PHMSA Releases New Crude By Rail Rulemaking Proposal
On July 13, 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) released an advance copy of a rulemaking proposal that would amend the oil spill response plan requirements in 49 C.F.R. Part 130 and establish new information sharing requirements for high-hazard flammable trains in 49 C.F.R. Part 174. The proposal would also incorporate by reference a new test method for determining the initial boiling point of crude oil and other flammable liquids to ensure consistency with the American National Standards Institute/American Petroleum Institute Recommend Practice 3000, “Classifying and Loading of Crude Oil into Rail Tank Cars,” First Edition, September 2014. PHMSA is providing a 60-day period for submitting comments on the proposal, which runs from the date of its publication in the Federal Register.