[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7628-7629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2364]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket Number PHMSA-2007-28119; Notice No. 07-9]


Proposed Recommended Practices for Bulk Loading and Unloading of 
Hazardous Materials in Transportation

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

ACTION: Notice; request for comments; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA is extending until March 14, 2008, the period for 
interested persons to submit comments on the agency's January 4, 2008 
notice concerning proposed recommended practices for bulk loading and 
unloading of hazardous materials. The January 4, 2008 notice summarizes 
incident data related to bulk loading and unloading operations; 
discusses recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety 
Board and the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; provides 
an overview of current Federal regulations applicable to bulk loading 
and unloading operations; summarizes the results of a public workshop 
PHMSA hosted last year; and sets forth proposed recommended practices 
for bulk loading and unloading operations. Based on information and 
comments received, we plan to consider strategies for enhancing the 
safety of bulk loading and unloading operations, including whether 
additional regulatory requirements may be necessary.

DATES: Submit comments by March 14, 2008. To the extent possible, we 
will consider comments received after this date and consider strategies 
including additional regulatory requirements, as necessary.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the docket number 
PHMSA-2007-28119; Notice No. 07-9 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 Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing 
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: To Docket Operations, Room W12-140 on the 
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this notice at the beginning of the comment. Note 
that all comments received will be posted without change to the docket 
management system, including any personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the dockets to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or http://dms.dot.gov (until December 31, 2007) or DOT's Docket Operations Office 
(see ADDRESSES).
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any 
written communications and comments received into any of our dockets by 
the name of the individual submitting the document (or signing the 
document, 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 (65 FR 19477) or you 
may visit http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Boyle, Office of Hazardous 
Materials Technology, (202) 366-4545 or Kurt Eichenlaub, Office of 
Hazardous Materials Standards, (202) 366-8553, Pipeline and Hazardous 
Materials Safety Administration.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 4, 2008, the Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA, we) published a 
notice (No. 07-9) under Docket PHMSA-2007-28119 soliciting information 
and comments on proposed recommended practices for loading and

[[Page 7629]]

unloading operations involving bulk packagings used to transport 
hazardous materials.
    In the January 4, 2008 notice, we summarized incident data related 
to bulk loading and unloading operations; discussed recommendations 
issued by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Chemical 
Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; provided an overview of current 
Federal regulations applicable to bulk loading and unloading 
operations; summarized the results of a public workshop we hosted last 
year; and set forth proposed recommended practices for bulk loading and 
unloading operations. The comment period for the notice was to end on 
February 8, 2008.
    The American Trucking Association (ATA) requests an additional 30 
days in which to submit comments to the notice. ATA states additional 
time will allow its members to more fully understand and comment on the 
potential impact of the proposed recommended practices to the trucking 
industry. We agree that an extension of 30 days is in the public 
interest and, accordingly, we are extending the closing date of the 
comment period until March 14, 2008.

    Issued in Washington, DC on February 5, 2008.
Robert Richard,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
 [FR Doc. E8-2364 Filed 2-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P