[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 13, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58582-58583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26546]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 174

[Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0102; Notice No. 2017-12]


Hazardous Materials: Announcement of the Department of 
Transportation's Decision on Electronically Controlled Pneumatic 
Braking

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

ACTION: Announcement of Department determination.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Department of Transportation is 
announcing that after careful review, and as mandated by Section 7311 
of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the 
Department of Transportation has reviewed the final updated Regulatory 
Impact Analysis (RIA) and determined that the HM-251 Final Rule's 
electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brake requirements are not 
economically justified. As the expected benefits do not exceed the 
expected costs, PHMSA and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 
will initiate a rulemaking to rescind the necessary regulatory 
provisions.

DATES: December 13, 2017.

ADDRESSES: All documents and comments related to this matter, including 
the final updated RIA, are still available for review at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket Number PHMSA-2017-0102.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For public affairs related questions, 
please contact Patricia Klinger, Deputy Director within PHMSA's Office 
of Governmental, International, and Public Affairs, by email at 
[email protected], or by telephone at 202-366-4831. For 
economic (RIA) related questions, please contact Mark Johnson, Senior 
Economist, PHMSA, by telephone at 202-366-4495 or by email at 
[email protected]. For rulemaking related questions, please contact 
Matthew Nickels, Senior Regulations Officer, PHMSA, by telephone at 
202-366-8553 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

HM-251 Final Rule

    On May 8, 2015, PHMSA, in coordination with FRA, published a Final 
Rule adopting requirements intended to reduce the consequences and, in 
some instances, reduce the probability of accidents involving trains 
transporting large quantities of flammable liquids. See 80 FR 26643.\1\ 
The Final Rule defined certain trains transporting large volumes of 
flammable liquids as high-hazard flammable trains (HHFT) \2\ and others 
as high-hazard flammable unit trains (HHFUT).\3\ The Final Rule 
required HHFUTs transporting at least one flammable liquid classified 
as a packing group I material be operated with an ECP braking system by 
January 1, 2021, and all other HHFUTs be operated with an ECP braking 
system by May 1, 2023. See 49 CFR 174.310(a)(3).
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    \1\ https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-05-08/pdf/2015-10670.pdf
    \2\ The Final Rule defined an HHFT as ``a single train 
transporting 20 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable 
liquid in a continuous block or a single train carrying 35 or more 
loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid throughout the train 
consist.'' See 49 CFR 171.8.
    \3\ The Final Rule defined an HHFUT as ``a single train 
transporting 70 or more loaded tank cars containing Class 3 
flammable liquid.''
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Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act

    In December 2015, Congress passed the FAST Act.\4\ Public Law 114-
94, 129 Stat. 1686 (Dec. 4, 2015). Section 7311 of the FAST Act 
(Section 7311) established a process, including independent study and 
testing, for DOT to use in developing an updated RIA related to the 
Final Rule's ECP brake provision. The Secretary was also required to 
solicit public comment on the updated RIA, and issue a final updated 
RIA, responding to comments and incorporating any useful information 
provided. Finally, Section

[[Page 58583]]

7311 required the Secretary of Transportation to review the final 
updated RIA and determine if the final rule's ECP brake requirements 
are justified, based on whether the final updated RIA demonstrated that 
the benefits exceed the costs. The FAST Act required this process to be 
completed no later than December 4, 2017.
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    \4\ https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-114publ94/html/PLAW-114publ94.htm.
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    Section 7311 required DOT to enter into an agreement with National 
Academy of Sciences (NAS) to test ECP brakes and reevaluate the 
economic analysis supporting the ECP brake requirement of the Final 
Rule.\5\ Section 7311 required the testing to ``objectively, 
accurately, and reliably measure[s] the performance of ECP brake 
systems relative to other braking technologies or systems, such as 
distributed power and 2-way end-of-train devices.'' The FAST Act also 
provided for U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) review of the 
potential costs and benefits of ECP brakes. In response, GAO completed 
an evaluation of the business benefits, safety benefits, and costs that 
DOT estimated in the RIA for the final rule.\6\ Additionally, GAO 
recently completed a second evaluation comparing the forecasted values 
of certain data points that were used to support DOT's ECP brake 
analysis.\7\ Both audits are discussed in the final updated RIA.
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    \5\ In a March 17, 2016, letter, NAS declined to perform the 
testing, citing preliminary cost estimates to perform the testing in 
excess of $100 million and expressing concern about meeting the 
statutory deadline. As an alternative, to meet the intent of the 
FAST Act, DOT conducted the testing itself and contracted with NAS 
to review and monitor the test plan.
    \6\ DOT's Rulemaking on Electronically Controlled Pneumatic 
Brakes Could Benefit from Additional Data and Transparency, GAO-17-
122, Oct 12, 2016.
    \7\ 2015 Electronically Controlled Pneumatic Brake Rule: 
Comparison of DOT Forecasts for Selected Data Points for 2015 and 
2016 to Preliminary Data for Those Years, GAO-17-567R, May 31, 2017.
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October 16, 2017--Federal Register Document and Request for Comments

    On October 16, 2017, PHMSA published a Federal Register document 
that provided the public with an opportunity to comment on the updated 
RIA. See 82 FR 48006.\8\ All documents and comments related to this 
matter, including the updated RIA, are still available for review at 
http://www.regulations.gov in Docket Number PHMSA-2017-0102.
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    \8\ https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-10-16/pdf/2017-22281.pdf.
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Final Determination

    The final updated RIA shows that the ECP brake requirements are not 
expected to be cost beneficial under any scenario assessed. These 
include a range of crude oil volume by rail forecasts--one that shows 
volumes shipped by rail rebounding over a period of time to close to 
the levels predicted at the rulemaking stage, one that shows levels 
flattening at those seen over the past few years, and a third showing 
declining volumes of crude oil shipped by rail. The estimated costs and 
benefits for the 20-year analysis are presented in the following 
(figures are in millions of dollars):

                                                                        Table #1
                                                                  [Millions of dollars]
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                                                     Total                                7 Percent                              3 Percent
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                                         Low          High     Sensitivity      Low          High     Sensitivity      Low          High     Sensitivity
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Tank Cars..........................      $274.48      $364.48      $191.69      $237.76      $318.49      $165.00      $256.18      $341.52      $178.39
Locomotives........................       115.67       153.25        85.86       105.03       140.42        77.13       110.79       147.39        81.84
Asset Management...................         0.52         0.52         0.52         0.52         0.52         0.52         0.52         0.52         0.52
Training...........................        36.58        36.58        36.58        32.29        32.29        32.29        34.62        34.62        34.62
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    Total Costs....................       427.25       554.83       314.65       375.60       491.72       274.95       402.11       524.05       295.37
Damage Mitigation..................        89.52       146.16        70.07        48.16        78.19        37.36        67.19       109.44        52.41
Set Out Reliefs....................        11.04        14.18         6.62         5.87         7.46         3.56         8.24        10.55         4.97
Class IA Brake Test................        67.90        87.58        40.29        27.54        46.04        21.68        45.07        65.12        30.24
Wheel Savings......................        46.39        71.15        33.22        26.77        37.40        17.87        36.08        52.90        24.93
Fuel Savings.......................        42.70        54.88        25.63        22.70        28.85        13.79        31.90        40.81        19.23
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    Total Benefits.................       257.54       373.95       175.82       131.03       197.95        94.27       188.49       278.81       131.78
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        Net Benefits...............      -169.71      -180.88      -138.83      -244.57      -293.78      -180.68      -213.63      -245.24      -163.59
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    As mandated by Section 7311, the Department of Transportation has 
reviewed the final updated RIA and determined that the HM-251 final 
rule's ECP brake requirements are not economically justified as the 
final updated RIA demonstrates that the expected benefits do not exceed 
the expected costs. As such, PHMSA and FRA will initiate a rulemaking 
to rescind the necessary regulatory provisions.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 5, 2017, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Drue Pearce,
Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-26546 Filed 12-12-17; 8:45 am]
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