Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 42 / Friday, March 5, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 12835 

1See 86 FR 2210 at page 2234. 

amending 49 CFR parts 191 and 192 

published at 86 FR 2210 on January 11, 

2021, is delayed to March 21, 2021. 

Incorporation by reference date: The 

incorporation by reference of certain 

publications listed in the final rule 

published at 86 FR 2210 on January 11, 

2021, is delayed to March 21, 2021. 

Enforcement discretion withdrawal 

date: The document published at 84 FR 

11253 on March 26, 2019, is withdrawn 

as of March 21, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sayler Palabrica, Transportation 

Specialist, by telephone at 202–366– 

0559. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access and Filing 

A copy of the notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) (85 FR 35240, June 

9, 2020), all comments received, the 

final rule, and all background material 

may be viewed online at http://

www.regulations.gov using the docket 

number listed above. A copy of this 

document will be placed in the docket. 

Electronic retrieval help and guidelines 

are available on the website. It is 

available 24 hours each day, 365 days 

each year. An electronic copy of this 

document may also be downloaded 

from the Office of the Federal Register’s 

website at http://www.ofr.gov and the 

Government Publishing Office’s website 

at http://www.gpo.gov. 

Background 

On January 20, 2021, the Assistant to 

the President and Chief of Staff issued 

a memorandum titled, ‘‘Regulatory 

Freeze Pending Review.’’ The 

memorandum requested that the heads 

of executive departments and agencies 

(agencies) take steps to ensure that the 

President’s appointees or designees 

have the opportunity to review any new 

or pending rules. With respect to rules 

published in the Federal Register, but 

not yet effective, the memorandum 

asked that agencies consider postponing 

the rules’ effective dates for 60 days 

from the date of the memorandum (i.e., 

until March 21, 2021) for the purpose of 

reviewing any questions of fact, law, 

and policy the rules may raise. 

In accordance with this direction, 

PHMSA has decided to delay the 

effective date of the final rule, Pipeline 

Safety: Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform 

(RIN 2137–AF36), until March 21, 2021. 

PHMSA likewise delays the withdrawal 

of the March 26, 2019, ‘‘Exercise of 

Enforcement Discretion Regarding Farm 

Taps’’ (84 FR 11253) and the 

unpublished October 27, 2015, letter to 

the Interstate Natural Gas Association of 

America announcing a stay of 

enforcement pertaining to certain 

pressure vessels, each of which are 

available in the docket for the final rule. 

The final rule amends part 191 and 192 

to reduce regulatory burdens on 

operators on the construction, 

maintenance, and operation of gas 

transmission, gas distribution, and gas 

gathering pipeline systems. The 

amendments include changes to 

requirements for distribution integrity 

management, reporting, corrosion 

control, design, welding, and testing. 

The delay in the final rule’s effective 

date will afford the President’s 

appointees or designees an opportunity 

to review the final rule and will allow 

for consideration of any questions of 

fact, law, or policy that the final rule 

may raise before it becomes effective. 

Waiver of Rulemaking and Delayed 

Effective Date 

Under the Administrative Procedure 

Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), PHMSA 

generally offers interested parties the 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

regulations and publish final rules not 

less than 30 days before their effective 

dates. However, the APA provides that 

an agency is not required to conduct 

notice-and-comment rulemaking and 

may delay effective dates when the 

agency, for good cause, finds that each 

requirement is impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3)). 

There is good cause to waive both of 

these requirements here as they are 

impracticable. A delay in the effective 

date of the final rule, ‘‘Pipeline Safety: 

Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform’’, is 

necessary for the President’s appointees 

and designees to have adequate time to 

review the rule before it takes effect, and 

neither the notice and comment process 

nor the delayed effective date could be 

implemented in time to allow for this 

review. 

List of Subjects 

49 CFR Part 191 

Gas gathering, Integrity management, 

Pipeline reporting requirements, 

Pipeline safety. 

49 CFR Part 192 

Fire prevention, Incorporation by 

reference, Pipeline safety, Security 

measures. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 1, 

2021, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

1.97. 

Tristan H. Brown, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04572 Filed 3–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

49 CFR Part 192 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2018–0046; Amdt. No. 

192–28] 

RIN 2137–AF36 

Pipeline Safety: Gas Pipeline 

Regulatory Reform; Correction 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: PHMSA is correcting its Gas 

Pipeline Regulatory Reform final rule 

that published in the Federal Register 

on January 11, 2021. The rule makes 

miscellaneous changes to the regulatory 

requirements for gas pipeline systems. 

DATES: This correction is effective 

March 21, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sayler Palabrica, Transportation 

Specialist, by telephone at 202–366– 

0559. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PHMSA is 

correcting its Gas Pipeline Regulatory 

Reform final rule that published in the 

Federal Register on January 11, 2021 

(86 FR 2210). PHMSA is correcting the 

amendatory instructions to 49 CFR 

192.281 and appendix B to part 192. 

PHMSA is also correcting the new 

regulatory text at § 192.507(d) to remove 

the word ‘‘hydrostatic,’’ consistent with 

the unanimous recommendation of the 

Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee and 

the stated intent in the preamble of the 

final rule.1

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 192 

Fire prevention, Incorporation by 

reference, Pipeline safety, Security 

measures. 

Corrections 

In FR Doc. 2021–00208 that appears 

on page 2210 of the Federal Register on 

Monday, January 11, 2021, the following 

corrections are made: 


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12836 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 42 / Friday, March 5, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

§ 192.281 [Corrected] 

■ 1. On page 2240, in the second 

column, in part 192, in amendment 10, 

the instruction ‘‘In § 192.281, revise 

paragraph (c) to read as follow:’’ is 

corrected to read ‘‘In § 192.281, revise 

paragraph (c) introductory text to read 

as follows:’’ 

■ 2. On page 2241, in the third column, 

in amendatory instruction 17, paragraph 

(d) is corrected to read as follows: 

§ 192.507 [Corrected] 

* * * * * 

(d) For fabricated units and short 

sections of pipe, for which a post 

installation test is impractical, a 

preinstallation pressure test must be 

conducted in accordance with the 

requirements of this section. 

Appendix B to Part 192 [Corrected] 

■ 3. On page 2242, in the third column, 

in part 192 in amendment 25, the 

instructions are corrected to read: 

■ a. In section I.A., remove the term 

‘‘ASTM D2513–12ae1’’ and add in its 

place ‘‘ASTM D2513’’; and 

■ b. In section I.B., remove the term 

‘‘ASTM D2513–12ae1’’ and add in its 

place ‘‘ASTM D2513’’. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 1, 

2021, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

1.97. 

Tristan H. Brown, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04576 Filed 3–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 


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