[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 144 (Thursday, July 25, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38642-38644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18822]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

49 CFR Part 172

[Docket HM-216; Amdt No. 172-148]
RIN 2137-AC66


Transportation of Hazardous Materials by Rail; Miscellaneous 
Amendments; Response to Petitions for Reconsideration

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; Response to petitions for reconsideration.

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SUMMARY: RSPA is publishing a June 28, 1996 letter in which it denied 
petitions for reconsideration of a provision in the June 5, 1996 final 
rule in this proceeding which allowed rail shippers and carriers to 
discontinue use of the RESIDUE placard on June 30, 1996, three months 
in advance of the effective date of the June 5 final rule.

DATES: Effective date: The effective date for the final rule published 
under

[[Page 38643]]

Docket HM-216 on June 5, 1996 (61 FR 28666) remains October 1, 1996.
    Compliance date: Voluntary compliance with the regulations, as 
amended in the final rule under Docket HM-216 on June 5, 1996, remains 
June 30, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Romo, telephone (202) 366- 8553, 
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards, Research and Special Programs 
Administration, Washington, DC 20590-0001, or James H. Rader, telephone 
(202) 366-0510, Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance, Federal 
Railroad Administration, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 6, 1996, RSPA published a final rule 
which amended the Hazardous Materials Regulations to incorporate a 
number of changes to rail requirements. The effective date of the rule 
is October 1, 1996, but compliance with all of the changes made in the 
rule was permitted beginning June 30, 1996. RSPA received several 
petitions for reconsideration concerning one provision of the June 5, 
1996 final rule allowing rail shippers and carriers to discontinue use 
of the RESIDUE placard on June 30, 1996. On June 28, 1996, RSPA denied 
the petitions for reconsideration in a letter which has been sent to 
each petitioner, each party writing in support of the petitions for 
reconsideration, and each party who submitted comments on the original 
proposal to discontinue use of the RESIDUE placard. The letter of 
denial included a statement of enforcement policy by the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA). This document publishes verbatim the 
letter of denial and FRA enforcement policy as follows:

June 28, 1996

By Facsimile

Mr. Charles Keller, Director, Bureau of Explosives, Association of 
American Railroads, 80 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20001-1564
Mr. Jean Ouellete, Chairman, Dangerous Goods Subcommittee, Railway 
Association of Canada, 800 Rene-Levesque Blvd. West, Suite 1105, 
Montreal, Quebec H3B 1X9, Canada.

    Gentlemen: The Research and Special Programs Administration 
(RSPA) denies your petitions for reconsideration--and similar 
petitions submitted by the other parties identified below--of the 
provision in RSPA's final rule in Docket HM-216 that allows rail 
shippers and carriers to discontinue use of the ``RESIDUE'' placard 
on June 30, 1996.
    The final rule in Docket HM-216 eliminates use of a ``RESIDUE'' 
placard, currently required only for the transportation of the 
residue of a hazardous material in a tank car. 49 C.F.R. 172.510, 
172.526. See 61 FR 28666, 28667-68, 28676 (June 5, 1996). This 
change is effective on October 1, 1996; however, voluntary 
compliance with this change, and the other amendments made in HM-216 
to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), 49 C.F.R. Parts 171-
180, is authorized on June 30, 1996. 61 Fed. Reg. 28666. In the 
absence of this June 30 voluntary compliance date, rail shippers and 
carriers would be required to continue use of the ``RESIDUE'' 
placard until September 30, 1996, and then begin using (on tank cars 
holding only a residue of a hazardous material) the placard required 
for a tank car containing a full load of the applicable hazardous 
material with respect to shipments on and after October 1, 1996.
    In a June 14, 1996 facsimile memorandum, the Association of 
American Railroads (AAR) petitioned RSPA to postpone the June 30, 
1996 voluntary compliance date for elimination of the ``RESIDUE'' 
placard until September 1, 1996. AAR stated that, with the June 30, 
1996 voluntary compliance date, shippers could discontinue using the 
``RESIDUE'' placard before rail carriers had sufficient time before 
June 30 to issue instructions and train their personnel with regard 
to this change. AAR cautioned that the lack of time to train rail 
carrier personnel would create ``a very real chance that tank cars 
will be delayed due to crew confusion, a situation that is not in 
the interest of safety.''
    Similar petitions for reconsideration were also submitted by the 
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF), Consolidated Rail 
Corporation, the Illinois Central Railroad, and the Norfolk Southern 
Corporation (NS). In addition, CSX Transportation Company, the 
Kansas City Southern Railway, the Soo Line Railroad, and the Union 
Pacific Railroad expressed support for AAR's petition. BNSF and NS 
also stated that the June 30 voluntary compliance date did not allow 
sufficient time to make changes to their computer programming 
systems.
    In a June 18, 1996 letter, the Railway Association of Canada 
(RAC) asked RSPA to postpone the elimination of the ``RESIDUE'' 
placard ``until a harmonization of all train marshaling rules in 
both the United States and Canada can be achieved'' or, in the 
alternative, until September 1, 1996, as requested by AAR. RAC 
stated that the June 30 voluntary compliance date did not allow 
sufficient time for training personnel and modifying computer 
systems. RAC expressed concern that there would be ``delays to 
hazardous materials traffic due to confusion by the train crews.'' 
Requests similar to that of RAC were submitted by the Canadian 
National Railroad and the Canadian Fertilizer Institute. The 
Canadian Chemical Producers'' Association (CCPA) wrote in support of 
RAC's request.
    In a June 24, 1996 letter, the Chemical Manufacturers 
Association (CMA) expressed ``qualified support for the recent 
petitions for reconsideration submitted by'' AAR and CCPA, but 
suggested that RSPA not allow shippers to discontinue use of the 
``RESIDUE'' placard before October 1, 1996. CMA stated that its 
concerns about insufficient time for training rail carrier personnel 
and ``confusion and safety concerns among the emergency response 
community'' would also exist during a September 1-October 1 
``voluntary compliance window.'' CMA also stated its assumption that 
RSPA would ``address enforcement-related issues for empty tank cars 
placarded as a residue which are in-transit at the time of the 
effective date of the rule.''
    RSPA does not believe the concerns expressed by these parties 
justify postponement of the June 30, 1996 voluntary compliance date. 
Between June 30 and October 1, 1996, a tank car containing the 
residue of a hazardous material may bear ``RESIDUE'' placards or the 
placards that were required to be affixed to the tank car when it 
was full. On and after October 1, 1996, the ``RESIDUE'' placard may 
no longer be used, and the ``loaded'' car placard is required for a 
tank car containing a residue.
    From the standpoint of rail operations, train placement of the 
car is the only difference between treatment of a tank car fully 
loaded with a hazardous material and one containing a residue. 49 
C.F.R. Sec. 174.85. The discontinuance of the ``RESIDUE'' placard 
simply means that train placement must be done based on the shipping 
paper (or electronic data interchange, as discussed in comments 
submitted in HM-216, see 61 FR at 28669). RSPA understands that this 
is generally the present means of car placement (rather than relying 
on the placard). Therefore, the major ``training'' needed is to 
inform rail carrier employees that an apparently misplaced tank car 
may in fact be properly placed and that the shipping papers will 
resolve that fact. Because the HMR's underlying rules on train 
placement have not changed, there is no reason to postpone 
discontinuance of the ``RESIDUE'' placard until a later proceeding 
to consider harmonization of the HMR with Canadian regulations in 
this respect.
    A fundamental reason for allowing voluntary compliance before 
the effective date is to provide time for carriers to train their 
employees about this change, during the three-month voluntary 
compliance period, rather than requiring adherence to the ``old'' 
rules until the eve of the effective date. Allowing voluntary 
compliance here is consistent with RSPA's past practice in amending 
the HMR, including the extensive changes in packaging authorizations 
and hazard communications made in Docket No. HM-181. See 55 FR 52402 
(Dec. 21, 1990) (voluntary compliance allowed beginning January 1, 
1991, eleven days after publication of the final rule).
    Both RSPA and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) envision 
the three-month voluntary compliance period as allowing rail 
carriers to ``debug'' their systems, both with respect to operating 
personnel and computer programs. Accordingly, FRA has developed a 
policy that will consider this as a ``learning'' period. A copy is 
attached. This policy should allow rail carriers to modify their 
computer programming systems during the three-month transition 
period.
    For the above reasons, RSPA is denying these petitions for 
reconsideration.


[[Page 38644]]


        Sincerely,
[signed]
Kelley S. Coyner,
Deputy Administrator.

Attachment

cc: Mr. David E. Edington, Manager, Hazardous Materials, Burlington 
Northern Santa Fe Railroad
Mr. J.R. McNally, General Manager, Hazardous Materials Systems, 
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Mr. Steve H. Huff, Director Operating Practices, Hazardous 
Materials/Special Services, CSX Transportation
Mr. Michael A. De Smedt, Manager Hazardous Materials Transportation, 
Illinois Central Railroad
Mr. J.W. Talley, Superintendent of Hazardous Materials Control, The 
Kansas City Southern Railway Company
Mr. D.L. Schoendorfer, Manager Hazardous Materials, Norfolk Southern 
Corporation, Environmental Protection
Mr. Phillip Marbut, Field Manager Hazardous Materials & Emergency 
Response, Soo Line Railroad Company
Pat Student, Manager, Technical Research, Chemical Transportation 
Safety, Union Pacific Railroad Company
Mr. Achille P. Ferrusi, Assistant Vice President, Safety & 
Regulatory Affairs, Canadian National
Mr. David M. Finlayson, Canadian Chemical Producers' Association
Mr. Jim Farrell, Manager, Technical Affairs, Canadian Fertilizer 
Institute
Mr. Frank J. Principi, Associate Director, Distribution Safety & 
Economic Programs, Chemical Manufacturers Association.

Explanation of FRA Enforcement Policy

Elimination of the ``Residue'' Placard, Placard Notation, and 
Placard Endorsement

    On June 5, 1996, the Research and Special Programs 
Administration (RSPA) published a final rule in docket HM-216 (61 FR 
28665). The final rule amended the Hazardous Materials Regulations 
(HMR) to incorporate a number of changes based on petitions from the 
railroad and shipping industries and on RSPA's own initiative. In 
order to facilitate an early transition form the pre-HM-216 
regulations to the new standards, FRA is making this statement of 
enforcement policy with respect to the elimination of the placard 
notation, endorsement, and RESIDUE placard. This policy statement 
does not alter or add to the final rule, but offers guidance to 
railroads and shippers concerning the voluntary compliance period.
    First, FRA will continue to expect accurate shipping 
descriptions during and after the transition period.
    Second, FRA will continue to expect that the placard on a rail 
shipment of a hazardous material will accurately reflect the class 
of the commodity in the car and, if the identification numbers 
appear on the placard, that they will be accurate.
    Third, FRA will expect shippers to offer tank cars consistently 
placarded, for example, if a RESIDUE placard is displayed at one 
location, the other three locations will also display RESIDUE 
placards.
    Fourth, FRA will expect shippers to discontinue use of the 
RESIDUE placard after September 30, 1996, although cars offered 
before that date may continue their transportation cycle back to the 
loading point with RESIDUE placards.
    Fifth, FRA expects railroads and shippers to train their 
employees about the new requirements to ensure an orderly transition 
before October 1, 1996. FRA believes that this phase-in period will 
help railroads and shippers ``de-bug'' automated systems such as 
electronic data interchange programs before the mandatory deadline.
    FRA is aware that some entities are concerned that, during the 
voluntary compliance period, a shipping document may carry the 
RESIDUE placard notation (e.g., Placarded: Flammable--RESIDUE) while 
the car displays the traditional ``loaded'' placard. As noted above, 
if the shipping description is accurate and the placards are for the 
correct class (and carry the correct UN/NA number as appropriate), 
FRA will take no exception. Further, the final rule in this docket 
eliminates the requirement for the placard endorsement and notation, 
but does not prohibit their use. Shippers and carriers may continue 
to use this information, and to display it on shipping and movement 
documents, as they wish.
    FRA and RSPA are aware of the problems created when regulatory 
changes require many companies in different industries to change 
their procedures and processes. We intend to be flexible in 
achieving full compliance and we urge the shipping and transporting 
companies involved to work with each other towards the enhancements 
in Docket HM-216. For example, shipping and transportation companies 
may mutually agree on a date prior to October 1, 1996 by which they 
will implement the changes recently published.
    During the transition period for implementing requirements based 
on the UN Recommendations (Docket HM-181), RSPA adopted regulations 
in Sec. 171.14 (popularly called ``mix & match''), that recognized 
the impossibility of bringing everything into phase at one instant. 
FRA will enforce the rules promulgated in Docket HM-216 in the same 
spirit.
    For further information contact James H. Rader (Telephone 202-
366-0510), Hazardous Materials Division; Thomas A. Phemister 
(Telephone 202-366-0635), Trial Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, 
FRA, Washington D.C. 20590-0001.

Office of Safety Assurance and Compliance

June 27, 1996

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 18, 1996, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR part 1.
Alan I. Roberts,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 96-18822 Filed 7-24-96; 8:45 am]
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