Wetlines to remain on tank trailers

Jan. 5, 2016

It appears that wetlines will remain on cargo tank trailers after all.

According to Bulk Transporter, the recently approved highway reauthorization legislation requires the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) to withdraw its proposed wetlines rule (HM-213D), effectively ending the agency's effort to eliminate wetlines on cargo tanks.

The Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association and the National Tank Truck Carriers were part of an array of industry groups fighting the PHMSA proposal.  Others included the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA), the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), and the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

It was the third time in nearly 25 years that the proposed rule has failed to advance. Industry experts had pointed out repeatedly over the roughly quarter century that the proposed rule would have created more risk of catastrophe than it would have prevented. 

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