[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16044-16045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-05677]



[[Page 16044]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0017; Notice No. 13-02]


Hazardous Materials Packaging--Composite Cylinder Standards; 
Public Meeting

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to advise interested persons that PHMSA will 
conduct a public meeting to provide further clarification regarding 
PHMSA's intent to modify certain special permits in accordance with 49 
CFR 107.121. These special permits authorize the manufacture, marking, 
sale and use of non-DOT specification composite cylinders. The non-DOT 
specification cylinders authorized by PHMSA's special permits conform 
to the basic requirements for fiber reinforced plastic (DOT-FRP) or 
fully wrapped carbon-fiber reinforced aluminum lined cylinders (DOT-
CFFC) standards. PHMSA believes that these special permits should be 
modified to reflect the appropriate International Standards 
Organization (ISO) standards for composite cylinders ISO 11119 Parts -
1, -2, -3 incorporated by reference into the Hazardous Materials 
Regulations (HMR).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 18, 2013, from 9 
a.m. to 3 p.m. Questions, comments, or recommendations must be 
submitted by April 4, 2013 to be considered at the public meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the DOT Headquarters, West 
Building, Oklahoma City Conference Room, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. The main visitor's entrance is located in the 
West Building, on New Jersey Avenue and M Street. Upon entering the 
lobby, visitors must report to the security desk. Visitors should 
indicate that they will be attending the Composite Cylinder Standards 
Public Meeting and wait to be escorted to the Conference Center.
    Written Comments: PHMSA invites interested parties, whether or not 
they attend the public meeting to submit any relevant data or 
information to the docket of this proceeding (PHMSA-2013-0017) by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management System; US 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 the Docket Management System; 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. To avoid 
duplication, please use only one of these four methods. All comments 
received will be posted without change to the Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS), including any personal information.
    Docket: For access to the dockets to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov 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) which 
may be viewed at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2000-04-11/pdf/00-8505.pdf.
    Registration: Any person wishing to participate in the public 
meeting should send an email to [email protected] and include 
their name and contact information (Organization/Address/Telephone 
Number) no later than the close of business on April 9, 2013. Please 
indicate whether you plan to attend on-site or by conference call. To 
expedite processing please include ``Composite Cylinder Standards; 
Public Meeting'' as the email subject. Failure to preregister may delay 
access to the building and call in information. Attendees are 
encouraged to arrive early to allow time for security checks necessary 
to obtain access to the building.
    Conference Call Capability/Live Meeting Information: Remote access/
call-in information will be located at http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/permits-approvals/special-permits.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Toughiry, Engineering and 
Research Division, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Department of 
Transportation, Washington, DC 20590; (202) 366-4545.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On June 4, 2012, PHMSA sent a letter proposing to modify all 
special permits that authorize the manufacture, marking, sale and use 
of DOT-FRP and DOT-CFFC cylinders to reflect the standards outlined in 
the appropriate ISO 11119 standards. PHMSA proposed to modify these 
special permits to reflect the ISO 11119 standards, which has been 
incorporated in to the HMR, rather than DOT-FRP and DOT-CFFC standards 
that are not referenced in the HMR. If a grantee cannot manufacture, 
mark, sale and use a cylinder identical to that authorized in the 
current special permit, relief would be provided based upon deviations 
of the ISO-11119 standards. The goal of this proposal is to update the 
special permits to reflect current regulations. PHMSA intends to allow 
continued manufacturing of DOT-FRP or DOT-CFFC cylinders under existing 
special permits, without affecting the service life of cylinders 
already manufactured or adding any additional testing requirements. 
However, in the future, any relief provided by a special permit will be 
an exemption from the ISO 11119 standards. A transitional provision 
will be provided for adequate adjustment to the proposed modification. 
Currently, an application submitted in accordance with Sec.  107.105 
requesting the manufacture, marking, sale and use of DOT-FRP and DOT-
CFFC cylinders would be denied in accordance with Sec.  107.113, and 
the applicant would be required to submit a new application for a 
special permit seeking relief from the ISO 11119 standard.
    A copy of the June 4, 2012 letter can be found in the docket. PHMSA 
proposed to modify the following special permits: 7218 7235 7277 8023 
8059 8162 8391 8718 8725 8814 8965 9634 9716 9894 10019 10147 10664 
10905 10915 10945 10970 11005 11194 11382 12706 13105 13173 13381 13583 
14003 14154 14266 14339 14387 14509 14562 14576 14621 14787 14932 
15260.
    The composite cylinder standards referenced in Sec.  178.71 of the 
HMR, ISO 11119 Parts-1, -2 and -3, contain design, construction and 
testing requirements that are similar to the DOT-FRP, and DOT-CFFC 
standards. For more information, and a comparison between

[[Page 16045]]

ISO 11119 standards and DOT-FRP and DOT-CFFC standards, please go to 
http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/permits-approvals/special-permits.

II. Public Meeting Topics

    During this public meeting, PHMSA will discuss the following 
topics; (i) design and testing differences between DOT-FRP, DOT-CFFC 
and ISO 11119 standards, (ii) when cylinders authorized under the 
current special permits should be manufactured in accordance with or 
based upon ISO 11119 standards; (iii) a proposal in which these special 
permits are modified to provide relief from applicable provisions of 
ISO 11119.
    Prior to this public meeting, PHMSA would like the stakeholders to 
define and submit to the docket the design testing and manufacturing 
differences between ISO 11119 standards and relevant DOT-FRP and DOT-
CFFC standards and what would be affected if we modified the special 
permit as proposed. PHMSA will not take action on our proposed 
modification until the merit of the comments received through this 
notice and public meeting has been reviewed.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2013.
R. Ryan Posten,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 2013-05677 Filed 3-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P