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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 106744-106745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30981]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2024-0005]

Pipeline Safety: Meeting of the Liquid and Gas Pipeline Advisory 
Committees.

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA); 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of advisory committee meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting of the Technical 
Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, also known as the 
Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC), and the Technical Pipeline 
Safety Standards Committee, also known as the Gas Pipeline Advisory 
Committee (GPAC), to discuss the notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) 
titled ``Periodic Standards Update II'' and ``Cost Recovery for Siting 
Reviews for LNG Facilities.''

DATES: PHMSA will hold a public meeting on Thursday, January 16, 2025. 
The LPAC and GPAC (Committees) will meet from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 
EST to discuss the NPRMs. However, the meeting may end early or late 
depending on when the Committees complete their review of the proposed 
rules. Members of the public who wish to attend are asked to register 
no later than January 2, 2025. PHMSA requests that individuals who 
require accommodations because of a disability notify Joe Berry by 
email at [email protected] at least five days prior to the meeting. 
Public comments on the proceedings of this meeting must be submitted by 
February 20, 2025.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held virtually. The agenda and any 
additional information, including information on how to participate in 
the meeting, will be published on the meeting website at Liquid 
Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC) and Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee 
(GPAC) Meeting--PHMSA Public Meetings. Presentations will be available 
on the meeting website and at https://www.regulations.gov in docket 
number PHMSA-2024-0005 no later than 30 days following the meeting. You 
may submit comments, identified by Docket No. PHMSA-2024-0005, by any 
of the following methods:
     Web: https://www.regulations.gov. This site allows the 
public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice issued by any 
agency. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building: Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, West Building: Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, 
except federal holidays.
     Instructions: Identify Docket No. PHMSA-2024-0179 at the 
beginning of your comments. If you submit your comments by mail, submit 
two copies. Internet users may submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov. If you would like confirmation that PHMSA received 
your comments, please include a self-addressed stamped postcard labeled 
``Comments on PHMSA-2024-0005.'' The docket clerk will date stamp the 
postcard prior to returning it to you via U.S. mail.
     Note: All comments received will be posted without edits 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading for more information. 
Anyone can use the site to search all comments by the name of the 
submitting individual or, if the comment was submitted on behalf of an 
association, business, labor union, etc., the name of the signing 
individual. Therefore, please review the complete DOT Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register at 65 FR 19477 or the

[[Page 106745]]

Privacy Notice at https://www.regulations.gov before submitting 
comments.
     Privacy Act Statement: DOT may solicit comments from the 
public regarding certain general notices. DOT posts these comments 
without edit, including any personal information the commenter 
provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records 
notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
     Confidential Business Information: 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 notice 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 notice, it is important that you clearly designate 
the submitted comments as CBI. Pursuant to 49 CFR 190.343, you may ask 
PHMSA to provide confidential treatment to 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 Joseph Berry, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Submissions containing 
CBI can also be emailed to Joseph Berry by encrypted email at 
[email protected]. Any commentary PHMSA receives that is not 
specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket.
     Docket: For access to the docket or to read background 
documents or comments, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets. Alternatively, this 
information is available by visiting DOT at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
West Building: Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 9:00 
a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Berry, Office of Pipeline Safety, 
by phone at 202-366-3593 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Meeting Agenda

    The Committees will meet virtually on Thursday, January 16, 2025, 
to discuss the ``Periodic Standards Update II'' NPRM that PHMSA 
published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2022, (87 FR 52713),\1\ 
and the ``Cost Recovery for Siting Reviews for LNG Facilities'' NPRM 
that PHMSA published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2024, (89 FR 
67040).\2\ The Committees will review the NPRMs and their associated 
regulatory analyses, including, but not limited to, the preamble 
discussions of the proposals within each NPRM; regulatory impact 
analyses; environmental assessments; and other materials pertaining to 
the NPRMs provided in the respective public dockets. The committees 
will discuss the Cost Recovery for Siting Reviews for LNG facilities 
NPRM first. While the meeting is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 
EST, the Committees may complete their review of the proposed rules 
before or after 6:00 p.m. EST. PHMSA will post additional details on 
the meeting website in advance of the meeting as they become available.
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    \1\ The public docket for the Periodic Standards Update II NPRM 
can be found at https://regulations.gov in Docket No. PHMSA-2020-
0013.
    \2\ The public docket for the Cost Recovery for Siting Reviews 
for LNG Facilities Notice can be found at https://regulations.gov in 
Docket No. PHMSA-2022-0118.
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    In the ``Periodic Standards Update II'' NPRM, PHMSA proposes 
amendments that would incorporate by reference all or parts of updated 
editions of some of those standards. The NPRM also proposes non-
substantive edits and clarifications to certain other provisions of the 
federal pipeline safety regulations.
    In the ``Cost Recovery for Siting Reviews for LNG Facilities'' 
NPRM, PHMSA proposes a new fee for cost recovery for siting reviews of 
liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility project applications where the 
design and construction costs total $2.5 billion or more. This proposed 
rule is necessary to implement section 103 of the Protecting our 
Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (PIPES Act 
of 2020), and to help provide adequate resources for siting reviews to 
promote PHMSA's public safety and environmental protection objectives. 
This proposed rule also revises current regulations authorizing PHMSA's 
cost recovery for design safety reviews of gas, hazardous liquid, and 
carbon dioxide pipeline facilities to improve the clarity of the 
regulations and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens.
    Following the LPAC and GPAC meeting, PHMSA will evaluate the 
Committees' recommendations and publish final rules that address the 
comments received and relevant information from the meeting report.

II. Background

    The Committees are statutorily mandated advisory committees that 
provide PHMSA and the Secretary of Transportation with recommendations 
on proposed standards for the transportation of hazardous liquid and 
gas by pipelines. The Committees were established in accordance with 49 
U.S.C. 60115 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. 
Ch. 10) to review PHMSA's regulatory initiatives and determine their 
technical feasibility, reasonableness, cost-effectiveness, and 
practicability. Each committee consists of 15 members, with membership 
evenly divided among federal and state governments, regulated industry, 
and the general public.

III. Public Participation

    The meeting will be open to the public. Members of the public who 
wish to attend must register on the meeting website and include their 
names and affiliations. PHMSA will provide members of the public 
reasonable opportunity to make a statement during this meeting. 
Additionally, PHMSA will record the meeting and post a record to the 
public docket. PHMSA is committed to providing all participants with 
equal access to this meeting. Public comments on the proceedings of the 
LPAC and GPAC meeting must be submitted by February 20, 2025.
    PHMSA is not always able to publish a notice in the Federal 
Register quickly enough to provide timely notice regarding last-minute 
issues that impact a previously announced advisory committee meeting. 
Therefore, individuals should check the meeting website or contact Joe 
Berry regarding any possible changes.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 20, 2024, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2024-30981 Filed 12-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P
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