TITLE 24. TRANSPORTATION AND MOTOR VEHICLES

COMMONWEALTH TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Proposed Regulation

Title of Regulation: 24VAC30-61. Rules and Regulations Governing the Transportation of Hazardous Materials Through Bridge-Tunnel Facilities (amending 24VAC30-61-10 through 24VAC30-61-40).

Statutory Authority: §§ 33.2-210 and 33.2-300 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Hearing Information: No public hearing is currently scheduled.

Public Comment Deadline: November 21, 2025.

Agency Contact: Jo Anne Maxwell, Director, Governance and Legislative Affairs, Department of Transportation, 1401 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 786-1830, or email joanne.maxwell@vdot.virginia.gov.

Basis: Section 33.2-210 of the Code of Virginia authorizes the Commonwealth Transportation Board to promulgate regulations for the protection of and covering traffic on and for the use of systems of state highways. Section 33.2-300 of the Code of Virginia specifically authorizes the board to regulate the use of the Interstate Highway System. 49 USC 5112 and 49 CFR Part 397 authorize each state to establish, maintain, and enforce designations of specific highway routes over which hazardous material may and may not be transported by motor vehicles in commerce and limitations and requirements related to highway routing.

Purpose: This action necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the traveling public because it clarifies the regulation, which will reduce confusion for regulated entities.

Substance: Pursuant to a periodic review, the proposed amendments (i) remove outdated and redundant language, (ii) clarify the categories of bridge-tunnel facilities, and (iii) update references to the Code of Federal Regulations.

Issues: The primary advantage to the public and the Commonwealth is the removal and updating of redundant and outdated language and clarification of the regulation. There are no anticipated disadvantages to the public or the Commonwealth.

Department of Planning and Budget Economic Impact Analysis:

The Department of Planning and Budget (DPB) has analyzed the economic impact of this proposed regulation in accordance with § 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia and Executive Order 19. The analysis presented represents DPB's best estimate of the potential economic impacts as of the date of this analysis.¹

Summary of the Proposed Amendments to Regulation. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (board) proposes amendments to Rules and Regulations Governing the Transportation of Hazardous Materials Through Bridge-Tunnel Facilities (24VAC30-61) to remove redundant and obsolete language and to update references to federal regulations.

Background. The Rules and Regulations Governing the Transportation of Hazardous Materials Through Bridge-Tunnel Facilities (24VAC30-61) establishes the rules by which transporters of hazardous materials are governed while traveling through state owned bridge-tunnel facilities.

Estimated Benefits and Costs. There are six state-owned bridge-tunnel facilities in the Commonwealth, four that are urban and two that are rural. Federal regulation authorizes restrictions on the transport of hazardous materials through urban tunnels, and is the basis for this state regulation. The current and proposed regulations both indicate restrictions on the four urban bridge-tunnel facilities. Both the current and proposed regulations make clear which of the facilities are urban and which are rural. The current regulation includes text on which facilities are proximate to water, which according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is irrelevant to restriction determination. The board proposes to remove water proximity text. This would not change restrictions in practice, but might moderately improve clarity for the public by removing potentially distracting irrelevant information. Additionally, the board proposes to update references to relevant sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. This also would not change restrictions in practice, but would help the public find the relevant federal regulations.

Businesses and Other Entities Affected. The proposed regulation concerns restrictions on those entities that transport hazardous materials through state owned bridge-tunnel facilities. VDOT does not have data on the number of such entities. The proposed amendments do not affect restrictions for such entities, but may improve clarity concerning the restrictions. The Code of Virginia requires DPB to assess whether an adverse impact may result from the proposed regulation.² An adverse impact is indicated if there is any increase in net cost or reduction in net benefit for any entity, even if the benefits exceed the costs for all entities combined.³ Since the proposed regulation neither increases net costs nor reduces net benefits for any entity, no adverse impact is indicated.

Small Businesses⁴ Affected.⁵ The proposed amendment does not adversely affect small businesses.

Localities⁶ Affected.⁷ The proposed amendments do not disproportionally affect particular localities or affect costs for local governments.

Projected Impact on Employment. The proposed amendments do not affect employment.

Effects on the Use and Value of Private Property. The proposed amendments affect neither the use and value of private property nor real estate development costs.

_____________________________

¹ Section 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia requires that such economic impact analyses determine the public benefits and costs of the proposed amendments. Further the analysis should include but not be limited to: (1) the projected number of businesses or other entities to whom the proposed regulatory action would apply, (2) the identity of any localities and types of businesses or other entities particularly affected, (3) the projected number of persons and employment positions to be affected, (4) the projected costs to affected businesses or entities to implement or comply with the regulation, and (5) the impact on the use and value of private property.

² Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04 D: In the event this economic impact analysis reveals that the proposed regulation would have an adverse economic impact on businesses or would impose a significant adverse economic impact on a locality, business, or entity particularly affected, the Department of Planning and Budget shall advise the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance. Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation.

³ Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation. As a result, DPB has adopted a definition of adverse impact that assesses changes in net costs and benefits for each affected Virginia entity that directly results from discretionary changes to the regulation.

⁴ Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04, small business is defined as "a business entity, including its affiliates, that (i) is independently owned and operated and (ii) employs fewer than 500 full-time employees or has gross annual sales of less than $6 million."

⁵ If the proposed regulatory action may have an adverse effect on small businesses, § 2.2-4007.04 requires that such economic impact analyses include: (1) an identification and estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation, (2) the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other administrative costs required for small businesses to comply with the proposed regulation, including the type of professional skills necessary for preparing required reports and other documents, (3) a statement of the probable effect of the proposed regulation on affected small businesses, and (4) a description of any less intrusive or less costly alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed regulation. Additionally, pursuant to § 2.2-4007.1 of the Code of Virginia, if there is a finding that a proposed regulation may have an adverse impact on small business, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules shall be notified.

⁶ "Locality" can refer to either local governments or the locations in the Commonwealth where the activities relevant to the regulatory change are most likely to occur.

⁷ Section 2.2-4007.04 defines "particularly affected" as bearing disproportionate material impact.

Agency Response to Economic Impact Analysis: The agency accepts the economic impact analysis prepared by the Department of Planning and Budget.

Summary:

As a result of periodic review, the proposed amendments (i) remove outdated and redundant language, (ii) clarify the categories of bridge-tunnel facilities, and (iii) update references to the Code of Federal Regulations.

24VAC30-61-10. Applicability and purpose.

This chapter applies to all state owned bridge-tunnel facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and establishes the rules by which all interstate, intrastate, and public and private transporters of hazardous materials are governed while traveling through these certain bridge-tunnel facilities.

24VAC30-61-20. List of state-owned bridge-tunnel facilities in the Commonwealth.

The following table lists the six state-owned bridge-tunnel facilities in the Commonwealth. The Virginia Department of Transportation owns and operates all six facilities listed to which this chapter applies. A list of telephone numbers for each facility is available at the following website: https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/travel-traffic/freight/hazmat/.

For purposes of this chapter, the facilities listed above in the table in this section are classified into two groups: rural and essentially distanced from bodies of water, and urban and essentially proximate to bodies of water.

24VAC30-61-30. Restrictions on hazardous material transportation across rural and distanced-from-water facilities.

The two rural and distanced-from-water tunnel facilities are: the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel and the East River Mountain Tunnel. For these the two rural tunnels, and these two only, no restrictions apply on the transport of hazardous materials, so long as transporters and shippers are in compliance with 49 CFR 100 through 180, and any present and future applicable state regulations which may become in force to implement the federal regulations. In addition, the Commissioner of Highways may, at any time, impose emergency or temporary restrictions on the transport of hazardous materials through these facilities, so long as sufficient advanced signage is positioned to allow for a reasonable detour.

Questions on this section of the regulation should be directed to the VDOT Office of Safety, Security and Emergency Management, which can be reached by calling VDOT at 804-786-4692. Copies of the regulation will be provided free of charge. For copies, please write to:

Virginia Department of Transportation

ATTN: Office of Safety, Security and Emergency Management

1221 East Broad Street

Richmond, Virginia 23219

24VAC30-61-40. Restrictions on hazardous material transportation across urban and water-proximate facilities.

Hazardous materials are regulated in the four urban and water-proximate tunnels (Elizabeth River (Midtown and Downtown), Hampton Roads, and Monitor-Merrimac) based exclusively on the "hazard class" of the material being conveyed. The following tables in this section list those categories of materials grouped under the designations "Prohibited," "No Restrictions," or "Restricted."

Regulations concerning the transportation of hazardous materials across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) are available from the CBBT website: https://www.cbbt.com/regulations/#hazmat.