It is a truism that regulations, whether related to transport, safety, building codes, etc, are to a degree “written in blood” in a turn of phrase often used by safety professionals; that is, often the genesis of a particular rule is based on the lessons learned from an incident which sadly often involved a tragedy…
PHMSA Releases Special Permit Incorporations
The United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has published a final rule in today’s Federal Register which takes the important step of incorporating the terms of a number of Special Permits and/or Competent Authority Approvals into the regulations as standard language.
FMCSA Releases News on Proposed Driver’s Log Rules Change
The United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced the release of a supplemental proposed rulemaking which will require the use of electronic logs for commercial drivers of trucks and busses engaged in interstate commerce.
FAA Issues Request for Public Comments on Hazmat Notification
On March 4, 2014 the Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Notice of Availability in Federal Register (Volume 79, Number 42). The FAA notice seeks comments from the public on the Aviation Rulemaking Committee’s (ARC) recommendations that would establish an “acceptable and effective means” for air carriers to advise travelers of…
US Postal Service Changes Certain DMM Hazardous Materials Regulations to Harmonize with USDOT Rules
Shippers of hazardous materials who ship products using the US Postal Service (USPS) may be pleased with a new ruling from that agency. In a response letter dated 31 January 2014 and addressed to the Council On Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles (COSTHA) in reference to a September 2013 inquiry made by that body, USPS…
USDOT Issues Further Emergency Order Related to Crude Oil Transport and Classification
At approximately 1:15 AM EST on July 6th, 2013, a unit freight train of the cross-border operating Montreal, Maine, & Atlantic Railroad (MM&A) loaded with crude oil from the Bakken Shale Formations in North Dakota in the western United States suffered an as-yet unexplained failure of its automatic and manual braking systems while left unattended…
New NPRM Focuses on Creation of CDL Driver Test Database for FMCSA Required Drug and Alcohol Testing
The US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a proposed rulemaking (NPRM) which would establish a new nationwide database for reporting and tracking drug and alcohol related citations and test results for operators of commercial vehicles (CMV) holding Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL). The proposal was published in the Federal…
BNSF Railway Becomes First US Rail Carrier to Purchase Newly Compliant Tank Cars for Crude Oil Transport
Unprecendented order for 5000 cars On Thursday, February 20th, BNSF Railway, owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway investment group and thus the only fully privately held Class I railroad in North America, announced that it would purchase a fleet of some five thousand new tank cars to carry crude oil.
EPA’s Final Rule on Solvent-Contaminated Wipes
2013 Solvent-Contaminated Wipes Final Rule Used in combination with solvents, “wipes” are typically used for cleaning and other industrial applications by a variety of manufacturing facilities. Large quantities of both reusable wipes and disposable wipes are used daily and generators are faced with costly management issues once the wipes have reached the end of their…
Chemical Fire in Iowa may involve Hazardous Materials
A reported fire and potential hazardous materials release near an airport in a small Iowa town is in the news today. Major news organizations reported Thursday morning that local emergency responders were engaged in fighting a fire which may involve the release of hazardous materials including sulfuric acid at a fertilizer plant at or near…