90 FR 131 pgs. 31109-31111 - Hazardous Materials: Information Collection Activities

Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 131Pages: 31109 - 31111
Docket number: [Docket No. PHMSA-2025-0008 (Notice No. 2025-04)]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-13030 Filed 7-10-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Transportation Department
Sub Agency: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Official PDF Version:  PDF Version
Pages: 31109, 31110, 31111

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2025-0008 (Notice No. 2025-04)]

Hazardous Materials: Information Collection Activities

AGENCY:

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) discussed below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal and extension. These ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burdens. A Federal Register notice and request for comments with a 60-day comment period on these ICRs was published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2025 (90 FR 11649) under Docket No. PHMSA-2025-0008 (Notice No. 2025-04). PHMSA received one comment in response to this notice; however, the comment was outside the scope of the ICRs listed for renewal.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before August 11, 2025.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain . Find this particular information collection by selecting "Currently under 30-day Review-Open for Public Comments" or by using the search function.

We invite comments on: (1) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Docket: For access to the dockets to read background documents or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or DOT's Docket Operations Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ryan Larson or Steven Andrews, Standards and Rulemaking Division, (202) 366-8553, ohmspra@dot.gov, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 1320.8(d), title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) requires the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to provide interested members of the public and affected agencies an opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping requests. This notice identifies information collection requests PHMSA will be submitting to OMB for renewal and extension. These information collections are contained in 49 CFR 171.6 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180). PHMSA has revised burden estimates, where appropriate, to reflect current reporting levels or adjustments based on changes in proposed or final rules published since the information collections were last approved. The following information is provided for each information collection: (1) title of the information collection, including former title if a change is being made; (2) OMB control number; (3) summary of the information collection activity; (4) description of affected public; (5) estimate of total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden; and (6) frequency of collection. PHMSA will request a 3-year term of approval for each information collection activity and will publish a notice in the Federal Register upon OMB's approval. PHMSA requests comments on the following information collections:

Title: Radioactive (RAM) Transportation Requirements.

OMB Control Number: 2137-0510.


[top] Summary: This OMB Control Number contains information collections involving the transportation of radioactive materials in commerce. Information collection requirements for RAM include: documenting testing and engineering evaluations for packages, documenting DOT 7A packages, revalidating foreign competent authority page 31110 certifications, providing specific written instruction of exclusive use shipment controls, obtaining U.S. competent authority for package design, registering with U.S. competent authority as a user of a package, and requesting a U.S. competent authority for a special form of radioactive material. The following information collections and their burdens are associated with this OMB Control Number:

Information collection Respondents Total annual responses Hours per response Total annual burden hours
Document Test and Engineering Evaluation or Comparative Data for Packaging-Reporting 50 100 40 4,000
DOT Specification 7A Package Documentation-Reporting 50 100 80 8,000
DOT Specification 7A Package Documentation-Recordkeeping 50 500 0.0833 41.67
Revalidation of Foreign Competent Authority Certification-Reporting 25 25 80 2,000
Offeror Providing Specific Written Instruction of Exclusive Use Shipment Controls to the Carrier-Reporting 100 2,000 0.5 1,000
Offeror Obtaining U.S. Competent Authority for Package Design-Reporting 10 40 2 80
Register with U.S. Competent Authority as User of a Package-Reporting 25 50 0.5 25
Request for a U.S. Competent Authority as Required by the IAEA Regulations for Special Form-Reporting 10 100 2 200

Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of radioactive materials in commerce.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Number of Respondents: 320.

Total Annual Responses: 2,915.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,347.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Title: Subsidiary Hazard Class and Number/Type of Packagings.

OMB Control Number: 2137-0613.

Summary: This OMB Control Number contains an information collection related to the placement of the subsidiary hazard class and type of packaging on a shipping paper. The HMR require that shipping papers and emergency response information accompany each shipment of hazardous materials in commerce. Shipping papers serve as a principal means of identifying hazardous materials during transportation emergencies. Firefighters, police, and other emergency response personnel are trained to obtain the DOT shipping papers and emergency response information when responding to hazardous materials transportation emergencies. The availability of accurate information concerning hazardous materials being transported significantly improves response efforts in these types of emergencies.

In addition to the basic shipping description information on shipping papers, we also require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division number(s) to be entered in parentheses following the primary hazard class or division number on shipping papers. This requirement originally applied only to transportation by vessel. However, the lack of such a requirement posed problems for motor carriers regarding compliance with segregation, separation, and placarding requirements, as well as posing a safety hazard. For example, in the event the motor vehicle becomes involved in an accident, when the hazardous materials being transported include a subsidiary hazard such as "dangerous when wet" or a subsidiary hazard requiring more stringent requirements than the primary hazard, there is no indication of the subsidiary hazards on the shipping papers and no indication of the subsidiary risks on placards. Under circumstances such as motor vehicles being loaded at a dock, labels are not sufficient to alert hazardous materials employees loading the vehicles, nor are they sufficient to alert emergency responders of the subsidiary risks contained on the vehicles. Therefore, we require the subsidiary hazard class or subsidiary division number(s) to be entered on the shipping paper for purposes of enhancing safety and international harmonization. The following information collection and burden is associated with this OMB Control Number:

Information collection Respondents Total annual responses Seconds per response Total annual burden hours
Subsidiary Hazard Class on Shipping Papers 260,000 43,810,000 2 24,339

Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of hazardous materials in commerce.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Number of Respondents: 260,000.

Total Annual Responses: 43,810,000.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 24,339.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Title: Flammable Hazardous Materials by Rail Transportation.

OMB Control Number: 2137-0628.


[top] Summary: This OMB control number contains information collections used for information and recordkeeping requirements pertaining to the sampling and testing certification, routing analysis, and incident reporting for flammable liquids by rail transportation. Rail carriers, shippers, PHMSA's Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) may use this information to ensure that rail tank cars transporting flammable liquids are properly classified, ensure trains are routed appropriately, and collect all relevant incident data. The following information collections and associated burden hours are associated with this OMB Control Number: page 31111

Information collection Respondents Responses Hours per response Total hours
Sampling and Testing Plan Burden for Subsequent Year Revision 1,801 1,801 10 18,010
Routing-Collection by Segment for Class II Railroads 10 10 40 400
Routing-Collection by Segment for Class III Railroads 160 160 40 6,400
Routing Analysis Burden for Class II Railroads 10 50 16 800
Routing Analysis Burden for Class III Railroads 160 320 8 2,560
Routing Security Analysis Burden for Class II Railroads 10 40 12 480
Routing Security Analysis Burden for Class III Railroads 64 32 4 128
Tank Car Retrofit Burden 50 50 0.5 25
Incident Reporting for Flammable Liquids by Rail 17 17 2 34
Oil Spill Response Plans-Submit Reports 73 14.6 0.5 7.3
Oil Spill Response Plan-Class I 7 7 162 1,134
Oil Spill Response Plan-Class II 11 11 54 594
Oil Spill Response Plan-Class III 55 55 36 1,980
Notification Plans-Maintenance 73 2,190 1 2,190
Notification Plans-DOT Request 73 15.33 1 15.33

Affected Public: Shippers and carriers of petroleum liquids transported by rail.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:

Number of Respondents: 2,574.

Total Annual Responses: 4,773.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 34,757.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2025 under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.

T. Glenn Foster,

Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

[FR Doc. 2025-13030 Filed 7-10-25; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-60-P