The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has recently introduced a proposed rule aimed at saving nearly $100 million annually for businesses and consumers.

According to PHMSA, the proposed regulation would streamline and update the rules governing the transport of hazardous materials, which would benefit truck drivers hauling fuels by improving supply chains. The new rule also aims to strengthen safety standards for transportation by highway, rail, and sea.

“Hazardous materials are a significant share of the essential goods routinely shipped in the United States, and the Biden-Harris Administration is working to make it more affordable and straightforward to safely move these materials through our supply chains,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “The proposal we’re announcing today streamlines requirements while maintaining safety measures, helping to reduce costs for businesses and consumers and make it easier for drivers to do their job.”

The PHMSA stated that the proposed rule aims to update and modernize regulations to reflect the latest technologies, business practices, and insights regarding hazardous materials. This includes revisions to packaging methods for transporting hazardous materials.

Key features of the proposed rule include:

  • Alleviating requirements for U.S. truck drivers by simplifying hazard communication guidelines for fuels, such as gasoline, transported in tanker trucks.
  • Promoting innovation and safety enhancements for rail cars carrying hazardous materials by reducing the review period for tank car design modifications and addressing National Transportation Safety Board recommendations for better design standards for rail tank cars.
  • Updating standards for vital agricultural equipment by establishing manufacturing standards for new fertilizer tanks and allowing the use of video and fiber optics technology for inspecting and calibrating cargo tanks in both agricultural and non-agricultural settings.

“This proposal focuses on ways to reduce regulatory burdens for America’s truck drivers and increases the overall efficiency of America’s critical energy transportation supply chains that impact every job and industry throughout our economy,” said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown.

The proposed rule has been sent to the Office of the Federal Register for publication and can be accessed on PHMSA’s website at www.phmsa.dot.gov. PHMSA will be open to comments on the proposed rule for up to 90 days following its publication in the Federal Register.