[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63701-63702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26750]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket ID PHMSA-2018-0103]


Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate; Management Information 
System Reporting; and Obtaining Drug and Alcohol Management Information 
System Sign-In Information

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

ACTION: Notice of Calendar Year 2019 Minimum Annual Percentage Rate for 
Random Drug Testing, Reminder for Operators to Report Contractor MIS 
Data, and Reminder of Method for Operators to Obtain User Name and 
Password for Electronic Reporting.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA has determined that the minimum random drug testing rate 
for covered employees will remain at 50 percent during calendar year 
2019. Operators are reminded that drug and alcohol testing information 
must be submitted for contractors who are performing or are ready to 
perform covered functions. For calendar year 2018 reporting, the ``user 
name'' and ``password'' for the Drug and Alcohol Management Information 
System (DAMIS) will be available in the PHMSA Portal.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Lemoi, Drug & Alcohol Program 
Manager, telephone at 909-937-7232 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Calendar Year 2019 Minimum Annual Percentage Rate for Random 
Drug Testing

    Operators of natural gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide 
pipelines and operators of liquefied natural gas and underground 
natural gas storage facilities must randomly select and test a 
percentage of all covered employees for prohibited drug use in 
accordance with 49 CFR part 199. Pursuant to Sec.  199.105(c)(1), the 
PHMSA minimum annual random drug testing rate for all covered employees 
is 50 percent. The Administrator can adjust this random drug testing 
rate based on the reported positive rate in the pipeline industry's 
random drug tests, which is submitted in operators' annual Management 
Information System (MIS) reports as required by Sec.  199.119(a). In 
accordance with Sec.  199.105(c)(3), if the reported positive drug test 
rate is below 1 percent for 2 consecutive years, the Administrator can 
reduce the random drug testing rate to 25 percent of all covered 
employees. In calendar year 2017, the random drug test positive rate 
for the entire pipeline industry was reported at greater than 1 
percent; therefore, the minimum annual random drug testing rate for 
calendar year 2019 is maintained at 50 percent of all covered 
employees.

Reminder for Operators To Report Contractor MIS Data

    On January 19, 2010, (75 FR 2926) PHMSA published an advisory 
bulletin notifying operators of the appropriate methodology for the 
annual collection of contractor MIS drug and alcohol testing data to 
avoid duplicative reporting when a contractor works for multiple 
operators. If an operator is required to submit a MIS report in 
accordance with part 199, that report is not complete until PHMSA 
receives MIS data for each tested contractor that performed covered 
functions as defined in Sec.  199.3. As explained in the 2010 Advisory 
Bulletin, operators must submit operator and contractor employee 
testing data in separate MIS reports to avoid duplicative reporting and 
inaccurate data that could affect the positive rate for the entire 
industry.

Reminder of Method for Operators To Obtain User Name and Password for 
Electronic Reporting

    By early January 2019, the user name and password required for an 
operator to access DAMIS and enter calendar year 2018 data will be 
available to all operator staff with access to the PHMSA Portal. 
Pipeline operators have been submitting reports required by 49 CFR 
parts 191 and 195 through the PHMSA Portal (https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/pipeline) since 2011. PHMSA determined that 
distributing information via the Portal would be more effective than 
the previous mailing process.
    When the DAMIS user name and password are available in the PHMSA 
Portal, all registered users will receive an email to that effect. If 
operator staff responsible for submitting MIS reports do not receive 
the DAMIS information, they should coordinate with other registered 
PHMSA Portal users within their company to obtain the DAMIS user name 
and password. Registered PHMSA Portal users for an operator typically 
include operator staff or consultants who submit annual and incident 
reports through PHMSA F 7000- and 7100-series forms. Operators that 
have not previously registered staff in the PHMSA Portal for the 
reporting purposes of parts 191 and 195 can register users by following 
the instructions at: https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/PHMSAPortal2/staticContentRedesign/howto/PortalAccountCreation.pdf.
    Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  199.119(a) and 199.229(a), operators with 50 
or more covered employees, including both operator and contractor 
staff, are required to submit annual MIS reports. Operators with fewer 
than 50 total covered employees are required to submit MIS reports only 
upon written request from PHMSA. If an operator with fewer than 50 
total covered employees has submitted an MIS report in or after 
calendar year 2016, the PHMSA Portal message may state that no MIS 
report is required for calendar year 2018. If an operator with fewer 
than 50 covered employees has grown to more than 50 covered employees 
during calendar year 2018, the PHMSA Portal message will include 
instructions for

[[Page 63702]]

how to obtain a DAMIS user name and password for the 2018 calendar year 
reporting period.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 3, 2018, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2018-26750 Filed 12-10-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P