Quarterman resigns as PHMSA administrator

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Quarterman resigns as PHMSA administrator

Rail News: Safety

....
Meanwhile, Cynthia Quarterman late last week announced she's resigning as administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), which is is responsible for regulating the movement of hazardous materials, including crude oil by rail.

"I appreciate all of the work Administrator Quarterman has done to make progress toward improving the safety of how we move crude oil by rail," said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) in a press release.

PHMSA is accepting public comments on U.S. Department of Transportation rulemakings issued July 23 that aim to improve the safety of transporting large quantities of flammable materials by rail, particularly crude oil and ethanol. The comment deadline is set to expire soon.

"[Quarterman's] resignation should not be a reason to delay the finalization of critically important changes to oil car safety rules," said Larsen. "These rules need to get over the finish line, and I’m confident Secretary [Anthony] Foxx and his team will remain focused on having a final rule by the end of the year."

which inspired this op-ed:

Federal hazmat regulator AWOL from North Dakota oilfields

Friday, September 26, 2014
Written by David Thomas, Contributing Editor

Whatever the unrevealed reasons for Cynthia Quarterman’s (pictured) Oct. 3, 2014 departure as head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a change at the top may reverse the federal regulator’s much-criticized lethargy in fixing the core cause of exploding oil trains.

While the Federal Railroad Administration has addressed the proximate and contributing causes through changes to train operating practices, its sister agency has been inexplicably feckless in fixing the problem at its source: the oil fields of North Dakota where barely treated “hot oil” is pumped into tank cars for shipment. For reasons still unexplained, PHMSA requires the removal of dangerous butane and propane from crude before it is injected into pipelines, but allows the manifestly dangerous raw Bakken crude to be trained from the mid-continental oilfields, through towns and cities, to refineries on three coasts.

Yeah, but, PHMSA doesn't regulate rail safety. The Federal Railroad Administration does that. So what did he expect Quarterman to do about this?

[elleng]

1. ICC regulated rails AND pipelines,

for a while, including safety.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Commerce_Commission

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. It seems I'm wrong about PHMSA's jurisdiction, because:

Greenbrier responds to PHMSA's notice of proposed rulemaking for safer tank cars

Rail News: Safety 9/30/2014

The Greenbrier Cos. Inc. yesterday filed comments in response to the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding safer tank car designs.

For starters, Greenbrier supports PHMSA's proposed "Option 2" design for new tank cars built after Oct. 1, 2015, that will operate in flammable service. Greenbrier's proposed "Tank Car of the Future" would meet the specifications by featuring a 9/16-inch-thick steel tank shell, more robust top and bottom outlet protection, and jacketed shells with thermal protection.

The new design features combine to inhibit discharge of contents during a derailment to reduce penetration of the tank shell and slow "pool fires" that can result when hazardous contents of a tank car escape and are ignited, according to a press release. The new design also will feature a loading capacity of 30,000 gallons, equal in volume to the legacy DOT-111 tank cars. Greenbrier plans to double its production capacity for new tank cars over the next 12 months to meet surging demand.
....

Meanwhile, GBW Railcar Services L.L.C. — a rail-car repair and retrofitting joint venture the Greenbrier recently launched with Watco Cos. L.L.C. — also submitted comments that endorse PHMSA's timeline for retrofitting by 2020 all existing tank cars operating in flammable service, currently estimated at 98,000 units. The company noted its plans to invest in four streamlined facilities to help achieve those targets. .... Greenbrier and GBW's full comments are available at www.gbrx.com.