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55 Infrastructure 1 (2015-2016)

handle is hein.journals/infrastr55 and id is 1 raw text is: \2 K0 m Vid.n 55ms No.n mmFal2 By Linda S. Stein, Kathryn 1. Gaine, and Nina Thanawtala n May 2015, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PH MSA), in ConsuLtation with die Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), released the highly antici- pated final rules reiain to ralj tank car design The agencies promulgated the rules in response to petitions to enhance rank car safety in light of the increasing rail transport of crude oil and refined products. The final nles are sub- ject to challenges from inoustry groups, local goverments, and interest groups. While some have filed administra- tive apneals directly wih PHMSA, others have chalienged the final rules in the US Court of AppeaLs for the D.C. Circutit. Tihis article summarizes PHMSA's final rules as well as the pending ad'minis- trative appeals and iu~dici-al ch-allenges ucato calerules Linda Stein Kathryn Gainey to those rules. PHMS's Final Rules Background. P1i-lSA inaed the rulemaking in 2013 'i re'sponse to tour petitions that uroed more strin- gent design standards for ine tank cars. Some petitioners sought to require ranks car owners to retirout existing tank cars.- PiHMISA publish ed as loice of pro- posed rulemaking in Augus't 2014,2 and Nina Thanawala Linda Stein, Kathryn Gainey, and Nina Thanawala are attorneys in the tran portation group <f Strsptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington, D.C. published its final rules in May 20153 As promulgated, the rules impose enhanced design sian- dards for new tank cars. The rules require certain existing tank cars to be retrofitted on a phased schedule to add sorue but not all of the upgraded standards fbr new cars. Other aspects of the rules address standards fr braking systems, speed restrictions, routing analysis, and notfication guide- tines. The key terms and pnrovisions include the following: Definitions of Two Types of Trains: The final rules define twO types Of trains. A high-hazard flarmable train (HHFT) is a train with 20 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid in a continuous block or 35 or more loaded rank cars or a Class 3 flanmnable liquid across the entire train4 A high-hazard flarmable unit train (1HFUT) is a sin- gle train transporting 70 or more nladed tank cars containine Class 3 fHamniable liquid.5 New Tank Cars. PH 'MSA requires new tank cars con- stnicted after October 1, 20 15, and used in an HHFT to cOnform to enhanced design and braking standards 'The new rank cars w ill be labeled DOT- 117 and must include, aniong other features, a head shield, increased tanl shell thickness made of normalized steel, a jacket, top fittings pirotection, arid enha need handle Edesigen n bottom outlet valves., ExistingTank Cars, P1H ISA requires existing tank cars used in a HHFT to be retrofitred to an enhanced design stanstard that is ot the sanie stand lrd for new cars. The retrofitted tank cars will be labeled DOT-1 17R and must include an 11 -gauge jacket full height head shield, andi a modified bottom outlet configuraion. Existing tank cars used in a lH1 f-I must be retrofit-- ted between 2018 and 2025, depending upon the tank car type and the pacidng group of ie materials transported in continued on page 8 I ' .- t' ii Published in Infrastructure, Volume 355, Number 1, Fall 2015 © 2015 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

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