PHMSA publishes corrections to the HMR
On December 27, 2022, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published final rule HM-260B, Hazardous Materials: Editorial Corrections and Clarifications. The rule amends the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to correct editorial errors and improve the clarity of certain provisions in the HMR. Changes include:
- Removing obsolete references to ORM-D,
- Fixing incorrect regulatory references and citations, and
- Restating requirements to improve clarity.
The amendments in the final rule are not substantial and do not impose any new requirements when shipping or transporting hazmat. The changes in the rule become effective on January 26, 2023.
In-depth look
While the changes from the rule were previously listed, sometimes it’s nice to take a deeper look into the amendments. This in-depth look into some of the more prominent changes from the rule will give you more history as to why the changes were made.
Removing ORM-D
The ORM-D classification for hazmat came to an end on December 31, 2020. However, the ORM-D reference remained in several locations throughout the HMR. Since the phase-out period has passed and use of the ORM–D classification is no longer authorized, PHMSA is removing any reference to ORM–D from the HMR.
Undoubtedly, removing the obsolete references to ORM-D will clean up the HMR and make the regulations a bit less confusing.
Section 172.203
This section provides additional description requirements for shipping papers. Section 172.203(e)(1) and (e)(2) provide instruction for the description of residue hazardous material on a shipping paper. The language to include ‘‘residue: last contained’’ reads different in the paragraphs, specifically, ‘‘RESIDUE: Last Contained***’’ in (e)(1) and ‘‘RESIDUE: LAST CONTAINED***’’ in (e)(2). For consistency, PHMSA revised the language in (e)(2) to the following: ‘‘RESIDUE: Last Contained.’’
Updating titles to part 177
In part 177, subpart B (Loading and Unloading), some of the regulatory provision titles in the subpart reference the hazard class with a descriptive term while other titles reference only the hazard class number (example, Class 8 (corrosive) materials vs Class 1 materials). For consistency and uniformity within subpart B, PHMSA amended the titles to include a descriptive term associated with the hazard class in the following sections:
- 177.835—Class 1 (explosive) materials
- 177.837—Class 3 (flammable liquid and combustible liquid) materials
- 177.841—Division 6.1 (poisonous) materials and Division 2.3 (poisonous gas) materials
There were numerous other corrections and editorial changes throughout the HMR. However, due to the sheer volume, I couldn’t include them all. What I could do is give you a brief look into a few changes, which gives you an idea or the reasoning and thought process behind these types of rules.
Key to remember: Final rule HM-260B made editorial corrections and clarifications to the HMR. The amendments are not substantial and do not impose any new requirements. Changes in the rule become effective on January 26, 2023.