G/TBT/N/USA/1040  
 
21 October 2015  
(15-5564)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT) [1058] 
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above : 
Please submit comments to: USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point 
Email: ncsci@nist.gov  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10 .1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other: 
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applic able, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable): Hazardous liquid 
pipelines: Pipeline components and pipelines (ICS: 23.040), Valves (ICS: 23.060) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Pipeline 
Safety: Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines (35 pages, in English)  
6. Description of content: In recent years, there have been significant hazardous liquid 
pipeline accidents, most notably the 2010 crude oil spill near Marshall, Michigan, during 
which almost one million gallons of crude oil were spilled into the Kalamazoo River. In response to accident investigation findings, incident report data and trends, and 
stakeholder input, PHMSA published an Advanc e Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) 
in the Federal Register on 18 October 2010. The ANPRM solicited stakeholder and public input and comments on several aspects of hazardous liquid pipeline regulations being considered for revision or updating in order to address the lessons learned from the 
Marshall, Michigan accident and other pipeline safety issues. Subsequently, Congress 
enacted the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act that included several provisions that are relevant to the regulation of hazardous liquid pipelines. Shortly 
after the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certai nty, and Job Creation Act was passed, the 
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its accident investigation report on the Marshall, Michigan accident. In it, NTSB made additional recommendations regarding the 
need to revise and update hazardous liquid pipeline regulations.  
In response to these mandates, recommendat ions, lessons learned, and public input, 
PHMSA is proposing to make changes to the ha zardous liquid pipeline safety regulations. 
PHMSA is proposing these changes to improve protection of the public, property, and the 
environment by closing regulatory gaps wher e appropriate, and ensuring that operators 
are increasing the detection and remediation of unsafe conditions, and mitigating the adverse effects of pipeline failures. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable: Protection of the environment  G/TBT/N/USA/1040 
 
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  8. Relevant documents:  
 80 Federal Register (FR) 61609, 13 October 2015; Title 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) Part 195. Will appear in the Federal Register when adopted. 
 Pipeline Safety: Safety of On-Shore Hazard ous Liquid Pipelines, Advance notice of 
proposed rulemaking published 18 October 2010: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR- 2010-10-18/html/2010-26006.htm  
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR- 2010-10-18/pdf/ 2010-26006.pdf  
9. Proposed date of adoption: To be determined 
Proposed date of entry into force: To be determined 
10. Final date for comments: 8 January 2016 
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachm ents/2015/TBT/USA/15_4187_00_e.pdf