PHMSA Issues HM-233E Final Rule: Special Permit and Approvals Operating Procedures and Evaluation Process

摘要

On September 10, 2015, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule ("HM- 233E") in the Federal Register which adopts regulations pertaining to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to support the administration of PHMSA's special permit and approval programs, and objective criteria to support the evaluation of special permit and approval applications, such as for determining the fitness of applicants to conduct operations requested in a special permit or approval application. The HM-233E final rule also clarifies what conditions need to be satisfied to ensure "completeness" of a special permit application, and defines certain terms applicable to evaluation of applications, such as "fitness," "fitness coordinator, " and "insufficient corrective action."