The U.S. DOT published today a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM); Request for Additional Comment on lithium batteries that includes a 60-day comment period. (The U.S. DOT published a similar NPRM/Request for Additional Comment in April, 2012.) This latest NPRM appears to be an attempt to eliminate an uncertainty as to whether the Agency’s proposal to harmonize the U.S. lithium battery regulations with the requirements of the 2013-2014 ICAO Technical Instructions was intended to replace the original NPRM on lithium batteries published on January 11, 2010. There are five questions in the NPRM that focus primarily on the potential consequences of allowing shippers the “option” of complying with the 2013-2014 ICAO Technical Instructions for domestic shipments of lithium batteries. A copy of the NPRM can be downloaded here.
