Hazardous Materials: Removing Burdensome Rail Reporting Requirements

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 49 CFR Parts 171 and 174 [Docket No. PHMSA-2025-0099 (HM-268K)] RIN 2137-AG13 AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This final rule reduces undue regulatory burdens by eliminating or replacing various rail transportation requirements that are either obsolete, overly burdensome, or conflict with other requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations. DATES: This final rule is effective September 3, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexander Wolcott, Standards and Rulemaking Division, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 2nd Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, 202-366-8553, alexander.wolcott@dot.gov . I. PHMSA Action A. What action is PHMSA taking in this final rule? PHMSA is making several revisions to 49 CFR parts 171 and 174 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to eliminate or replace various rail requirements that are either obsolete, overly burdensome, or conflict with other requirements. In Section 171.7, PHMSA is removing references to several outdated publications issued by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Bureau of Explosives (BOE). Many of these publications have not been updated in decades and are no longer relevant to the Nation's modern supply chain. PHMSA is removing these obsolete publications from the ta…