Document ID: PHMSA-2013-0027-0001
Agency: phmsa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Regulatory Flexibility Act Review
Posted Date: 2013-05-09T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 90 (Thursday, May 9, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27169-27171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10897]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

49 CFR Chapter I

[Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0027; Notice No. 13-5]

Regulatory Flexibility Act Review

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Notice of regulatory review; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA seeks comments on the economic impacts of its Hazardous 
Materials Regulations on small entities. In accordance with section 610 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and as published in the Unified 
Agenda and Regulatory Plan, PHMSA is reviewing and analyzing the 
regulations applicable to the Hazardous Materials Program Procedures to 
identify requirements which may have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The Unified Agenda and Regulatory 
plan for the Department of Transportation can be found at the following 
URL: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-15/pdf/2013-00597.pdf.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 8, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Supko, Office of Hazardous 
Materials Safety, Standards and Rulemaking Division (202) 366-8553, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. For more information 
on the Hazardous Materials Regulations contact the Hazardous Materials 
Information Center at 1-800-467-4922 (in Washington, DC call 202-366-
4488).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The complete analysis of the rules in the 
2012-2013 Review Year, the Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan, and 
comment submission can be found at: http://www.regulations.gov/ (Docket 
No. PHMSA-2013-0027).

I. Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act

A. Background and Purpose

    Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires periodic 
reviews of existing regulations with significant economic impact (5 
U.S.C. 610(c)). The purpose of the 610 reviews is to assess the 
following: (1) The continued need for the rule; (2) the nature of 
complaints or comments received concerning the rule from the public; 
(3) the complexity of the rule; (4) the extent to which the rule 
overlaps, duplicates or conflicts with other Federal rules, and, to the 
extent feasible, with State and local governmental rules; and (5) the 
length of time since the rule has been evaluated or the degree to which 
technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed in the 
area affected by the rule.

B. Review Schedule

    The Department of Transportation (DOT) published its Unified Agenda 
and Regulatory Plan on December 21, 2012 listing in Appendix D--Review 
Plans for Section 610 and Other Requirements (78 FR 3299) those 
regulations that each operating administration will review under 
section 610 during the next 12 months. Appendix D also contains DOT's 
10-year review plan for all its existing regulations.
    PHMSA has divided its Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR 
parts 100-185) into 10 groups by subject area. Each group will be 
reviewed once every 10 years. Each group of regulations is reviewed in 
a two-stage process: (1) Analysis Year; and (2) Section 610 Review 
Year. In the Analysis Year, PHMSA conducts a review of the group 
regulations to determine whether any rule has a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities; and thus requires review in 
accordance with section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. In each 
Regulatory Agenda, PHMSA publishes the results of the analyses 
completed for the previous year. For those rules that may have negative 
findings, a brief rationale is provided. For parts, subparts or 
sections of the HMR that do have a significant impact on a substantial 
number of small entities, PHMSA will announce that it will be 
conducting a formal section 610 review during the following year. For 
the purposes of this review, the 2012-2013 610 review year began in the 
Fall of 2012 and PHMSA's analysis will conclude in the Fall of 2013. 
The following table shows the 10-year analysis and review schedule:

[[Page 27170]]

                                     PHMSA Section 610 Review Plan 2008-2018
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                                                                                          Analysis
                    Title                       Year      Regulations to be reviewed        year     Review year
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Specifications for Non-bulk Packagings.......       1  part 178.......................         2008         2009
Specifications for Bulk Packagings...........       2  parts 178 through 180..........         2009         2010
Hazardous Materials Table, Special                  3  parts 172 and 175..............         2010         2011
 Provisions, Hazardous Materials
 Communications, Emergency Response
 Information, Training Requirements, and
 Security Plans; and Carriage by aircraft.
Incident Reporting...........................       4  sections 171.15 and 171.16.....         2011         2012
Hazardous Materials Program Procedures;             5  parts 106, 107, 171, 190, and           2012         2013
 General Information, Regulations and                   195.
 Definitions; Pipeline Safety Programs and
 Rulemaking Procedures; and Transportation of
 Hazardous Liquids by Pipeline.
Carriage by Rail; Carriage by Highway;              6  parts 174, 177, 191, and 192...         2013         2014
 Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by
 Pipeline; Annual Reports, Incident Reports,
 and Safety-Related Conditions Reports.
Carriage by Vessel; and Drug and Alcohol            7  parts 176 and 199..............         2014         2015
 Testing.
                                                    8  parts 172 through 178..........         2015         2016
                                                    9  parts 172, 173, 174, 176, 177,          2016         2017
                                                        and 193.
                                                   10  parts 173 and 194..............         2017         2018
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C. 2012-2013 610 Review Year: Sections Under Review

    During Year 5 (2012-2013), PHMSA has initiated and will continue to 
conduct a formal section 610 review of some of 49 CFR parts 106, 107, 
171. The full analysis document for the hazardous materials rules 
covered by Year 5 is available in the public docket for this notice (Go 
to www.regulations.gov--Search for Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0027). The 
section 610 analysis that began in the fall of 2012 included 49 CFR 
parts 106, 107, 171. Specific areas outlined in the full analysis for 
further review include:

                                PART 107
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                  Subpart                               Title
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Subpart D.................................  Enforcement.
Subpart D of part 107 contains the
 regulations pertaining to the enforcement
 authorities of the Associate
 Administrator for Hazardous Materials
 Safety and the Office of Chief Counsel.
 It outlines the minimum, maximum, and
 recommended baseline penalties for
 violating the HMR and the procedures for
 enforcing and imposing those sanctions.
 While no additional costs or impacts are
 imposed on small entities who comply with
 the HMR, PHMSA seeks comment on these
 regulations due to the potential for
 explicit monetary expenses (e.g. civil
 penalties and ticketing).
Subpart F.................................  Registration of Cargo Tank
                                             and Cargo Tank Motor
                                             Vehicle Manufacturers,
                                             Assemblers, Repairers,
                                             Inspectors, Testers, and
                                             Design Certifying
                                             Engineers.
Subpart F of part 107 contains the
 registration procedures for
 manufacturers, assemblers, repairers,
 inspectors, testers and design certifying
 engineers of cargo tanks manufactured in
 accordance with a DOT specification or
 DOT special permit. In the last
 regulatory evaluation conducted in 2003,
 it was determined that approximately
 9,200 motor carriers and 7,000 cargo tank
 inspection/testing facilities are small
 entities affected by the costs associated
 with these procedures. PHMSA is seeking
 comment on whether these regulations have
 a significant impact on small entities.
Subpart I.................................  Approval of Independent
                                             Inspection Agencies,
                                             Cylinder Requalifiers, and
                                             Non-domestic Chemical
                                             Analyses and Tests of DOT
                                             Specification Cylinders.

[[Page 27171]]

 
Subpart I of part 107 prescribes the
 approval process for persons who seek to
 be an independent inspection agency to
 perform tests, inspections, verifications
 and certifications of DOT specification
 cylinders or UN pressure receptacles.
 Additionally, this subpart addresses the
 approval process for a person who engages
 in the requalification (e.g. inspection,
 testing, or certification), rebuilding,
 or repair of a cylinder manufactured in
 accordance with a DOT specification or a
 pressure receptacle in accordance with a
 UN standard, or under the terms of a DOT
 special permit. This approval is commonly
 known as a requalifier identification
 number (RIN). Lastly, subpart I of part
 107 addresses the approval procedures for
 persons who perform the manufacturing
 chemical analyses and tests of DOT
 specification cylinders, special permit
 cylinders, or UN pressure receptacles
 outside the United States. In the
 regulatory analysis of previous
 rulemakings affecting subpart I of part
 107, it was determined that the vast
 majority of entities subject to those
 rulemakings were small entities. Thus,
 due to the number of small entities this
 subpart is estimated to affect, PHMSA is
 seeking comment on whether these
 regulations have a significant impact.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed in the Background and Purpose section above, Section 
610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires periodic reviews of 
existing regulations with significant economic impact (5 U.S.C. 
610(c)). In conducting this review, PHMSA is seeking specific comments 
on whether the Hazardous Materials Program Procedures in 49 CFR part 
107, Subparts D, F and I have a significant impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. ``Small entities'' include small businesses, 
not-for-profit organizations that are independently owned and operated 
and are not dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions 
with populations under 50,000.
    If your business or organization is a small entity, or you 
represent a business or organization that is a small entity and the 
rules in 49 CFR part 107, Subparts D, F, and I or 49 CFR parts 106, 
107, 171have a significant economic impact on your business or 
organization, please submit a comment at: http://www.regulations.gov/ 
(Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0027) explaining the following:
    1. How and to what degree these rules affect you;
    2. Any complaints or comments you may have concerning the covered 
rules;
    3. The complexity of the covered rules;
    4. The extent to which the rules overlap, duplicate or conflict 
with other Federal rules, and to the extent feasible, with State and 
local government rules; and
    5. The extent of the economic impact on you and why you believe the 
economic impact is significant.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 30, 2013 under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR part 106.
Magdy El-Sibaie,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-10897 Filed 5-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P