On September 1, 2023, PHMSA issued a final rule suspending authorization for transport of liquified natural gas (“LNG”) by rail, pending a review of the applicable regulatory framework. (88 Fed. Reg. 60356, Sept. 1, 2023). The final rule amends the Hazardous Materials Regulations to suspend authorization for LNG transportation by rail tank car to ensure that, while PHMSA studies the issue, the public is protected from its potential environmental consequences—both direct and indirect.
This rule was first proposed in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued on November 8, 2021. (86 Fed. Reg. 61731, Nov. 8, 2021). In that NPRM, PHMSA emphasized in the NPRM that “[t]ransportation of LNG by rail tank car has not occurred and there is considerable uncertainty regarding whether any would occur in the time it takes for PHMSA to consider potential modifications to the existing, pertinent [Hazardous Material Regulations] requirements,” but that the suspension “guarantees no such transportation would occur before its companion rulemaking has concluded.”