[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 120 (Friday, June 23, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41046-41047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13351]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Chapter II

[Docket No. CPSC-2022-0017]


Notice of Availability of Updated ASTM Standard Under the 
Portable Fuel Container Safety Act

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notification of availability and request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In January 2023, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 
determined under the Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2020 (PFCSA) 
that ASTM F3429/F3429M-20 is a mandatory consumer product safety rule 
that impedes the propagation of flames into pre-filled portable fuel 
containers covered by the standard. ASTM has since notified the 
Commission that it has revised this voluntary standard. CPSC seeks 
comment on whether the revision meets the requirements of the PFCSA.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2022-0017, by 
any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit through this 
website: confidential business information, trade secret information, 
or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be 
available to the public. CPSC typically does not accept comments 
submitted by electronic mail (email), except as described below.
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier/Confidential Written Submissions: CPSC 
encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. You may, however, submit comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 
telephone: (301) 504-7479.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any 
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal 
information provided, to https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish to 
submit confidential business information, trade secret information, or 
other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be 
available to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier, or you may email them to: [email protected].
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, and insert the 
docket number, CPSC-2022-0017, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Ayers, U.S. Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: 
301-987-2030; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PFCSA \1\ requires the Commission to 
promulgate a final rule to require flame mitigation devices in portable 
fuel containers that impede the propagation of flame into the 
container. 15 U.S.C. 2056d(b)(1), (2). However, the Commission is not 
required to promulgate a final rule for a class of portable fuel 
containers within the scope of the PFCSA if the Commission determines 
at any time that:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2020, codified at 15 
U.S.C. 2056d, as stated in Public Law 116-260, div. FF, title IX, 
Sec.  901, available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-116publ260/pdf/PLAW-116publ260.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     There is a voluntary standard for flame mitigation devices 
for those containers that impedes the propagation of flame into the 
container;
     The voluntary standard is or will be in effect not later 
than 18 months after the date of enactment of the PFCSA; and
     The voluntary standard is developed by ASTM International 
or such other standard development organization that the Commission 
determines to have met the intent of the PFCSA.

15 U.S.C. 2056d(b)(3)(A). Any such Commission determinations regarding 
applicable voluntary standards must be published in the Federal 
Register, and the requirements of such a voluntary standard ``shall be 
treated as a consumer product safety rule.'' 15 U.S.C. 2056d(b)(3)(B) 
and (b)(4).

    Under this authority, on January 13, 2023, the Commission published 
a document determining that three voluntary standards for portable fuel 
containers meet the requirements of the PFCSA and will be treated as 
consumer product safety rules: ASTM F3429/F3429M-20 (prefilled 
containers), ASTM F3326-21 (containers sold empty), and section 18 of 
UL 30:2022 (safety cans). 88 FR 2206.
    Portable fuel containers sold pre-filled are within the scope of 
ASTM F3429/F3429M, Standard Specification for Performance of Flame 
Mitigation Devices Installed in Disposable and Pre-Filled Flammable 
Liquid Containers. ASTM lists the standard as a dual standard in inch-
pound (F3429 designation) and metric (F3429M designation) units. ASTM 
F3429/F3429M was first published in 2020. ASTM published a revised 
version of ASTM F3429/F3429M-20 in May 2023, as ASTM F3429/F3429M-23. 
On June 12, 2023, ASTM notified the Commission that it had approved and 
published ASTM F3429/F3429M-23.
    Under section (b)(5) of the PFCSA, if the requirements of a 
voluntary standard that meet the requirements of section (b).
    (3) are subsequently revised, the organization that revised the 
standard shall notify the Commission after the final approval of the 
revision. Any such revision to the voluntary standard shall become 
enforceable as a consumer product safety rule not later than 180 days 
after the Commission is notified of a revised voluntary standard that 
meets the conditions of section (b)(3) (or such

[[Page 41047]]

later date as the Commission determines appropriate), in place of the 
prior version, unless within 90 days after receiving the notice the 
Commission determines that the revised voluntary standard does not meet 
the requirements described in section (b)(3) of the PFCSA. 15 U.S.C. 
2056d(b)(5).
    CPSC staff is assessing the revised voluntary standard to 
determine, consistent with section (b)(5) of the PFCSA, whether the 
revisions in ASTM F3429/F3429M-23 meet the requirements of section 
(b)(3)(A) of the PFCSA listed above. The Commission invites public 
comment on that question, to inform staff's assessment and any 
subsequent Commission consideration of the revisions in ASTM F3429/
F3429M-23.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The Commission voted 4-0 to publish this notification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ASTM F3429/F3429M-23 is available for review in several ways. ASTM 
has provided on its website (at https://www.astm.org/CPSC.htm), at no 
cost, a read-only copy of the 2023 revisions to ASTM F3429/F3429M, 
including a red-lined version that identifies the changes made to ASTM 
F3429/F3429M-20. Likewise, a read-only copy of the existing standard 
(ASTM F3429/F3429M-20) is available for viewing, at no cost, on the 
ASTM website at: https://www.astm.org/READINGLIBRARY/. Interested 
parties can also download copies of the standards by purchasing them 
from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West 
Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; phone: 610-832-9585; https://www.astm.org. 
Alternatively, interested parties can schedule an appointment to 
inspect copies of the standards at CPSC's Office of the Secretary, U.S. 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, 
MD 20814, telephone: 301-504-7479.
    Comments must be received by July 7, 2023. Because of the short 
statutory time frame Congress established for the Commission to 
consider revised voluntary standards under section (b)(5) of the PFCSA, 
CPSC will not consider comments received after this date.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-13351 Filed 6-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P