PHMSA NTSB Recommendations
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is required by law to respond to safety recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating transportation incidents. Recommendations usually address a specific issue uncovered during an investigation or study and specify how to correct the situation.
Open Recommendations
The NTSB classifications for open recommendations:
OAA - Open Acceptable Action
OAAR - Open Acceptable Alternate Response
OUA - Open Unacceptable Response
ORR - Open Response Received
OAR - Open Await Response
IRR - Initial Response Received
Mode
A - Air
H - Highway
P - Pipeline
R - Rail
Currently Open Recommendations
| Recommendation Number | Description | Issue Date |
|---|---|---|
| H-04-023 | Nurse Tank Inspections; OUA | July 1, 2004 |
| R-07-004 | Immediate Notification to Emergency Responders; OAA | April 25, 2007 |
| A-08-001 | Lithium Batteries; OAA | January 7, 2008 |
| A-08-002 | Lithium Batteries; OAA | January 7, 2008 |
| H-11-005 | Cargo Tank Performance Standards; OAA | September 2, 2011 |
| H-11-006 | Cargo Tank Performance Standards; OAA | September 2, 2011 |
| P-11-009 | PG&E Rupture - Immediate 911 Notifications; OAAR | September 26, 2011 |
| P-11-010 | PG&E Rupture - Equipping SCADA Systems; OAA | September 26, 2011 |
| P-11-011 | PG&E Rupture - Installing ACVs or RCVs; OAA | September 26, 2011 |
| P-12-003 | Enbridge - Engineering Assessment of Cracks; OUA | July 25, 2012 |
| R-12-007 | Adoption of American Association of Railroads (AAR) center sill or draft sill attachment designs; OAA | March 2, 2012 |
| R-14-014 | Commodity Flow Data and Emergency Response Plan Development; OUA | August 22, 2014 |
| R-14-019 | Public Education for Communities along Railroad Hazmat Routes; OAAR | August 22, 2014 |
| P-15-005 | Revise National Pipeline Mapping System to include high consequence area identification; OAA | February 10, 2015 |
| P-15-011 | Develop and implement risk assessment training; OAA | February 10, 2015 |
| P-15-015 | Revise Form 7100.1; OAAR | February 10, 2015 |
| P-15-017 | Evaluate relationship between incident occurences; OAA | February 10, 2015 |
| R-17-001 | Evaluate risks posed to train review re: separation distance; OAA | March 9, 2017 |
| R-17-002 | Withdraw regulatory interpretation for positioning placarded rail cars; OAA | March 9, 2017 |
| P-17-001 | Work with pipeline trade and standards organizations to modify pipeline dent acceptance; OAA | June 15, 2017 |
| P-17-002 | Require operators to either (a) repair all excavated dent defects or (b) install a local leak detection system; OUA | June 15, 2017 |
| H-18-003 | With FMCSA, develop and implement process to ensure cargo tank inspectors able to verify safety; OUA | January 30, 2018 |
| H-18-004 | With FMCSA incorporate by reference registered inspector training requirements for cargo tanks inspectors; OAA | January 30, 2018 |
| H-18-005 | With FMCSA permit suspension or revocation of registration of highway cargo tank inspectors; OAA | January 30, 2018 |
| R-18-027 | Sponsor research to study and publish the difference in characteristics between denatured and undenatured ethanol; OAA | November 27, 2018 |
| R-19-001 | Promulgate a final standard for pressure tank cars used to transport poison inhalation hazard/toxic inhalation hazard materials; OAA | February 14, 2019 |
| R-19-002 | Prohibit the use of those tank cars transporting poison inhalation hazard/toxic inhalation hazard materials that are constructed of nonnormalized steels and not constructed of steels meeting the highest available fracture toughness specifications; OAA | February 14, 2019 |
| R-19-003 | Issue maintenance guidance to owners of US Department of Transportation Specification 105 pressure tank cars transporting poison inhalation hazard/toxic inhalation hazard hazardous materials with risk factors to: (1) establish structural integrity inspection frequency, (2) provide guidance for defining critical flaw size and repair and acceptance criteria for indications in fracture sensitive locations, and (3) provide guidance for selecting nondestructive testing methods to identify cracks with a sufficient probability of detection; OAA | February 14, 2019 |
| P-19-001 | 19Require that all new service regulators be installed outside occupied structures; OAAR | June 10, 2019 |
| P-19-002 | Require existing interior service regulators be relocated outside occupied structures whenever the gas service line, meter, or regulator is replaced. In addition, multifamily structures should be prioritized over single-family dwellings; OAAR | June 10, 2019 |
| H-19-018 | Revise ERG for Hydrogen, and Guidance for Incident Management for Fuel Cell Technology; OAAR | November 19, 2019 |
| H-19-019 | Require requalification inspections for tube trailer special permits; OAA | November 19, 2019 |
| H-19-020 | Require inspections of cylinder PRD pressure ratings, and inspection and testing of PRD venting equipment; OAA | November 19, 2019 |
| H-19-021 | Develop guidance with CGA for tube trailer PRD vent systems; OAA | November 19, 2019 |
| R-20-001 | Railcar maximum coupling speeds and impact mass limits; OAR | March 24, 2020 |
| R-20-002 | Structural integrity inspection of tank cars in high-energy coupling events; OAR | March 24, 2020 |
| R-20-003 | Identify tank cars sustaining high energy coupling events; OAR | March 24, 2020 |
| R-20-004 | Monitor tank cars to remove those damaged by high energy coupling from service; OAR | March 24, 2020 |
| A-20-031 | Low production or prototype lithium-ion batteries ICAO proposal; IRR | June 8, 2020 |
| A-20-032 | Remove cargo air transport exception for low-production or prototype batteries; IRR | June 8, 2020 |
Last updated: Thursday, December 10, 2020