2020-11912. National Hazardous Materials Route Registry

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION:

Notice; revisions to the listing of designated and restricted routes for hazardous materials.

SUMMARY:

This notice makes revisions to the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry (NHMRR) reported to the FMCSA from April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020. The NHMRR is a listing, as reported by States and Tribal governments, of all designated and restricted roads and preferred highway routes for transportation of highway route controlled quantities of Class 7 (radioactive materials) (HRCQ/RAM) and non-radioactive hazardous materials (NRHM).

DATES:

Effective date: June 3, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Melissa Williams, Hazardous Materials Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590, [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Legal Basis and Background

Paragraphs (a)(2) and (b) of section 5112 of title 49, United States Code (U.S.C.), permit States and Tribal governments to designate and limit highway routes over which hazardous materials (HM) may be transported, provided the State or Tribal government complies with standards prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) and meets publication requirements in section 5112(c). To establish standards under paragraph (b), the Secretary must consult with the States, and, under section 5112(c), coordinate with the States to “update and publish periodically” a list of currently effective HM highway routing designations and restrictions. The requirements that States and Tribal governments must follow to establish, maintain, or enforce routing designations for the transport of placardable quantities of NRHM are set forth in 49 CFR part 397, subpart C. Subpart D of part 397 sets out the requirements for designating preferred routes for highway route controlled quantities of HRCQ/RAM shipments as an alternative, or in addition, to Interstate System highways. For HRCQ/RAM shipments, § 397.101 defines a preferred route as an Interstate Highway for which no alternative route is designated by the State; a route specifically designated by the State; or both. (See § 397.65 for the definition of “NRHM” and “routing designations.”)

Under a delegation from the Secretary,^[1] FMCSA has authority to implement 49 U.S.C. 5112.

Currently, § 397.73 establishes public information and reporting requirements for NRHM. States or Tribal governments are required to furnish information to FMCSA regarding any new or changed routes within 60 days after establishment. Under § 397.103, a State routing designation for HRCQ/RAM routes (preferred routes) as an alternative, or in addition, to an Interstate System highway, is effective when the authorized routing agency provides FMCSA with written notification, FMCSA acknowledges receipt in writing, and the route is published in FMCSA's NHMRR. The Office of Management and Budget has approved these collections of information under control number 2126-0014, Transportation of Hazardous Materials, Highway Routing.

In this notice, FMCSA is merely performing the ministerial function of updating and publishing the NHMRR based on input from its State and Tribal partners under 49 U.S.C. 5112(c)(1). Accordingly, this notice serves only to provide the most recent revisions to the NHMRR; it does not establish any new public information and reporting requirements.

Updates to the NHMRR

FMCSA published the full NHMRR in a Federal Register notice on April 29, 2015 (80 FR 23859). Since publication of the 2015 notice, FMCSA published three updates to the NHMRR in Federal Register notices on August 8, 2016 (81 FR 52518), August 9, 2018 (83 FR 39500) and September 24, 2019 (84 FR 50098).

This notice makes revisions to the NHMRR, reported to the FMCSA from April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020. The revisions to the NHMRR listings in this notice supersede and replace corresponding NHMRR listings published in the April 29, 2015 notice and corresponding revisions to the NHMRR listings published in the August 8, 2016, August 9, 2018, and September 24, 2019 notices. Please continue to refer to the April 29, 2015 notice for additional background on the NHMRR and the August 8, 2016 notice for the procedures for State and Tribal government routing agencies to update their Route Registry listings and contact information.

The full current NHMRR for each State is posted on FMCSA's website at: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/​regulations/​hazardous-materials/​national-hazardous-materials-route-registry.

Revisions to the NHMRR in This Notice

In accordance with the requirements of §§ 397.73 and 397.103, the NHMRR is revised as follows:

Table 2.—California—Designated NRHM Routes

The existing Route Order Designator “A1” is revised to remove the “I” designation.

A new additional Route Order Designator “A1” is added and assigned an “I” designation.

Route Order Designator “A2” with the “I” designation is revised.

Route Order Designator “A4A-3.0B” with the “I” designation is revised to remove the QA comment.

Route Order Designator “A4A-3.0-D” is revised to remove the “B” designation.

Route Order Designator “A5A-3.0-C1” is revised and the QA comment is removed.

Route Order Designator “A5A-3.0-C2” is revised and the QA comment is removed.

A new Route Order Designator “A5A-3.0-C3” is added.

Route Order Designator “A5A-3.0-D” is revised and the QA comment is removed.

Route Order Designator “A10Q-2.0” is revised.

A new Route Order Designator “A11P-1.0-A1” is added.

Route Order Key

Each listing in the NHMRR includes codes to identify each route designation and each route restriction reported by the State. Designation codes identify the routes along which a driver may or must transport specified HM. Among the designation codes is one for preferred routes, which apply to the transportation of a highway route controlled quantity of Class 7 (radioactive) material. Restriction codes identify the routes along which a driver may not transport specified HM shipments.

Table 1—Restriction/Designation Key

Restrictions	Designations
0—ALL Hazardous Materials	A—ALL NR Hazardous Materials.
1—Class 1—Explosives	B—Class 1—Explosives.
2—Class 2—Gas	I—Poisonous Inhalation Hazard (PIH).
3—Class 3—Flammable	P—*Preferred Route* Class 7—Radioactive.
4—Class 4—Flammable Solid/Combustible
5—Class 5—Organic
6—Class 6—Poison
7—Class 7—Radioactive
8—Class 8—Corrosives
9—Class 9—Dangerous (Other)
i—Poisonous Inhalation Hazard (PIH)

Revisions to the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry (March 31, 2020)

Table 2—California—Designated NRHM Routes

Designation date	Route order	Route description	City	County	Designation(s) (A,B,I,P)	FMCSA QA comment
12/07/17 and 01/01/20	A1	State Route 905 from Mexican Border to Interstate 5			B
01/01/20	A1	State Route 905 from Mexican Border to Interstate 805			I
04/16/92 and 01/01/20	A2	Interstate 805 [San Diego] from SR 163 [San Diego] to State Route 905	San Diego	San Diego	I
04/16/92	A4A-3.0-B	Interstate 15 from State 60 [Mira Loma] to State 163 [San Diego]			I
04/16/92	A4A-3.0-D	CR S30/Forrester Rd. from State 86 [Westmorland] to Interstate 8 [El Centro]		Imperial	I	This route will be considered by the California Highway Patrol for updates in a future rulemaking.
10/28/92	A5A-3.0-C1	State 7 from Interstate 8 to Calexico East Port of Entry [at Mexico]	Calexico	Imperial	B
10/28/92	A5A-3.0-C2	State 111 from State 78 (Hovley) to Interstate 8 [El Centro]		Imperial	B
12/26/18	A5A-3.0-C3	State 78 from Forrester Road (Westmorland) to State 111 (Hovley)			B
10/28/92 (B) 04/16/92 (I)	A5A-3.0-D	State 86 [Indio] to State 78 [Westmorland]			B,I
10/28/92	A10Q-2.0	State 43 from State 99 [Selma] to Interstate 5			B
03/06/19	A11P-1.0-A1	Business 58 from State 58 to State 58 [Mojave]			B

End of Revisions to the National Hazardous Materials Route Registry

James A. Mullen,

Deputy Administrator.

Footnotes

1.  49 CFR 1.87(d)(2).