[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 235 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78931-78932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26782]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2020-0135]


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 2021 minimum annual percentage rate for 
random drug testing, reminder for operators to report contractor 
management information system (MIS) data using PHMSA supplemental 
instructions, 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 
2021. Operators are reminded that drug and alcohol (D&A) testing 
information must be submitted for contractors who are performing or are 
ready to perform covered functions. For calendar year 2020 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, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Calendar Year 2021 Minimum Annual Percentage Rate for Random 
Drug Testing

    Operators of natural gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide 
pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, 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 2019, 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 2021 is maintained at 50 percent of all covered 
employees.

Reminder for Operators To Report Contractor MIS Data

    PHMSA developed and released online new PHMSA Supplemental 
Instructions for DOT Drug & Alcohol Management Information System 
Reporting. These instructions provide operators with the appropriate 
process for collecting and reporting annual D&A MIS testing data for 
contractors. The Supplemental Instructions help ensure that PHMSA can 
identify all the contractors who performed D&A covered functions for a 
specific pipeline operator; identify all the pipeline operators for 
whom a specific contractor performed D&A covered functions; and, has 
received a complete and accurate D&A MIS report for each contractor who 
performed D&A covered functions on any PHMSA regulated pipeline or 
facility in the applicable calendar year.
    Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  199.119(a) and 199.229(a), an operator 
having more than 50 covered employees is a large operator and an 
operator having 50 or fewer covered employees is a small operator. 
While contractor employees are covered employees per the regulations in 
Sec.  199.3 and must be treated as such with regards to part 199, 
contractor employees are not included

[[Page 78932]]

in the calculation to determine if an operator is a large or small 
operator.
    Large operators are always required to submit annual MIS reports 
whereas small operators are only required to submit MIS reports upon 
written request from PHMSA. If a small operator has submitted a MIS 
report in or after calendar year 2018, the PHMSA Portal message may 
state that no MIS report is required for calendar year 2020. If a small 
operator has grown to more than 50 covered employees during calendar 
year 2020, the PHMSA Portal message will include instructions for how 
to obtain a DAMIS user name and password for the 2020 calendar year 
reporting period.
    If an operator is required to submit a MIS report in accordance 
with part 199, that report is not complete until PHMSA receives a MIS 
data report for each contractor that performed covered functions as 
defined in Sec.  199.3. 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 2021, the user name and password required for an 
operator to access DAMIS and enter calendar year 2020 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 1, 2020, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2020-26782 Filed 12-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P