[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70491-70492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27656]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 172 and 173

[Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0025 (HM-264); Notice No. 2019-14]
RIN 2137-AF40


Hazardous Materials: Liquefied Natural Gas by Rail; Extension of 
Comment Period

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On October 24, 2019, PHMSA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM), entitled ``Hazardous Materials: Liquefied Natural 
Gas by Rail (HM-264)'' proposing changes to the Hazardous Materials 
Regulations to allow for the bulk transport of Methane, refrigerated 
liquid, commonly known as liquefied natural gas (LNG), in rail tank 
cars. In response to a request for an extension of the comment period 
from the Offices of the Attorneys General of New York and Maryland, 
PHMSA is extending the comment period for the HM-264 NPRM for an 
additional 21 days. Comments to the HM-264 NPRM will now be due January 
13, 2020.

DATES: Comments should be received on or before January 13, 2020. To 
the extent possible, PHMSA will consider late-filed comments.

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0025 and may 
be submitted in the following ways:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management System; 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 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 (PHMSA-2018-0025) 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) and will include any personal 
information you provide. If sent by mail, comments must be submitted in 
duplicate. Persons wishing to receive confirmation of receipt of their 
comments must include a self-addressed stamped postcard.
    Docket: For access to the dockets to read associated documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or DOT's Docket 
Operations Office (see ADDRESSES).
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its process. DOT posts these 
comments, without change, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to http://www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
http://www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Confidential Business Information: Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) is commercial or financial information that is both 
customarily and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from 
public disclosure. If your comments responsive to this NPRM contain 
commercial or financial information that is customarily treated as 
private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or 
responsive to this NPRM, it is important that you clearly designate the 
submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission 
containing CBI as ``PROPIN.'' PHMSA will treat such marked submissions 
as confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the 
public docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing CBI should be sent 
to Michael Ciccarone, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any commentary that PHMSA 
receives which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in 
the public docket for this rulemaking.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Ciccarone, Standards and 
Rulemaking Division, (202) 366-8553, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 
Safety Administration, or Mark Maday, Federal

[[Page 70492]]

Railroad Administration, (202) 366-2535, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    PHMSA, in consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA), published the HM-264 NPRM \1\ on October 24, 2019, in response 
to a petition for rulemaking from the Association of American Railroads 
and an internal review of existing regulations. The NPRM proposed to 
authorize DOT-113C120W tank cars for use in the transportation of LNG 
by rail, requesting public comment by December 23, 2019.
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    \1\ See Hazardous Materials: Liquefied Natural Gas by Rail NPRM 
[84 FR 56964] at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/24/2019-22949/hazardous-materials-liquefied-natural-gas-by-rail.
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    On December 5, 2019, PHMSA granted a U.S. Department of 
Transportation Special Permit \2\ (DOT-SP) to Energy Transport 
Solutions, LLC (ETS) authorizing transportation of LNG in DOT-113C120 
tank cars between Wyalusing, PA and Gibbstown, NJ, with no intermediate 
stops, subject to certain operational controls. PHMSA issued DOT-SP 
20534 after having completed extensive analysis in response to the 
request for special permit received from ETS in August 2017.
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    \2\ See DOT-SP 20534 at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=PHMSA-2019-0100-3006.
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    The special permit, as issued, includes certain operational 
controls that were not included in the HM-264 NPRM. PHMSA did not 
propose operational controls in the HM-264 NPRM. However, in the NPRM, 
PHMSA invited comment on whether PHMSA and FRA should rely on existing 
regulations and industry standards, or if additional operational 
controls may be warranted based on an assessment of risk. PHMSA 
encouraged commenters to provide data on the safety or economic impacts 
associated with any suggested operational controls, including analysis 
of the safety justification or cost impact of implementing the 
operational controls.
    PHMSA recognized that the subject matter overlapped between the 
NPRM and special permit. Therefore, PHMSA published a notice \3\ in the 
Federal Register on December 11, 2019, to inform the public that DOT-SP 
20534 and documents supporting the special permit decision were being 
added to the docket for the HM-264 NPRM for consideration by the 
public. PHMSA invited comments on these operational controls to be 
submitted to the rulemaking docket (Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0025) by 
December 23, 2019. We noted our intent to consider any additional 
comments on the operational controls included in the special permit 
that are filed in the rulemaking docket to aid in determining what, if 
any, operational controls may be appropriate for inclusion in the HM-
264 final rule.
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    \3\ See Hazardous Materials: Notice of Issuance of Special 
Permit Regarding Liquefied Natural Gas [84 FR 67768] at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/12/11/2019-26614/hazardous-materials-notice-of-issuance-of-special-permit-regarding-liquefied-natural-gas.
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II. Comment Period Extension

    PHMSA initially provided a 60-day comment period for the HM-264 
NPRM, which expires on December 23, 2019. In response to a request to 
extend the comment period an additional 30 days from the Offices of the 
Attorneys General of New York and Maryland, PHMSA is extending the 
comment period an additional 21 days. The comment period will now close 
on January 13, 2020. This extension provides the public with 32 days 
\4\ to review relevant aspects of the special permit, and should 
provide adequate opportunity for the public to submit additional 
comments, if necessary.
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    \4\ Thirty days from December 11, 2019, would be January 11, 
2020, which is a Saturday, therefore PHMSA decided to extend the 
comment period to the following Monday, January 13, 2020.

     Issued in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2019, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR part 1.97.
William S. Schoonover,
Associate Administrator of Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-27656 Filed 12-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-60-P