The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Monday announced a new, proposed rule that the agency said would modernize and simplify hazardous material transportation regulations that impact truck drivers hauling fuels, as well as enhance safety standards across highway, rail, and vessel modes of transportation.
PHMSA said the proposal would save businesses and consumers close to $100 million a year.
“Hazardous materials are a significant share of the essential goods routinely shipped in the United States, and the Biden-Harris Administration is working to make it more affordable and straightforward to safely move these materials through our supply chains,” said DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The proposal we’re announcing today streamlines requirements while maintaining safety measures, helping to reduce costs for businesses and consumers and make it easier for drivers to do their job.”
Specifically, the proposed rule updates and modernizes regulations to accommodate the latest technologies, business practices, and understandings of hazardous materials, including updates in packaging practices for hazmat transportation.
PHMSA, in conjunction with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, are proposing numerous revisions to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) related to transportation of hazardous materials by highway. PHMSA will propose 42 changes to trucking-related hazmat regulations, including allowing the use of video cameras or video optics equipment for any inspection or test of cargo tanks; specifying that a cargo tank may display the UN ID number of the petroleum distillate fuel with the lowest flash point transported in different trips on the previous or current business day, except for gasoline and alcohol fuel blends with more than 10% ethanol; a change to bonding and grounding requirements and more.
“This proposal focuses on ways to reduce regulatory burdens for America’s truck drivers and increases the overall efficiency of America’s critical energy transportation supply chains that impact every job and industry throughout our economy," said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown.
The proposed rule has been submitted to the Office of the Federal Register for publication, but not yet published, and can be seen here. PHMSA will accept comments on the proposed rule up to 90 days after it publishes in the Federal Register.
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