The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the potential use of electronic hazard communication as an alternative to physical, paper-based documents.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on May 5 issued a proposed civil penalty of $986,400 to Colonial Pipeline Company for “multiple probable violations of federal pipeline safety regulations stemming from an inspection of the company’s Control Room Management procedures.” A Notice of Probable Violation (NOPV) released to Colonial Pipeline “alleges that failures to adequately plan and prepare for a manual restart and shutdown operation contributed to the national impacts when the [Colonial] pipeline remained out of service after the May 2021 cyber-attack,” PHMSA reported.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) proposed temporary suspension of its regulations authorizing the transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail have prompted not only the Railway Supply Institute to weigh in, but also the Republican members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a coalition of attorneys general from 14 states and Washington, D.C.; all submitted comments on the agency’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released late last year.
On Nov. 8, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would suspend the transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail “until more research and testing can be done to ensure the safety of moving this commodity by rail.” The NPRM would presumably negate a Final Rule issued in 2019.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will award $98,800,117 to states, territories and tribes for six pipeline and five hazardous materials safety grant programs in FY 2021.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued a final rule amending Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR2). It is effective Dec. 28, 2020.
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) Virtual Connections Convention held earlier this month drew nearly 600 attendees with more than 130 speakers and 40-plus exhibitors. Additionally, the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) has awarded scholarships to 17 college undergraduates as part of an annual program.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in consultation with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), issued on June 19 a final rule authorizing the bulk transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail.
“Crude Oil Characterization Research Study,” a Sandia National Laboratories report to Congress commissioned by U.S. DOE (Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) and TC (Transport Canada) Transport of Dangerous Goods Directorate) under the Section 7309 of the FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act, says that Bakken crude and other hydraulic fracturing (fracking)-derived oil are no more volatile than other types of oil.
Industry watchers greeted the news of the recent BNSF derailment in Doon, Iowa, as typical ho-hum news. 32 tank railcars hauling crude derailed on a stretch of track that had been compromised by floodwaters. Several of the cars were ruptured and there was a crude spill. Emergency services (BNSF and others) were able to contain the size of the spill, and residents of the area were evacuated as a precaution. Luckily for all parties involved, there was no conflagration whatsoever as a result of the derailment.