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FAST Act may finally put an end to misguided wetlines rulemaking

Dec. 3, 2015
It looks like the tank truck industry is getting a very welcome early Christmas present from Congress. The conferenced version of the highway reauthorization bill, entitled “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation” (FAST) Act, should put an end to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration’s (PHMSA’s) lengthy misguided quest to eliminate wetlines on cargo tanks.

It looks like the tank truck industry got a very welcome early Christmas present from Congress. The highway reauthorization legislation, entitled “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation” (FAST) Act, should put an end to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration’s (PHMSA’s) lengthy misguided quest to eliminate wetlines on cargo tanks.

The FAST Act requires PHMSA to withdraw its proposed wetlines rule (HM-213D) marking the third time in nearly 25 years that the proposed rule has failed to advance. Industry experts had pointed out repeatedly over the roughly quarter century that the proposed rule would have created more risk of catastrophe than it would have prevented.

The National Tank Truck Carriers officially requested that PHMSA withdraw the rule back in September 2013 after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that PHMSA’s incident data cannot be used to reliably identify risks from incidents involving collisions with wetlines under tank trailers, but it took Congressional action to advance the appropriate remedy to squash this unnecessary regulatory activity. The GAO report also indicated that incidents used in the rationalization of the proposed rule were not specifically identified within PHMSA’s database and that the data itself also contained inaccuracies. 

After passing the full House and Senate by wide margins, the FAST Act was signed into law by the President on December 4 and PHMSA now has 30 days to withdraw its rule. The agency would still have authority to issue a future wetlines proposal but would be required to demonstrate that the benefits of such a regulation outweigh its costs as dictated by the Administrative Procedure Act.  

“The action of Congress is a victory for safety in our industry, specifically for our many trailer technicians who no longer face the threat of dangerously welding the large fleet of petroleum trailers across North America,” said Harold A Sumerford Jr, NTTC chairman. “It’s also a tribute to the NTTC’s federal advocacy efforts on both the legislative and regulatory fronts. Together with our coalition partners, we built a solid, common-sense argument that garnered bipartisan support across the government and our thanks go to the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA), the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), the American Trucking Associations (ATA), and the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA).” 

NTTC President Daniel R Furth added: “The wetlines issue has cost our membership significant time and resources over the past 25 years. This victory on the Hill highlights the value proposition for our carrier members, as well as many non-members who operate in the expansive petroleum segment. I personally would like to recognize the combined efforts of my two immediate predecessors Cliff Harvison and John Conley for all of the work they contributed to this victory. Our gratitude is also due to the leadership of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee--specifically Chairman Bill Shuster (PA-9th), ranking member Peter DeFazio (OR-4th), Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (CA-10th), the Subcommittee’s ranking member Michael Capuano (MA-7th), and T&I Committee member Congresswoman Corrine Brown (FL-5th) whose critical support heightened Congressional awareness of our safety-based position.”

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