Hazardous Materials: Modernizing Regulations To Facilitate Transportation of Hazardous Materials Using Highly Automated Transportation Systems

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>49 CFR Parts 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, and 178</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. PHMSA-2024-0064 (HM-266)]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2137-AF68</RIN> <SUBJECT>Hazardous Materials: Modernizing Regulations To Facilitate Transportation of Hazardous Materials Using Highly Automated Transportation Systems</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM). <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is publishing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to obtain stakeholder input on potential revisions to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to facilitate the safe transportation of hazardous materials using highly automated transportation systems. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received by March 4, 2026, to ensure consideration. However, PHMSA will consider late-filed comments to the extent possible. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments identified by the docket number PHMSA-2024-0064 (HM-266) by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • <E T="03">Fax:</E> 1-202-493-2251. • <E T="03">Mail:</E> Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Operations, M-30, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. • <E T="03">Hand Delivery:</E> U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, Ground Floor, Room W12-140 in the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. <E T="03">Instructions:</E> All submissions must include the agency name and docket number (PHMSA-2024-0064) or RIN 2137-AF68 for this ANPRM at the beginning of the comment. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> including any personal information provided. 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. <E T="03">Docket:</E> For access to the dockets to read background documents or comments received, go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> or DOT's Docket Operations Office; <E T="03">see</E> <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> . <E T="03">Confidential Business Information:</E> 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 (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments in response to this ANPRM 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 ANPRM, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Pursuant to 49 CFR 105.30, you may ask PHMSA to provide confidential treatment to the information you give to the agency by taking the following steps: (1) mark each page of the original document submission containing CBI as “Confidential;” (2) send PHMSA a copy of the original document with the CBI deleted along with the original, unaltered document; and (3) explain why the information you are submitting is CBI. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Steven Andrews, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, DOT: PHMSA-PHH-10, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any comment PHMSA receives that is not explicitly designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Steven Andrews, Standards and Rulemaking Division, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, at 202-366-8553. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Abbreviations and Terms</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AAM Advanced Air Mobility</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AAR Association of American Railroads</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ADS Automated Driving System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ANPRM Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">BVLOS Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CDA Commercial Drone Alliance</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FAA Federal Aviation Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FMCSR Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FRA Federal Railroad Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> HMR Hazardous Materials Regulations </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HMTA Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IMO International Maritime Organization</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MASS Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MSC Maritime Safety Committee</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NAS National Airspace System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NTTC National Tank Truck Carriers</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFI Request for Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFP Request for Proposal</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SMS Safety Management Systems</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">TSA Transportation Security Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">USCG United States Coast Guard</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UAS Unmanned Aircraft Systems</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Executive Summary</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. ANPRM Objective</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Potential Regulatory Updates to the HMR for Highly Automated Transportation Systems</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Special Permits</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Shipping Papers and Emergency Response Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Hazard Communication</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Training</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Security Plans and In-Depth Security Training</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Packaging</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Loading and Unloading</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Highly Automated Transportation Systems by Mode</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Rail Transportation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Air Transportation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Vessel Transportation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Highway Transportation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Questions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VII. Future Actions</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Executive Summary</HD> PHMSA is publishing this Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit stakeholder input on the transportation of hazardous materials in highly automated transportation systems. For the purposes of this ANPRM, PHMSA considers highly automated transportation systems as advanced transportation systems that leverage varying degrees of automation, tailored to the system's complexity. The emergence of highly automated technology has the potential to transform how hazardous materials are transported while potentially enhancing safety, efficiency, and reliability. This shift warrants a comprehensive review of the requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180). PHMSA is publishing this ANPRM to solicit feedback that can be used in performing that review. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background</HD> The HMR was primarily designed with traditional transportation methods in mind. The advent of highly automated transportation systems, <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> ranging in possibility from drones and delivery robots to fully automated freight trucks, introduces new challenges and opportunities that were not anticipated by the original regulatory framework of the HMR. These highly automated transportation systems offer potential benefits, such as increased efficiency and reduced human error, but also raise questions about safety and regulatory compliance under the HMR. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See, e.g.,</E> USDOT Automated Vehicles Activities, <E T="03">https://www.transportation.gov/AV.</E> </FTNT> On March 22, 2018, PHMSA published a Request for Information (RFI), titled “Request for Information on Regulatory Challenges to Safely Transporting Hazardous Materials by Surface Modes in an Automated Vehicle Environment.”  <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> The RFI requested public comment on how the emergence of automated technologies may impact the HMR and the information that PHMSA should consider when determining how to best ensure the HMR adequately account for surface automated vehicles. The RFI also sought comment on the role that surface automated vehicles and their supporting technologies might play in transportation, freight movement, and commerce. PHMSA received 27 sets of comments from various interested parties in response to the RFI, including valuable input from private companies, public safety associations, and trade associations. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  83 FR 12529 (Mar. 22, 2018). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/PHMSA-2018-0001/comments.</E> For example, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) suggested that PHMSA review the HMR to identify outdated requirements that might hinder the use of highly automated transportation systems. In contrast, safety organizations, such as the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), expressed concerns a ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 64k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━