U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a new, proposed rule that would provide close to $100 million in annual cost savings for businesses and consumers. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would improve supply chains by modernizing and simplifying hazardous material transportation regulations that impact truck drivers hauling fuels. It will enhance safety standards across highway, rail, and vessel modes of transportation.
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.
Highlights of the proposed rule include:
• Reducing burdens for U.S. truck drivers by simplifying hazard communication requirements for fuels including gasoline that are transported in tanker trucks.
• Encouraging innovation and safety improvements to hazardous materials rail cars by reducing review times for tank car design improvements and addressing National Transportation Safety Board recommendations regarding improved design standards for rail tank cars.
• Modernizing standards for essential agricultural equipment by codifying manufacturing standards for newly built fertilizer tanks and permitting the use of video and fiber optics technologies when inspecting and calibrating cargo tanks in both agricultural and non-agricultural operations.
The proposed rule has been submitted by Biden-Harriss administration on October 4th, 2024. PHMSA will accept comments on the proposed rule up to 90 days after it publishes in the Federal Register.
