[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25335-25336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08724]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
49 CFR Parts 107, 171, 172, 173, 178, and 180
[Docket No. PHMSA-2020-0102 (HM-219D); Notice No. 2023-06]
RIN 2137-AF49
Hazardous Materials: Adoption of Miscellaneous Petitions and
Updating Regulatory Requirements
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 March 3, 2023, PHMSA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM), entitled ``Hazardous Materials: Adoption of
Miscellaneous Petitions and Updating Regulatory Requirements (HM-
219D),'' proposing changes to update, clarify, improve the safety of,
or streamline various regulatory requirements. In response to a request
for an extension of the comment period submitted by Worthington
Industries, PHMSA is extending the comment period for the HM-219D NPRM
for an additional 45 days. Comments to the HM-219D NPRM will now be due
by June 16, 2023.
DATES: Comments should be received on or before June 16, 2023. To the
extent possible, PHMSA will consider late-filed comments.
ADDRESSES: Comments should reference Docket No. PHMSA-2020-0102 (HM-
219D) and may be submitted in the following ways:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Dockets Management System, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Dockets Operations, M-30, Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
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-2020-0102) 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.
Docket: For access to the dockets to read associated documents or
comments received, go to https://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 https://www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
https://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'' for ``proprietary information.''
Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Steven Andrews, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590-0001. Any commentary that PHMSA receives that is not specifically
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this
rulemaking.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Andrews, Standards and
Rulemaking Division, 202-366-8553, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
PHMSA published the HM-219D NPRM \1\ on March 3, 2023, in response
to 18 petitions for rulemaking submitted by the regulated community
between May 2018 and October 2020 that requested PHMSA address a
variety of provisions, including but not limited to those pertaining to
packaging, hazard communication, and the incorporation by reference of
certain documents. These proposed revisions maintain or enhance the
existing high level of safety under the Hazardous Materials Regulations
while providing clarity and appropriate regulatory flexibility in the
transport of hazardous materials. On April 6, 2023, PHMSA received a
comment to the HM-219D NPRM docket submitted by Worthington Industries
requesting that PHMSA rescind certain elements of the HM-219D NPRM or
(in the alternative) extend the comment period for responding to the
NPRM.
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\1\ See Hazardous Materials: Adoption of Miscellaneous Petitions
and Updating Regulatory Requirements NPRM [88 FR 13624] at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/03/2023-03366/hazardous-materials-adoption-of-miscellaneous-petitions-and-updating-regulatory-requirements.
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II. Comment Period Extension
PHMSA initially provided a 60-day comment period for the HM-219D
NPRM, which closes on May 2, 2023. In response to a request to extend
the comment period from Worthington Industries, PHMSA is extending the
comment period for an additional 45 days. The comment period will now
close on June 16, 2023. This extension provides the public with an
additional 45 days and should provide adequate opportunity for the
public to submit comments; however, PHMSA may at its discretion extend
the comment period further if necessary. To the extent possible, PHMSA
will also consider late-filed comments.
[[Page 25336]]
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 20, 2023, 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. 2023-08724 Filed 4-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P