May 19, 2017 IPAA and AXPC Joint Comments to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Volatility of Unrefined Petroleum Products and Class 3 Materials
IPAA and AXPC urge PHMSA to reconsider the ANPRM, as it is premature given ongoing studies and the directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.” In keeping with the OMB guidance, PHMSA also should reevaluate its sampling and testing program as it applies to crude oil transported by truck. PHMSA implemented its sampling and testing program in a joint rulemaking with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), with the notice directed exclusively at crude transported by rail. As such, the program did not clearly solicit input from affected producers. PHMSA’s efforts to enforce the program have resulted in an ad hoc compliance program, with producers being forced to comply with extremely tight time constraints. The process and the resulting program do not achieve the goals of producers and PHMSA to transport hazardous materials in a safe manner.
