PHMSA’s Summer Surprise: 17 Final Rules

PHMSA’s Summer Surprise: 17 Final Rules

PHMSA Apparently Did Not Get the Memo About Summer Vacation: 17 Final Rules Hit the HMR

If you thought August might bring a little regulatory quiet, PHMSA obviously disagreed.

While the rest of us are trying to squeeze in vacations, backyard barbecues, and maybe an afternoon where we don’t open 49 CFR, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has been busy. Very busy.

Between August 4 and August 7, 2026, PHMSA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety published 17 final rules as part of its HM-268 deregulatory initiative. Apparently, PHMSA is not taking the summer off.

The good news is that this isn’t simply a pile of new regulatory requirements for the hazmat community to digest. The HM-268 package is largely aimed in the opposite direction: removing outdated requirements, reducing paperwork, expanding useful exceptions, modernizing compliance practices, and incorporating several established special permits directly into the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR).

For shippers, carriers, farmers, tradespeople, packaging users, cylinder operators, and others working with hazardous materials, there are some meaningful changes here.

Goodbye, Paper? PHMSA Goes Digital

Several of the rules move the HMR a little further away from the world of “print it out and keep it in the truck.”

HM-268D allows emergency response information to be provided electronically rather than requiring printed copies.

HM-268I eliminates the requirement for motor and vessel carriers to physically carry paper copies of their hazardous materials registration. Registration can instead be verified digitally.

And HM-268H modernizes PHMSA registration payments by requiring electronic payment rather than maintaining provisions for certified checks.

None of these changes reinvent hazardous materials transportation, but collectively they reflect something the industry has been asking for for years: if information can be reliably maintained, transmitted, and verified electronically, why are we still carrying around pieces of paper to prove it exists?

A Smaller Mark for Limited Quantities

HM-268B revises § 172.315(a)(2) to permit a smaller limited quantity marking.

For companies shipping large numbers of small packages, that seemingly modest change can matter. A marking that better fits smaller packages can reduce packaging and labeling headaches while allowing more efficient use of package space.

More Flexibility for Lithium Batteries and Materials of Trade

One of the more interesting changes comes through HM-268C, which updates § 173.6 and increases the amount of lithium batteries that may be transported under the Materials of Trade (MOTs) exception.

Think landscapers, contractors, maintenance companies, construction crews, and other trades that increasingly rely on battery-powered equipment.

The tools have changed considerably over the years. Today’s work truck may contain several pieces of equipment powered by lithium batteries rather than gasoline or corded electricity.

The regulation is catching up with that reality.

This doesn’t eliminate the MOT requirements, but it expands the usefulness of the exception for businesses transporting the equipment and batteries they need to perform their work.

Updating the Definition of an Aerosol

HM-268A revises the definition of “aerosol” in § 171.8 by removing the requirement that an aerosol contain a liquid, powder, or paste.

That change allows certain small quantities of gas to be transported in aerosol containers rather than requiring more expensive cylinders or special permit authority.

It also brings the U.S. definition into better alignment with international standards — an important consideration for manufacturers and shippers operating in both domestic and international markets.

Goodbye to 27 Pages of Duplicate Regulatory Text

HM-268E removes PHMSA’s duplicated list of CERCLA hazardous substances and instead references the hazardous substance list maintained by EPA in 40 CFR § 302.4.

The result? Approximately 27 pages of duplicative regulatory text disappear from 49 CFR. The requirement for Hazardous substances and Reportable quantities remain, the location to find the information is different.

Special Permits Move Into the HMR

A significant portion of the HM-268 package involves incorporating established DOT special permits into the regulations.

This is generally a welcome development. Special permits are extremely useful, but they also come with administrative requirements involving applications, renewals, party status, and tracking.

When a special permit has been used successfully for years and PHMSA determines that the alternative practice provides an appropriate level of safety, incorporating it into the HMR can make that relief available more broadly.

Several examples are included in this package.

HM-268L incorporates DOT-SP 12412 and DOT-SP 11646, allowing certain IBCs and drums to be unloaded while remaining on the transport vehicle when specified safety controls are followed.

HM-268M and HM-268N address refrigerating machines and systems containing certain A2L refrigerant gases, allowing qualifying equipment to receive regulatory treatment similar to systems containing non-flammable refrigerant gases.

HM-268O incorporates DOT-SP 14175, extending the requalification interval for certain cylinders from five years to 10 years.

And HM-268P incorporates DOT-SP 21478, allowing certain empty IBCs containing only hazardous material residue to be transported as non-bulk packages.

These changes can translate directly into fewer administrative steps and lower operating costs for affected companies.

Special Permit Administration Gets Easier Too

PHMSA didn’t stop with incorporating special permits.

HM-268G removes the requirement to submit a special permit renewal application at least 60 days before the permit expires.

Under the revised approach, continued use may be allowed when the renewal application is submitted before expiration.

Meanwhile, HM-268F addresses another frustrating situation: special permit packaging that is still perfectly usable even though the underlying permit is no longer active or the original permit holder no longer exists.

The rule allows qualifying DOT special permit packaging to continue being used for its authorized service life. That can prevent perfectly serviceable packaging from becoming unusable simply because of an administrative change involving the special permit.

More Relief for Farmers

HM-268J updates the income threshold associated with the security training exception for certain farmers.

The threshold increases from $500,000 to $825,000, reflecting inflation and expanding the relief available to small and mid-sized agricultural operations.

It’s another example of PHMSA revisiting dollar thresholds that may have made sense when originally adopted but no longer represent the same size business in today’s economy.

Cleaning Up Rules From the Steam Era

Then there is HM-268K, which removes outdated rail provisions and reporting requirements. Among the provisions targeted are references dating back to the steam era and requirements involving reporting to organizations such as the Bureau of Explosives.

Any time the phrase “steam era” appears in a discussion about modern hazardous materials regulations, it’s probably reasonable to ask whether a regulatory cleanup is overdue.

And Then Came HM-268Q…

The final installment arrived on August 7.

HM-268Q expands the role of Fireworks Certification Agencies (FCAs), allowing qualifying agencies to obtain authority to approve certain professional fireworks.

The intent is to streamline PHMSA’s fireworks approval process while providing greater flexibility to the regulated industry. So, just when we thought PHMSA might finally close the laptop and head to the beach after publishing HM-268A through HM-268P…

HM-268Q showed up.

Seventeen Rules Later…

Taken together, the HM-268 final rules represent a fairly significant regulatory cleanup. Some changes are small. Others could provide meaningful operational and financial benefits to specific sectors. And several continue a broader trend we’ve been seeing in hazardous materials regulation: greater use of electronic compliance, removal of outdated provisions, and incorporation of proven special permits into the HMR.

For hazmat professionals, however, there is one immediate takeaway.

If your summer reading list included a mystery novel, a beach book, or something with absolutely no references to the 49CFR, PHMSA has made other plans for you.

Seventeen final rules. Four days. In August. Thanks, PHMSA. Apparently, we’ll take our summer vacation in September.

Seventeen rules are a lot to unpack. Contact us if you need help determining what changes apply to your operation.

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