[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72134-72135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27992]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2019-0208]
Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate; Management Information
System Reporting; and Obtaining Drug and Alcohol Management Information
System Sign-In Information
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice of calendar year 2020 minimum annual percentage rate for
random drug testing, reminder for operators to report contractor
Management Information System (MIS) data, and reminder of method for
operators to obtain user name and password for electronic reporting.
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SUMMARY: PHMSA has determined that the minimum random drug testing rate
for covered employees will remain at 50 percent during calendar year
2020. Operators are reminded that drug and alcohol testing information
must be submitted for contractors who are performing or are ready to
perform
[[Page 72135]]
covered functions. For calendar year 2019 reporting, the ``user name''
and ``password'' for the Drug and Alcohol Management Information System
(DAMIS) will be available in the PHMSA Portal.
DATES: Effective January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Lemoi, Drug & Alcohol Program
Manager, Office of Pipeline Safety, by phone at 909-937-7232 or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice of Calendar Year 2020 Minimum Annual Percentage Rate for Random
Drug Testing
Operators of natural gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide
pipelines and operators of liquefied natural gas and underground
natural gas storage facilities must randomly select and test a
percentage of all covered employees for prohibited drug use in
accordance with 49 CFR part 199. Pursuant to Sec. 199.105(c)(1), the
PHMSA minimum annual random drug testing rate for all covered employees
is 50 percent. The Administrator can adjust this random drug testing
rate based on the reported positive rate in the pipeline industry's
random drug tests, which is submitted in operators' annual Management
Information System (MIS) reports as required by Sec. 199.119(a). In
accordance with Sec. 199.105(c)(3), if the reported positive drug test
rate is below 1 percent for 2 consecutive years, the Administrator can
reduce the random drug testing rate to 25 percent of all covered
employees. In calendar year 2018, the random drug test positive rate
for the entire pipeline industry was reported at greater than 1
percent; therefore, the minimum annual random drug testing rate for
calendar year 2020 is maintained at 50 percent of all covered
employees.
Reminder for Operators To Report Contractor MIS Data
On January 19, 2010, (75 FR 2926) PHMSA published an advisory
bulletin notifying operators of the appropriate methodology for the
annual collection of contractor MIS drug and alcohol testing data to
avoid duplicative reporting when a contractor works for multiple
operators. If an operator is required to submit a MIS report in
accordance with part 199, that report is not complete until PHMSA
receives MIS data for each tested contractor that performed covered
functions as defined in Sec. 199.3. As explained in the 2010 Advisory
Bulletin, operators must submit operator and contractor employee
testing data in separate MIS reports to avoid duplicative reporting and
inaccurate data that could affect the positive rate for the entire
industry.
Reminder of Method for Operators To Obtain User Name and Password for
Electronic Reporting
By early January 2020, the user name and password required for an
operator to access DAMIS and enter calendar year 2019 data will be
available to all operator staff with access to the PHMSA Portal.
Pipeline operators have been submitting reports required by 49 CFR
parts 191 and 195 through the PHMSA Portal (https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/pipeline) since 2011. PHMSA determined that
distributing information via the Portal would be more effective than
the previous mailing process.
When the DAMIS user name and password are available in the PHMSA
Portal, all registered users will receive an email to that effect. If
operator staff responsible for submitting MIS reports do not receive
the DAMIS information, they should coordinate with other registered
PHMSA Portal users within their company to obtain the DAMIS user name
and password. Registered PHMSA Portal users for an operator typically
include operator staff or consultants who submit annual and incident
reports through PHMSA F 7000- and 7100-series forms. Operators that
have not previously registered staff in the PHMSA Portal for the
reporting purposes of parts 191 and 195 can register users by following
the instructions at: https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/PHMSAPortal2/staticContentRedesign/howto/PortalAccountCreation.pdf.
Pursuant to Sec. Sec. 199.119(a) and 199.229(a), operators with
more than 50 covered employees, including both operator and contractor
staff, are required to submit annual MIS reports. Operators with 50 or
fewer total covered employees are required to submit MIS reports only
upon written request from PHMSA. If an operator with 50 or fewer total
covered employees has submitted an MIS report in or after calendar year
2017, the PHMSA Portal message may state that no MIS report is required
for calendar year 2019. If an operator with 50 or fewer covered
employees has grown to more than 50 covered employees during calendar
year 2019, the PHMSA Portal message will include instructions for how
to obtain a DAMIS user name and password for the 2019 calendar year
reporting period.
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 19, 2019, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2019-27992 Filed 12-27-19; 8:45 am]
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