Hazardous Materials: Eliminating Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens on Fuel Transportation

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>49 CFR Parts 107, 171, 172, 173, 178, and 180</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0080 (HM-265)]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2137-AF41</RIN> <SUBJECT>Hazardous Materials: Eliminating Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens on Fuel Transportation</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Department of Transportation. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> PHMSA is adopting several amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens associated with the safe transportation of hazardous materials, including energy products. These amendments will reduce costs for hazardous materials transporters and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on fuel transportation while maintaining or increasing the level of safety provided in the Hazardous Materials Regulations. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> <E T="03">Effective Date:</E> This rule is effective February 13, 2026. <E T="03">Voluntary Compliance Date:</E> January 14, 2026. <E T="03">Incorporation by Reference Date:</E> The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in this rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register on February 13, 2026. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Alexander Wolcott, 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. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Executive Summary</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Incorporation by Reference Discussion Under 1 CFR Part 51</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Identification Number Markings for Petroleum Distillate Fuels</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Action Taken in This Final Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Response to NPRM Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Response to NPRM Comments on Other Final Rule Provisions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Electronic Submission of Cargo Tank Registration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. The Chlorine Institute Publication</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Exception From Security Awareness Training</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Reflective Design of Uninsulated Cargo Tanks</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Use of Video Cameras for Cargo Tank Inspections and Tests</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Section-by-Section Review of Amendments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Section 107.502</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Section 171.7</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Section 172.303</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Section 172.336</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Section 172.704</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Section 173.315</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Section 178.337-1</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Section 180.407</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Regulatory Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Statutory/Legal Authority</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Planning and Review</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Executive Orders 14192 and 14219</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Executive Order 13132</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Executive Order 13175</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 13272</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. National Environmental Policy Act: Environmental Assessment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Privacy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Executive Order 13609 and International Trade Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">L. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">M. Energy-Related Executive Orders 13211, 14154, and 14156</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">N. Cybersecurity and Executive Order 14028</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">O. Severability</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Executive Summary</HD> PHMSA is adopting several amendments proposed in the HM-265 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled <E T="03">Hazardous Materials: Advancing Safety of Highway, Rail, and Vessel Transportation.</E> <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> These amendments will reduce costs and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on the transportation of hazardous materials, including energy products, while maintaining the current level of safety provided by the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180). The amendments adopted in this final rule are: <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  89 FR 85590 (Oct. 28, 2024). </FTNT> • In part 107, subpart F, revise the cargo tank facility registration requirements to allow for electronic submission procedures. • In section 171.7, replace the current incorporation by reference of Chlorine Institute (CI) drawings in paragraphs (l)(3) and (l)(4) with the entire CI Pamphlet 49, <E T="03">Recommended Practices for Handling Chlorine Bulk Highway Transports,</E> which provides guidelines for the safe transportation of chlorine by highway. The updated incorporation by reference includes the use of the Midland Type pressure relief device (PRD) for cargo tanks transporting chlorine as referenced in updated section 173.315. • In section 172.336, revise the marking requirements for multiple petroleum distillate fuels to allow the marking of the identification number of the fuel with the lowest flash point transported in the same or previous business day. • In section 172.704, include hazmat employees who only manufacture packagings within the scope of the existing exception from safety training. Further, remove the security awareness training requirement for any hazmat employees who only perform hazmat activities related to packagings ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> employees who manufacture, repair, modify, recondition, or test packagings, and do not offer for transportation or transport hazardous materials in commerce). • In section 178.337-1(d), allow the use of external coverings other than paint that meet reflectivity requirements for Cargo Tank Motor Vehicles (CTMVs). • In section 180.407(a)(7), allow the use of video cameras or video optics equipment for cargo tank inspections or tests. PHMSA included several other proposals in the NPRM that are not being advanced in this final rule. The proposals included, among other things, amendments to the HMR to address 2017 Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) consensus recommendations; the Association of American Railroads' (AAR) delegated authority to approve tank car designs and tank car facility quality assurance programs; revisions to the construction and qualification of highway CTMVs; revisions to improve the safe transport of hazardous materials by vessel; and other multi-modal provisions. PHMSA is continuing to evaluate the merits of these proposals and may publish another final rule at a later date. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  In response to the NPRM, PHMSA received 37 sets of comments—of which only nine are relevant to the issues included in this final rule. Only those nine comments relevant to the topics addressed in this final rule will be discussed in this final rule. </FTNT> The amendments adopted in this final rule provide substantial cost savings by reducing unnecessary burdens on the transportation of petroleum distillate fuels, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, by motor carriers. This final rule also provides cost savings to the hazardous materials packaging industry by removing an unnecessary training requirement and adopting measures allowing the use of technologies that introduce efficiencies for cargo tank tests and inspections. Together, the amendments adopted in this final rule provide a quantified cost savings of approximately $145.3 million per year, while also providing qualitative benefits to energy transportation through greater regulatory flexibility for cargo tank owners and cargo tank facility operators. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Incorporation by Reference Discussion Under 1 CFR Part 51</HD> PHMSA currently incorporates by reference into the HMR all or parts of numerous standards and specifications developed and published by standards development organizations (SDO). In general, SDOs accredited as voluntary consensus standards bodies develop, establish, or coordinate technical standards using agreed-upon procedures and update and revise their published standards every two to five years to reflect modern technology and best technical practices. The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (NTTAA; Pub. L. 104-113) directs Federal agencies to use standards developed by voluntary consensus standards bodies in lieu of government-written standards whenever possible. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Circular A-119, <E T="03">Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities,</E> <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> to implement section 12(d) of the NTTAA relative to the utilization of consensus technical standards by Federal agencies. This circular provides guidance for agencies participating in voluntary consensus standards bodies and describes procedures for satisfying the reporting requirements in the NTTAA. <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  81 FR 4673 (Jan. 27, 2016). </FTNT> PHMSA is responsible for determining which standards currently referenced in the HMR should be updated, revised, or removed, and which standards should be added to the HMR, under the NTTAA and OMB Circular A-119. Revisions to materials incorporated by reference in the HMR are handled via the rulemaking process, which allows for the public and regulated entities to provide input. During the rulemaking process, PHMSA must also obtain approval from the Office o ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 106k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━