Hazardous Materials: Information Collection Activities

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Federal RegisterFeb 25, 2019
84 Fed. Reg. 6041 (Feb. 25, 2019)

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments on 3 information collections pertaining to hazardous materials transportation for which PHMSA intends to request renewal from the Office of Management and Budget.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before April 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by the Docket Number PHMSA-2018-0114 (Notice No. 2018-24) by any of the following methods:

  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
  • Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
  • Mail: Docket Management System; U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
  • Hand Delivery: To the Docket Management System; Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and Docket Number (PHMSA-2018-0114) for this notice at the beginning of the comment. To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. All comments received will be posted without change to the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) and will include any personal information you provide.

Requests for a copy of an information collection should be directed to Steven Andrews or Shelby Geller, Standards and Rulemaking Division, (202) 366-8553, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

Docket: For access to the dockets to read background documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or DOT's Docket Operations Office (see ADDRESSES).

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven Andrews or Shelby Geller, Standards and Rulemaking Division, (202) 366-8553, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 1320.8(d), title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requires PHMSA to provide interested members of the public and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice identifies information collection requests that PHMSA will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal and extension. These information collections are contained in 49 CFR 171.6 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180). PHMSA has revised burden estimates, where appropriate, to reflect current reporting levels or adjustments based on changes in proposed or final rules published since the information collections were last approved. The following information is provided for each information collection: (1) Title of the information collection, including former title if a change is being made; (2) OMB control number; (3) summary of the information collection activity; (4) description of affected public; (5) estimate of total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden; and (6) frequency of collection. PHMSA will request a 3-year term of approval for each information collection activity and will publish a notice in the Federal Register upon OMB's approval.

PHMSA requests comments on the following information collections:

Title: Radioactive (RAM) Transportation Requirements.

OMB Control Number: 2137-0510.

Summary: This information collection consolidates and describes the information collection provisions in the HMR involving the transportation of radioactive materials in commerce. Information collection requirements for RAM include: Documenting testing and engineering evaluations for packages, documentation for DOT 7A packages, revalidation of foreign competent authority certifications, providing specific written instruction of exclusive use shipment controls, providing written instructions for exclusive use shipment controls, obtaining U.S. competent authority for package design, registering with U.S. competent authority as user of a package, and request for a U.S. competent authority for special form. The following information collections and their burdens are associated with this OMB Control Number:

Information collection Respondents Total annual responses Hours per response Total annual burden hours
Document Test and Engineering Evaluation or Comparative Data for Packaging—Reporting 50 100 40 4,000
DOT Specification 7A Package Documentation—Reporting 50 100 80 8,000
DOT Specification 7A Package Documentation—Recordkeeping 50 500 0.0833 41.67
Revalidation of Foreign Competent Authority Certification—Reporting 25 25 80 2,000
Offeror Providing Specific Written Instruction of Exclusive Use Shipment Controls to the Carrier—Reporting 100 2,000 0.5 1,000
Offeror Obtaining U.S. Competent Authority for Package Design—Reporting 10 40 2 80
Register with U.S. Competent Authority as User of a Package—Reporting 25 50 0.5 25
Request for a U.S. Competent Authority as Required by the IAEA Regulations for Special Form—Reporting 10 100 2 200

Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of radioactive materials in commerce.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Number of Respondents: 320.

Total Annual Responses: 2,915.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,346.67.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Title: Hazardous Materials Public Sector Training and Planning Grants.

OMB Control Number: 2137-0586.

Summary: Part 110 of 49 CFR sets forth the procedures for reimbursable grants for public sector planning and training in support of the emergency planning and training efforts of States, Indian tribes, and local communities to manage hazardous materials emergencies, particularly those involving transportation. Sections in this part address information collection and recordkeeping with regard to applying for grants, monitoring expenditures, and reporting and requesting modifications. The following information collection and burden is associated with this OMB Control Number:

Information collection Respondents Total annual responses Hours per response Total annual burden hours
Hazardous Materials Grants Applications 62 62 83.23 5,160

Affected Public: State and local governments, Indian tribes.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Annual Respondents: 62.

Annual Responses: 62.

Annual Burden Hours: 5,160.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Title: Subsidiary Hazard Class and Number/Type of Packagings.

OMB Control Number: 2137-0613.

Summary: The HMR require that shipping papers and emergency response information accompany each shipment of hazardous materials in commerce. In addition to the basic shipping description information, we also require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division number(s) to be entered in parentheses following the primary hazard class or division number on shipping papers. This requirement was originally required only by transportation by vessel. However, the lack of such a requirement posed problems for motor carriers with regard to complying with segregation, separation, and placarding requirements, as well as posing a safety hazard. For example, in the event the motor vehicle becomes involved in an accident, when the hazardous materials being transported include a subsidiary hazard such as “dangerous when wet” or a subsidiary hazard requiring more stringent requirements than the primary hazard, there is no indication of the subsidiary hazards on the shipping papers and no indication of the subsidiary risks on placards. Under circumstances such as motor vehicles being loaded at a dock, labels are not enough to alert hazardous materials employees loading the vehicles, nor are they enough to alert emergency responders of the subsidiary risks contained on the vehicles. Therefore, we require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division number(s) to be entered on the shipping paper, for purposes of enhancing safety and international harmonization.

Shipping papers serve as a principal means of identifying hazardous materials during transportation emergencies. Firefighters, police, and other emergency response personnel are trained to obtain the DOT shipping papers and emergency response information when responding to hazardous materials transportation emergencies. The availability of accurate information concerning hazardous materials being transported significantly improves response efforts in these types of emergencies. The additional information would aid emergency responders by more clearly identifying the hazard.

The following information collection and burden is associated with this OMB Control Number:

Information collection Respondents Total annual responses Seconds per response Total annual burden hours
Subsidiary Hazard Class on Shipping Papers 260,000 43,810,000 2 24,339

Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of hazardous materials in commerce.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Number of Respondents: 260,000.

Total Annual Responses: 43,810,000.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 24,339.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2019.

William S. Schoonover,

Associate Administrator of Hazard Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

[FR Doc. 2019-03142 Filed 2-22-19; 8:45 am]

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