American Coatings Association

On Feb. 3, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a bill that would reauthorize federal hazardous materials safety programs for five years, with provisions that would require more economic analysis of proposed regulations.

The hazmat stipulations are part of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7). The bill authorizes $260 billion in spending for federal surface transportation programs through fiscal year 2016.

The surface transportation package would authorize $39 million a year in funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) Office of Hazardous Materials Safety.

The bill is expected to move to the House floor next week.

The hazardous materials safety title of the House transportation bill contains a number of provisions that would change PHMSA's regulatory process, including language that would require the Department of Transportation to consider the potential costs and economic impacts of a proposed rule before moving ahead with a final regulation.

The House proposal also contains language to require PHMSA to initiate a rulemaking to establish fitness criteria for the issuance of special permits, mandate an independent study of the transportation of flammable liquids in the “wetlines” of tanker trucks, and ensure federal regulatory jurisdiction over the loading and unloading of hazardous materials from bulk containers.

A version of a hazardous materials safety reauthorization bill was approved by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in December 2011, which is expected to be combined with other legislation to form a comprehensive surface transportation package for Senate floor consideration.

The two versions of the bill contain a number of differences, including on the level of funding for federal safety programs and the length of the reauthorization. The Senate bill allows for a two-year reauthorization for hazardous materials safety programs, including $42.34 million in general appropriations for fiscal 2012 and $42.76 million for fiscal 2013. That funding structure is slightly higher than the levels included in the five-year House bill.

There is some overlap between the House and Senate bills, both of which would require PHMSA to issue standard operating procedures for the special permit approval program and conduct pilot programs to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a paperless hazard communications system.

The House committee rejected a number of amendments to the hazardous materials safety language, including an amendment that would restore hazardous materials training requirements and Occupational Safety and Health Administration protections for employees who handle hazardous materials and work at facilities that store hazardous materials. The committee also defeated a proposal that would eliminate language in the bill that prohibits PHMSA from denying a special permit because an applicant has below-average hazmat transport and motor vehicle safety records.

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