PHMSA Withdraws Proposal for Wet Lines on DOT Tanker Trucks

News
Complying with a provision in the new highway bill, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has withdrawn a notice of proposed rulemaking that would have amended hazardous materials regulations regarding the transportation of flammable liquid material in unprotected external product piping, commonly known as wet lines.

The proposed rulemaking involved Department of Transportation-specification tanker trucks. The withdrawal notice was published in the Federal Register Dec. 30. PHMSA’s proposal, which dates back to 2011, would have limited the amount of flammable liquid that could be carried in the loading/unloading wet lines of tankers. The agency argued there was a risk that fuel held in such lines could spill and ignite in an accident.

The National Tank Truck Carriers requested that PHMSA withdraw the proposed rule in September 2013 after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the incident data the agency used to identify risks from collisions with wet lines could not be used in any rulemaking. GAO reported that incidents used in the rationalization of the proposed rule were not specifically identified within PHMSA’s database and that the data itself contained inaccuracies. Further, industry experts pointed out repeatedly that the rule would carry more risks than it would prevent.

Tank carriers successfully argued that not only would the expense of installing pumps to empty wet lines far outweigh the benefits, but that there would be added collision impact risks from welding retrofit pumps onto tank trailers.

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