DOT Yanks Tanker Wetlines Proposal

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Heavy Duty Trucking / December 30, 2015

In compliance with a provision on the new highway act, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has withdrawn a notice of proposed rulemaking that would have amended haz-mat regulations on the transportation of “flammable liquid material in unprotected external product piping,” a.k.a. wetlines, on DOT-spec tanker trucks.

The withdrawal notice was published in the Federal Register for Dec. 30.

The proposal, which dates back to 2011, would have limited the amount of flammable liquid that could be carried in the unprotected loading/unloading wetlines of tankers.

PHMSA had contended there was a risk that fuel held in wetlines could spill and ignite in an accident.

However, tank carriers argued that the expense of installing pumps to empty the wetlines would far outweigh the benefits, especially given the added risk of explosion from welding retrofit pumps onto tank trailers.

According to Gordon Delcambre, Jr., PHMSA public affairs specialist, the notice’s withdrawal was mandated by Congress in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act highway bill that was signed into law by President Obama earlier this month.

“Although PHMSA is withdrawing its rulemaking proposal, the agency will continue to consider methods to improve the safety of transporting flammable liquid by cargo tank motor vehicle,” stated the notice.

PHMSA added that it will “continue to analyze current incident data and improve the collection of future incident data to assist in making an informed decision on methods to address this issue further, if warranted.”

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PHMSA pulls wetlines rulemaking

Fleet Owner / December 30, 2015

10-year effort blocked by Congress

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has withdrawn a decade-old rulemaking proposal that would have stopped flammable liquids from being transported in unprotected product piping (generally referred to as “wetlines”) of new and existing cargo tankers.

According to the announcement in Wednesday’s Federal Register, the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) “Hazardous Materials: Safety Requirements for External Product Piping on Cargo Tanks Transporting Flammable Liquids” is being pulled because of a mandate in the new highway bill, the FAST Act.

The rule would have required the piping be protected against accident or bottom damages, or designed to be emptied of flammable liquid. PHMSA also issued this proposed requirement to fully address a long-standing National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Safety Recommendation.

But the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report critical of the methodology and data used to support the rulemaking, and GOA noted that PHMSA's analysis had not adequately addressed the market uncertainty with regard to the technology to be used to address the safety hazard.

In comments on the proposal, opponents contended that wetlines are not a safety risk, citing PHMSA's own statistics that the frequency of wetlines incidents is low and the frequency of incidents that lead to injury or death is extremely low.

While PHMSA is withdrawing the rulemaking in accordance with the FAST Act, the agency will continue to examine this issue, particularly by monitoring flammable liquid wetlines incidents, “in consideration of any future actions,” the notice states. These likely future actions include “non-regulatory initiatives.”

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U.S. Truck Safety Regulators Abandon Earlier Proposal

Today’s Truckiing / December 30, 2015

Due to the new U.S. highway funding law that recently took effect, the Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has withdrawn a plan that would have amended haz-mat regulations on the transportation of “flammable liquid material in unprotected external product piping,” known commonly as wetlines, on tanker trucks.

The proposal, which dates back to 2011, would have limited the amount of flammable liquid that could be carried in the unprotected loading/unloading wetlines of tankers.

PHMSA had contended there was a risk that fuel held in wetlines could spill and ignite in an accident.

However, tank carriers argued that the expense of installing pumps to empty the wetlines would far outweigh the benefits, especially given the added risk of explosion from welding retrofit pumps onto tank trailers.

“Although PHMSA is withdrawing its rulemaking proposal, the agency will continue to consider methods to improve the safety of transporting flammable liquid by cargo tank motor vehicle,” stated the notice.

PHMSA added that it will “continue to analyze current incident data and improve the collection of future incident data to assist in making an informed decision on methods to address this issue further, if warranted.”