process to harmonize the HMR with international regulations and standards. According to the Executive Summary, PHMSA is proposing to amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) “to maintain consistency with international regulations and standards by incorporating various amendments, including changes to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations, and vessel stowage requirements”.

Changes

The proposed changes include:

• Incorporation by Reference: PHMSA proposes to incorporate by reference the newest versions of various international hazardous materials standards;

• Hazardous Materials Table (HMT): PHMSA proposes amendments to the §172.101 Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) consistent with recent changes in the Dangerous Goods List of the 19th • Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations, the IMDG Code, and the ICAO Technical Instructions;

• Provisions for Polymerizing Substances: PHMSA proposes to revise the HMT consistent with amendments adopted into the UN Model Regulations, including adding to the HMT four new Division 4.1 entries for polymerizing substances;

• Modification of the Marine Pollutant List: PHMSA proposes to modify the list of marine pollutants in appendix B to §172.101 based upon changes to the IMDG Code and evaluation of listed materials;

• Packaging Requirements for Water-Reactive Materials Transported by Vessel: PHMSA proposes various amendments to packaging requirements for vessel transportation of water-reactive substances consistent with requirements in the IMDG Code;

• Hazard Communication Requirements for Lithium Batteries: PHMSA proposes to revise hazard communication requirements for shipments of lithium batteries consistent with changes adopted in the 19th Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations;

• Engine, Internal Combustion/Machinery, Internal Combustion: PHMSA proposes to harmonize the HMT proper shipping names utilized for the transportation of engines and machinery containing engines with those in the UN Model Regulations; and

• U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Proposals: PHMSA proposes several amendments to the HMR resulting from coordination with Canada under the U.S.-Canada RCC.

A number of recent changes to international regulations were specifically not included in the NPRM they include:

• Large Salvage Cylinders: The 17th Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations includes guidelines for Competent Authorities to use when issuing approvals for salvage pressure receptacles;

• Large Packagings for Waste Aerosols: The 19th Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations includes changes to the large packaging requirements for waste aerosols;

• Table Tennis Balls: The 19th Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations includes a special provision assigned to “UN 2000, Celluloid” that excepts table tennis balls made of celluloid from the requirements of the Model Regulations;

• IMO Portable Tank Marking: Amendment 38-16 to the IMDG Code includes an amendment to require IMO portable tanks manufactured before January 1, 2003, to be marked with an indication of the portable tank instruction for which it meets the minimum test pressure, minimum shell thickness, pressure relief requirements, and bottom opening requirements;

• Classification Inconsistencies: The 19th Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations includes text to address situations in which a consignor who is aware, on the basis of test data, that a substance listed by name in column 2 of the Dangerous Goods List in Chapter 3.2 of the UN Model Regulations meets classification criteria for a hazard class or division that is not identified in the list, may with the approval of the competent authority consign the substance;

• Filling Procedures for UN Pressure Receptacles: The 19th Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations includes text in P200 requiring the filling of pressure receptacles to be carried out by qualified staff using appropriate equipment and procedures;

• Intentionally Infected Animals: The 2017-2018 ICAO Technical Instructions adopted changes to the classification framework for infected live animals and animal materials;

• Special Aircraft Operations: The 2017-2018 ICAO Technical Instructions adopted changes to the general exceptions for hazardous materials carried by an aircraft in special aircraft operations;

• Enhanced Safety Provisions for Lithium Batteries Transported by Aircraft: The 2015-2016 Edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions adopted enhanced safety provisions for lithium batteries transported by aircraft, effective April 1, 2016;

• Sterilization Devices Containing Nitrogen Tetroxide or Nitric Oxide: The 2017-2018 ICAO Technical Instructions adopted special provision A211 to allow for the transport of sterilization devices that contain small quantities of “UN 1067, Nitrogen dioxide” and “UN 1660, Nitric oxide, compressed” by both passenger and cargo aircraft;

• Cylinders Containing Gases for Use in Fire Extinguishers or Stationary Fire-Fighting Installations;

Interim Final Rule

PHMSA notes that a number of the international rule changes will become effective on January 1^st, 2017. With it being unlikely that this rulemaking will be complete on that date PHMSA reports that they “will publish a bridging document in the form of an interim final rule to amend the HMR by incorporating the 19th Revised Edition of the UN Recommendations and the 2017-2018 Edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions”. IDMG code changes would not be included in that interim final rule since they do not become effective until January 1^st, 2018.

Polymerizing Substances

The proposed changes to the HMR for polymerizing substances includes adding special provision 387 for the four new “n.o.s.” HMT entries for polymerizing substances and to the 52 named substances in the HMT that polymerize, all of which contain the text “stabilized” as part of the proper shipping name;

The four new HMT entries for polymerizing substances that do not meet the criteria for inclusion in any other hazard class are:

• UN 3531 Polymerizing substance, solid, stabilized, n.o.s.

• UN 3532 Polymerizing substance, liquid, stabilized, n.o.s.

• UN 3533 Polymerizing substance, solid, temperature controlled, n.o.s.

• UN 3534 Polymerizing substance, liquid, temperature controlled, n.o.s.

Commentary

The provisions for polymerizing substances are intended to ensure that chemicals that generate heat during the polymerization process (a potential hazard to the transporter) that require temperature control to prevent the polymerization are properly identified and packaged. For the 52 specifically listed materials in the HMR this is a great idea and is long overdue. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the four new ‘n.o.s.’ polymerizing substance entries added to the HMR.

The major problem with these entries is that there is no definition of ‘polymerizing substances’ in HMR to guide shippers in applying these new entries. The closest that we come is temperature requirements in the new Special Provision 387 or the discussion in the preamble that notes that the current 52 HMR entries that this SP apply to all contain the word ‘stabilized’ in the description. PHMSA and the international regulating community really need to provide a specific definition for ‘polymerizing substance’ for these provisions to be effective.

Public Comments

PHMSA is soliciting comments on the proposed changes to the HMR. Written comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal {www.Regulations.gov; Docket #PHMSA-2015-0273 (HM-215N)}. Comments should be submitted by November 7^th, 2016.

HR 5762 Introduced – Rail Hazmat Safety

Last month Rep. Bonamici (D,OR) introduced HR 5762, the Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2016. The bill provides a number of measures designed to increase the safety of liquid hazardous material transportation by rail.

The bill includes four separate titles:

• Creation and Funding of Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account;

• Preparedness;

• Data Collection; and

• Authorization of Appropriations

Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account

Title I of the bill would amend 26 USC 9509 to create a Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account within the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF). The account would be used to fund Federal responses to oil and other liquid hazmat discharges resulting from accidents related to rail transportation of liquid hazardous materials. The account would also be used to fund various requirements of this bill.

Monies deposited in this account would come from deposits made to the OSLTF due to rail transportation incidents resulting from:

• Damages to natural resources which are required to be deposited in the Fund under 33 USC 2706(f);

• Amounts recovered by the Trust Fund under §2715; and

• Any penalty paid pursuant to 33 USC 1319(c) or §1321.

Additionally, §103 of the bill would add monies to the Account from fees established on the use of DOT 111 and CPC 1232 railcars for the transportation of hazardous flammable liquids. The fees would increase from an initial $175 per shipment in 2016 to a maximum of $1400 per shipment in 2018. The shipper would be required to pay these fees.

Preparedness

Title II of the bill address actions to be taken by the DOT to enhance potential responses to accidents related to the rail transportation of liquid hazardous materials. These actions include training of local first responders and implementation of a number of NTSB recommendations related to rail hazmat preparedness.

DOT would be required to add training standards for responding “to an accident or incident involving trains transporting at least 20 tank cars of flammable liquids or gases” {new §5115(b)(1)(B)} to the existing requirements of 49 USC 5115. Additionally, the DOT would be required to include planning and training for “to accidents and incidents involving trains transporting at least 20 tank cars of flammable liquids or gases” {new §5116(a)(1)(E)} to the allowable uses for grants under 49 USC 5116.

Section 204 of the bill would require DOT to implement the following National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations:

• R–07–002, dated April 25, 2007, relating to real-time information regarding the identity and location of all hazardous materials on a train:

• R–14–014, dated August 22, 2014 (relating to railroads providing communities and States with current commodity flow data and assisting with development of emergency operation and response plans;

• R–14–018, dated August 22, 2014 (relating to ensuring that emergency response information carried by train crews is consistent with the Emergency Response Guidebook;

• R–14–075 and R–14–076, dated December 30, 2014 (relating to allowable limits for track conditions; and

• R–14–019, dated August 22, 2014 (relating to developing, implementing and periodically evaluating requirements for railroads that transport hazardous materials to conduct public education programs for communities along railroad hazardous materials routes.

Data Collection

Title III of the bill requires the Department of Transportation and the Department of Commerce (for the Census study) to conduct four studies, each with a mandated report to Congress. Those studies involve:

• National flammable rail fire preparedness survey (§301);

• Hazardous materials railcar census (§302);

• Energy train data collection (§303); and

• Train length study.

Authorization

Title IV of the bill provides authorization for spending to support some of the requirements of this bill. The authorizations include:

• High hazard rail shipments preparedness and training grants - $15 million per year for 2016, 2017, and 2018 {§401(a)};

• Track relocation and railroad inspection safety grants - $25 million per year for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 {§401(b)};

• Data collection funding - $5 million for each of the three non-census studies mentioned above {§401(c)}; and

• Federal spill response funding under 42 USC 9604 (CERCLA) for flammable liquids and gasses rail-accident related spills - $100 million {§401(d)};

Moving Forward

Bonamici is not a member of any of the four committees to which this bill was referred for consideration. This means that it is unlikely that any of these committees will consider the bill. If the bill were to make it out of committee to be considered by the whole House, the bill would almost certainly be opposed by most of the Republican (and some Democratic) members of the House because of the additional spending authorized by the bill and the fees being required for the continued use of DOT 111 and CPC 1232 railcars for flammable liquid transport.

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.

PHMSA Withdraws Wetlines Rulemaking

Today the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration published a notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 81501-81503) withdrawing its rulemaking action with regards to tank truck wetlines. The notice of proposed rulemaking initiating this rulemaking was published in the Federal Register (76 FR 4847-4854). The rulemaking is being withdrawn at the direction of Congress {§7206 of the FAST Act (PL 114-94 which has not yet been printed)}.

The proposed rule would have prohibited the transportation of flammable liquids “in unprotected product piping (generally referred to as the ‘wetlines’) on the cargo tank of existing and newly manufactured DOT specification cargo tank motor vehicles”. The transportation of any material

that is a Division 6.1 (poisonous liquid) material, oxidizer liquid, liquid organic peroxide or corrosive liquid in wetlines is already prohibited by 49 CFR 173.33(e).

The notice does include most of the standard analysis that PHMSA would have done in support of a final rule on this rulemaking. It includes a review of the comments received on the NPRM as well as a revised cost-benefit analysis of the proposed rulemaking. Independently of the Congressional mandate PHMSA concluded that the proposed rule “prohibiting the transportation of flammable liquids in wetlines is unlikely to be cost beneficial”.

PHMSA does note that it “will continue to examine this issue, particularly by monitoring flammable liquid wetlines incidents, in consideration of any future actions”.

Because this was a Congressionally mandated action and PHMSA has no discretion in the matter, public comments were not solicited.

Connected Rail Cars

There is an interesting blog post over at Bosch.SI.com discussing the use of a new Bosch product used for tracking railcar position and status. This idea has been tossed around for a couple of years now, but it seems that Bosch has actually fielded a commercial product.

Advantages

The blog post is a bit of a sales pitch, but it does provide some interesting justifications for tracking railcars and the status of key information about those cars. It talks about GPS tracking, temperature sensing and vibration sensing as some of the things that railcar owners or shippers might want to keep track of.

For chemical tank car shipment I can think of a couple of other things that could also be included. Tank pressure and temperature sensors could provide valuable information to first responders at a derailment. Tank cars with rising temperature and pressure because of a localized fire could be monitored for safety considerations. As pressures and temperatures started to increase water streams could be placed on the car to prevent venting or a catastrophic release. As those parameters approached safety critical values first responders could be pulled back to a safer position.

Pressures decreasing on a tank car would be a sure sign of a leak and could allow protective measures and evacuations to be conducted before the leak reached a critical mass.

Disadvantages

As with anything else involved in the internet of things (IOT), security has to be designed into to these data reporting sensors at an early stage. While shippers certainly want to know about the location of their products in the distribution chain, so do crooks and terrorists. Know which box car contains high value electronics is certainly desirable information for a gang of thieves wishing to intercept the shipment, but a GPS reporting of where that boxcar is parked on a siding is even more valuable.

A terrorist would bent on using a chlorine rail car as a weapon of mass destruction would love to be able to use a GPS tracker to locate the car to place an improvised-explosive device on it to make it into a very large barrel bomb, but then using that same GPS tracker to allow the device to be detonated at the most effective location would make the attack that much more devastating.

Balanced Approach

Again IOT devices in chemical transport are a double edged sword. They can provide benefits in product transportation monitoring for the supply chain managers, safety information for emergency responders and potential targeting data for terrorists and criminals. Proper planning and design will enhance the first two and prevent the third.

CG Announces CTAC Meeting – 8-19-14

Today the Coast Guard published a meeting notice in the Federal Register (79 FR 35369-35370) for a three day meeting of their Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) starting August 19^th, 2014 in Arlington, VA. The meeting is open to the public.

There will be sub-committee meetings on the 19^th and 20^th. Each of the sub-committees has different task statements outlined for their meetings. Details can be found via the Homeport web site (sorry no direct links are available through Homeport).

The full committee will meet on the 21^st. Their agenda includes:

• Harmonization of Response and Carriage Requirements for Biofuels and Biofuel Blends.

• Recommendations on Safety Standards for the Design of Vessels Carrying Natural Gas or Using Natural Gas as Fuel.

• Recommendations for Safety Standards for Ship to Ship Transfer of Hazardous Material Outside of the Baseline.

• 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 the IBC Code).

• Requirements for Third-Party Surveyors of MARPOL Annex II Prewash Operations.

• Improving Implementation of and Education about MARPOL Discharge Requirements Under MARPOL Annex II and V.

There will also be Coast Guard presentations on:

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

• Update on U.S. regulations as they relate to the marine transportation of hazardous materials.

• Update on Bulk Chemical Data Guide (Blue Book).

• Update on vessel to vessel transfer of hazardous materials in bulk.

Time has been set aside during sub-committee meetings and the full committee meeting for public comments. Registration is required to present oral statements; contact Patrick Keffler, 202-372-1424, fax 202-372-8380.

PHMSA Dealing with Syrian Chemical Weapons Issues

The DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice in today’s Federal Register (79 FR 33802-33803) announcing the availability of an environmental assessment concerning a special permit request covering the truck transportation of various chemical weapons precursor chemicals from the port facilities at Port Arthur, TX 15 miles to a hazardous waste treatment facility for destruction. This operation is being conducted as part of the OPCW’s operation to remove chemical weapons and their precursors from Syria.

The chemicals in these shipments (sixteen sealed ISO maritime shipping containers) include:

• UN1052, hydrogen fluoride, anhydrous (five containers);

• UN1340, diphosphorus pentasulfide (one container);

• UN1809, phosphorus trichloride (two containers);

• UN1810, phosphorus oxychloride (two containers); and

• UN1789, Hydrochloric acid (six containers).

The chemicals involved are all packaged in smaller packagings within shipping containers. The packagings for the hydrogen fluoride are not marked with UN markings indicating that they are designed and inspected for the safe transportation of HF, but they were inspected upon loading by a team including:

• A representative of the  OPCW Technical Secretariat;

• An independent IMDG expert, contracted by the Secretariat for this purpose;

• A Norwegian IMDG expert; and

• Danish and Finish representatives from the Danish cargo vessel Ark Futura.

Those inspectors determined that the material was appropriately and safely packaged for transportation.

PHMSA is now caught between a rock and a political hard place. They can forbid the transportation of the HF because it is not properly packaged under the US rules, it can put its collective head in the sand and ignore the situation, or it can issue a special permit with appropriate mitigation measures in place for the transport. It looks like PHMSA will take the last option; good for them.

PHMSA is soliciting public comments on its environmental assessment. Comments may be filed using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # PHMSA-2014-0085). Comments need to be submitted by June 23^rd, 2014. The ship has sailed.

OMB Approves ICR Renewal for FRA EO 28

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs announced that it had approved the regular renewal of the information collection request (ICR) supporting the FRA’s Emergency Order # 28 (EO 28), the safety rules the FRA put into place after the crude oil train derailment, fire and explosions in Canada last summer.

The original ICR for EO 28 was a six-month emergency ICR granted by OIRA shortly after EO 28 was published. The table below shows the change in the burden estimates for the renewed ICR.

	Original ICR	Renewed ICR
Burden Responses	23,511,355	23,480,082
Burden Hours	1,981,133	205,404
Burden Cost	$ 0	$ 0

Part of the reduction in the burden estimate is due to the one time requirements in the EO that have already been taken care of. For example the EO requires railroads to establish a plan that identifies specific locations and circumstances when covered trains or vehicles may be left unattended; it is expected that railroads will have already established such plans so only a limited number of periodic revisions will be required.

The largest single reduction in the burden estimate comes from a change in the estimated time required to conduct train securement job briefings. The original ICR estimated that it would take 5-minutes for each briefing and the new estimate changes that to 30-seconds. The ICR supporting document (download link) does not explain the change in time, but I suspect that it is due to the fact that these briefings have been conducted numerous times with each employee so they are now recaps instead of full briefings. This specific change reduces the time burden from 1,950,000 hours to 195,000 hours.

As is typical for DOT agencies, there are not cost estimates included in the ICR or its justification.

A Responder’s Look at Crude Oil Derailments

The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will be holding a hearing tomorrow looking at “An assessment on how to keep our railways safe for passengers and communities”. The witness list includes:

• Anthony Foxx, Department of Transportation;

• Deborah Hersman, National Transportation Safety Board;

• Barb Graff, City of Seattle Office of Emergency Management; and

• Tim Pellerin, Town of Rangeley, Maine, Fire Department

I overlooked this in my earlier post on congressional hearings for this week because of the ‘passengers’ thing. A press release from Sen. Collins (R,ME), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, points out that Chief Pellerin was a responder to the crude oil train derailment at  Lac-Mégantic on July 6, 2013. That certainly means that the ‘and communities’ portion of this hearing will look at the effects of freight derailments.