OMB Still Studying Wetlines Proposal

Aug 3, 2001 12:00 PM, Charles Wilson

Banning cargo tank wetlines remains a key objective for officials at the Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA). They provided an update on the wetlines effort during a Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association tank conference meeting in July. A proposed rule has been sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but will not be published in the Federal Register until Mitch Davis is confirmed as OMB head.

Will the rule be acceptable to the tank truck industry? Not likely, according to National Tank Truck Carriers President Cliff Harvison, who adds that the initial rule proposal developed by RSPA would need considerable modification. It’s hard to say what changes are being made by OMB or whether they are enough to satisfy the tank truck industry.