This edition of the DG Digest publishes on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King holiday. The Labelmaster family joins all Americans in honoring his legacy and being mindful that much work remains to fulfill his vision. It’s also Inauguration Day. As one administration exits and a new one enters, there are bound to be significant changes in policy and regulation. We’ll strive to keep track of those changes as they happen and bring the details to our readers. Meanwhile, here’s last week’s news:
PHMSA
The agency has issued an “enforcement discretion” notice to DG stakeholders letting our community know that stakeholders using the newly updated international regulations (revised ICAO/IATA, IMO) will not be penalized for so doing as long as they correctly adhere to the modal texts. (US exclusions still apply). PHMSA noted it is working on a current harmonization effort. See the discretion letter here:
Notice Of Enforcement Policy Regarding International Standards | PHMSA
The agency also published its first tranche of special permit actions for the new year. See the actions at the links below:
Civil Monetary Penalties
Revisions to penalty fees continue at various agencies. Here are the latest announcements:
STB: 2025-00570.pdf
NTSB: 2025-00835.pdf
USPS: 2025-01062.pdf
FRA
The agency withdrew its newly implemented accident and incident investigation policy that was published last October. See the withdrawal here:
USCG
Although not directly DG related, the Coast Guard is comprehensively updating its Cyber Security rules for US flagged vessels and shoreside regulated facilities. No doubt many vessel-shipping DG stakeholders may be impacted by some of the requirements, so if that’s your company, you may wish to take a look:
Labelmaster is a full-service provider of products, shipping and training software, and professional consulting services to assist the DG and HS&E professional to comply with national and international regulations. See our full line of solutions at www.labelmaster.com.
