[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 27 (Thursday, February 10, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7072-7073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2561]



[[Page 7072]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

49 CFR Part 173

[Docket No. RSPA-99-6223 (HM-213B)]
RIN 2137-AD36


Hazardous Materials: Safety Requirements for External Product 
Piping on Cargo Tanks Transporting Flammable Liquids

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: RSPA is extending until April 28, 2005, the period for 
interested persons to submit comments on the December 30, 2004 notice 
of proposed rulemaking In the December 30, 2004 NPRM, we proposed to 
amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to prohibit flammable liquids 
from being transported in unprotected product piping on existing and 
newly manufactured DOT specification cargo tank motor vehicles. If 
adopted as proposed, this action will reduce fatalities and injuries 
that result from accidents involving unprotected product piping. This 
proposal was developed jointly with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration.

DATES: Submit comments by April 28, 2005. To the extent possible, we 
will consider comments received after this date in developing a final 
rule.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the docket number 
RSPA-99-6223 (HM-213B) by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management System; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001.
     Hand Delivery: To the Docket Management System; Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday, except 
Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name (Research and 
Special Programs Administration) and docket number (RSPA-1999-6223 (HM-
213B)) or the Regulatory Identification Number (RIN 2137-AD36) for this 
notice at the beginning of your comments. You should submit two copies 
of your comments if you submit them by mail. If you wish to receive 
confirmation that RSPA received your comments, you must include a self-
addressed stamped postcard. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to ``http://dms.dot.gov'', including any personal 
information provided, and will be accessible to Internet users. Please 
see the Privacy Act section of this document.
    Docket: You may view the public docket through the Internet at 
http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the Docket Management System office 
at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Stevens, Office of 
Hazardous Materials Standards, (202) 366-8553, Research and Special 
Programs Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On December 30, 2004, the Research and Special Programs 
Administration (RSPA, we) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (69 
FR 78375) under Docket RSPA-99-6223 (HM-213B) to propose changes to the 
requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 
171-180) for the transportation of flammable liquids in unprotected 
product piping on cargo tank motor vehicles.
    The HMR, at Sec.  173.33(e), prohibit the retention of certain 
liquid hazardous materials in the external product piping (wetlines) of 
a DOT specification cargo tank, unless the cargo tank motor vehicle 
(CTMV) is equipped with bottom damage protection devices. The current 
prohibition applies to liquid hazardous materials in Divisions 5.1 
(oxidizer), 5.2 (organic peroxide), 6.1 (toxic), and Class 8 (corrosive 
to skin only), but does not apply to flammable liquids.
    Wetlines are product piping located beneath the cargo tank on MC 
306, MC 307, DOT 406, and DOT 407 CTMVs that remain filled with product 
after loading or unloading. Wetlines on a five-compartment CTMV 
carrying gasoline typically contain 30-50 gallons of gasoline. If 
another vehicle strikes the side of a CTMV, the impact likely will 
fracture unprotected wetlines. In such collisions, the other vehicle is 
often wedged under the CTMV. With the driver and passenger(s) trapped 
in the vehicle, the fractured wetlines may release their entire 
contents onto the other vehicle. If ignited, fire will rapidly engulf 
the vehicle. When ignited, a gasoline spill of 50 gallons will create a 
fire over an area of up to 5000 square feet, dooming those trapped in a 
vehicle at the site of the release and fire. If it is not extinguished 
immediately, the fire could result in significant loss of life or 
damage to property or the environment.
    The December 30, 2004 NPRM proposed to prohibit the carriage of 
flammable liquids in wetlines, unless the cargo tank motor vehicle 
conforms to the accident damage protection requirements of Sec.  
178.337-10 or the bottom damage protection requirements of Sec.  
178.345-8(b)(1), as appropriate. We proposed a quantity limit of one 
liter or less in each pipe after it is drained. The NPRM included an 
exception from the proposed requirements for truck-mounted DOT 
specification CTMVs. The NPRM proposed to make the changes effective 
two years after the effective date of a final rule and to permit CTMV 
operators five years to phase in requirements applicable to existing 
CTMVs. The comment period for the proposed rule was to end on February 
28, 2005.
    The American Trucking Associations (ATA) and its affiliate the 
National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. (NTTC), requested an additional 180 
days in which to submit comments to the NPRM. ATA stated that an 
extension is necessary in order to accurately measure the proposal's 
full impact on the industry. NTTC asserted that a number of assumptions 
made in the NPRM and regulatory evaluation are wrong and that an 
extension is necessary in order to solicit and submit correct data from 
their industry. The Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) 
and the American Petroleum Institute (API) also requested an additional 
180 days in which to submit comments to the NPRM. PMAA expressed 
concerns about the costs and available technology as a result of 
retrofitting existing CTMVs. API's extension request is identical to 
ATA's.
    Because it appears that an extension of the comment period to allow 
additional time for commenters to address the proposals in the NPRM 
would be beneficial, we are allowing an additional 60 days for 
submission of comments, which should be sufficient to accommodate 
commenters' need for additional time. We do not agree that an extension 
of 180 days is in the public interest. Accordingly, the closing date of

[[Page 7073]]

the comment period is extended to April 28, 2005.

II. Regulatory Notice

Privacy Act

    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2005 under the 
authority delegated in 49 CFR part 106.
Robert A. McGuire,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-2561 Filed 2-9-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P