49 CFR 173, Appendix C to Part 173 - Procedure for Base-level Vibration Testing

PHMSA is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to make miscellaneous amendments to update and clarify certain regulatory requirements. These amendments promote safer transportation practices, eliminate unnecessary regulatory requirements, address a petition for rulemaking, incorporate a special permit into the HMR, facilitate international commerce, and simplify the regulations. These amendments also update various entries in the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) and corresponding special provisions, clarify the lab pack requirements for temperature-controlled materials, and require hazmat employers to make hazmat employee training records available upon request to an authorized official of the Department of Transportation (DOT) or an entity explicitly granted authority to enforce the HMR.

PHMSA is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations in response to petitions for rulemaking submitted by the regulated community to update, clarify, or provide relief from miscellaneous regulatory requirements. Specifically, PHMSA is amending the recordkeeping and package marking requirements for third-party labs and manufacturers to assure the traceability of packaging; removing the listing for “NA1203, Gasohol, gasoline mixed with ethyl alcohol, with not more than 10% alcohol”; harmonizing internationally and providing a limited quantity exception for Division 4.1, Self-reactive solids and Self-reactive liquids Types B through F; allowing smokeless powder classified as a Division 1.4C material to be reclassified as a Division 4.1 material; and providing greater flexibility by allowing the Dangerous Cargo Manifest to be in locations designated by the master of the vessel besides “on or near the vessel's bridge” while the vessel is in a United States port.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is proposing to amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to incorporate provisions contained in certain widely used or longstanding special permits and certain competent authority approvals (“approvals”) that have established safety records. Special permits allow a company or individual to package or ship a hazardous material in a manner that varies from the regulations provided an equivalent level of safety is maintained. An approval is a written consent (document) required under an international standard (i.e., International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)), or is specifically provided for in the HMR, and is issued by the Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety. These proposed revisions are intended to provide wider access to the regulatory flexibility offered in special permits and approvals and eliminate the need for numerous renewal requests, reducing paperwork burdens and facilitating commerce while maintaining an appropriate level of safety. Additionally, this rulemaking will address three petitions for rulemaking regarding the continued use of renewal applications for long standing special permits.

This final rule corrects editorial errors, makes minor regulatory changes and, in response to requests for clarification, improves the clarity of certain provisions in the Hazardous Materials Regulations. The intended effect of this rule is to enhance the accuracy and reduce misunderstandings of the regulations. The amendments contained in this rule are non-substantive changes and do not impose new requirements.