National Hazardous Materials Route Registry Revisions and Procedures

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION:

Notice

SUMMARY:

This notice provides the most current revisions to the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry (NHMRR) and procedures to facilitate the update of the NHMRR by State and Tribal government routing agencies. The NHMRR is a listing, as reported by States and Tribal governments, of all designated and restricted road and preferred highway routes for transportation of highway route controlled quantities (HRCQ) of Class 7 radioactive materials (RAM) (HRCQ/RAM) and non-radioactive hazardous materials (NRHMs).

DATES:

Effective date: August 8, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Vincent Babich (202) 366-4871, or vincent.babich@dot.gov, Hazardous Materials Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Paragraphs (a)(2) and (b) of section 5112 of title 49, United States Code (U.S.C.) permit States and Tribal governments to designate and limit highway routes over which HRCQ/RAM and NRHM may be transported, provided that the State or Tribal government complies with standards prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) and meets publication requirements in section 5112(c). To establish standards under paragraph (b), the Secretary must consult with the States, and, under section 5112(c), coordinate with the States to publish periodically a list of currently effective HRCQ/RAM and NRHM highway routing designations and restrictions. The requirements that States and Tribal governments must follow to establish, maintain, or enforce routing designations for the transport of placardable quantities of NRHM are set forth in 49 CFR part 397, subpart C. Subpart D of part 397 sets out the requirements for designating preferred routes for HRCQ/RAM shipments as an alternative, or in addition, to Interstate System highways. For HRCQ/RAM shipments, § 397.101 defines a preferred route as an Interstate Highway for which no alternative route is designated by the State; a route specifically designated by the State; or both. See § 397.65 for the definition of “NRHM” and “routing designations.”

Under a delegation from the Secretary, FMCSA has authority to implement 49 U.S.C. 5112.

Currently, 49 CFR part 397, subpart C, (Routing of NRHM) and subpart D (Routing of Class 7 RAM) address the routing requirements and procedures that State and tribal government are required to follow. Section 397.73 establishes public information and reporting requirements for NRHM. States or Tribal governments are required to furnish information regarding any new or changed routes to FMCSA within 60 days after establishment. Under 49 CFR 397.103, a State routing designation for HRCQ/RAM routes (preferred routes) as an alternative, or in addition, to an Interstate System highway, is effective when the authorized routing agency provides FMCSA with written notification, FMCSA acknowledges receipt in writing, and the route is published in FMCSA's Hazardous Material Route Registry. The Office of Management and Budget has approved these collections of information under control number 2126-0014, Transportation of Hazardous Materials, Highway Routing. This notice serves only to provide the most current updates to the NHMRR, and to communicate to States and Tribal government routing agencies procedures to facilitate timely reporting and efficient update of the NHMRR as required by 49 U.S.C. 5112 and 49 CFR part 397; it does not establish any new public information and reporting requirements.

Procedural Changes

Section 33013 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act of 2012 (MAP-21) [Pub. L. 112-141, July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 405, 839] amended 49 U.S.C. 5112(c), which addresses the form, manner, and timetable for State and Tribal Governments to issue and update routing information for commercial motor vehicles transporting hazardous material in commerce for which DOT regulations require placarding of the vehicle .In October 2014, FMCSA published a Technical Amendments Rule that included amendments to 49 CFR 397.69 to address section 33013 of the statute [79 FR 59450; October 2, 2014]. Among the amendments was a State reporting requirement to include the name of the agency responsible for the highway route designations, and another to clarify that any State- or Tribal-government-designated route is effective only after publication in the NHMRR. This notice further addresses the form and manner for updating this information by establishing a procedure for updating the NHMRR in accordance with the statute and regulations.

Updates to the NHMRR

The most up-to-date version of the NHMRR, was published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2015 (80 FR 23860) and can be accessed on the internet at: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hazardous-materials/national-hazardous-materials-route-registry . Further, this Web page provides a link to http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hazardous-materials/national-hazardous-materials-route-registry-state which provides the Route Registry listing of each individual State and Tribal government as well as information on the official routing agency. This information, available for use by the routing agencies as well as the general public, is presented, in three formats; a spreadsheet, a PDF file, and as available, an interactive map. In addition, FMCSA has established an internet mailbox at hmrouting@dot.gov to facilitate communication with routing agencies.

While the route designation reporting requirements of 49 CFR 397.73 and 397.103 do not provide a specific procedure to follow whenever there is change in routing designations, the FMCSA is providing the following procedure to facilitate State and Tribal government routing agencies in updating their Route Registry listing:

1. From http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hazardous-materials/national-hazardous-materials-route-registry-state , open the appropriate Route Registry spreadsheet for your jurisdiction.

2. Modify the spreadsheet as necessary following the instructions on the Web page and the spreadsheet.

3. Revisions made to the spreadsheet cannot be saved directly to the Web page. The revised spreadsheet must be saved to a different location.

4. Forward the revised spreadsheet file as an attachment to an email to hmrouting@dot.gov; Or forward a printout of the revised spreadsheet via certified mail (return receipt requested) to FMCSA, Office of Enforcement and Compliance (MC-EC), 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Attention: National Hazardous Materials Route Registry.

5. FMCSA will acknowledge via email the receipt of all changes received via the “HM Routing” internet mailbox.

6. FMCSA will publish the revisions as a Notice in the Federal Register and incorporate the revisions, as applicable, into the appropriate State or Tribal Government Route Register spreadsheet, PDF file, and map posted on the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry Web page.

Revisions to the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry

Since FMCSA published the NHMRR in a Notice on April 29, 2015 (80 FR 23860), the State of California has notified the FMCSA of the following revisions to their Route Registry:

Table 16.—California—Restricted HM routes

Route Order designator “I” is revised.

Table 1.—California—Designated HRCQ/RAM routes

Route Order designator “A” is revised.

Route Order designator “B1” is revised.

Route Order designator“B2” is revised.

Route Order designator “F1” is revised.

Route Order designator “B6A-2.0-A is added and assigned a “P” designation.

Route Order designator “H” is added and assigned a “P” designation.

In accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 397.73 and 397.103, the Route Registry listings for the State of California, as published in Tables 16 and 17 are being revised. The following revised tables reflect the most current Route Registry listings for the State of California and supersede and replace the corresponding tables of the April 29, 2015 notice. The changes to the listings contained in the following tables are also reflected in the information posted on the internet at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hazardous-materials/national-hazardous-materials-route-registry . No other States submitted changes.