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Crude-by-rail proponents scored victories as the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced two actions to limit the regulation of oil transport by train.
In the first move, the administration, or PHMSA, the federal agency that regulates transportation safety for oil and other products, withdrew its planned rulemaking that would have limited crude oil vapor pressure. The agency's January 2017 advanced notice of proposed rulemaking asked for public comment on standards for vapor pressure in trains carrying crude oil.
The notice was in response to a December 2015 petition from the state of New York, which argued that the existing rules were "insufficient to reduce significantly the risk of high impact fires or explosions because they did not specifically address vapor pressure limits."
In a May 11 news release, the agency said its decision to withdraw its January 2017 notice followed a review of comments and a study conducted by the Sandia National Laboratories....