USA: Amendments to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 304 – Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Container Integrity
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule that amends the visual inspection labeling requirement in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 304 – Compressed natural gas fuel container integrity. The amendment consist in modifying the periodic inspection interval for compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel containers installed on vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) greater than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds).
The inspection interval for these vehicles is modified from the currently-specified interval, “at least every 36 months or 36,000 miles, which ever comes first,” to “at least every 12 months.” For commercial operators of CNG heavy vehicles that often travel 100,000 miles per year or more, this change will eliminate the need to perform unnecessary multiple visual inspections of their vehicles’ CNG fuel containers per year.
The rulemaking commenced in response to petitions for rulemaking from the American Trucking Associations and Natural Gas Vehicles for America.
The final rule is effective 14 March 2022 and the the compliance date for the amendments is 14 March 2023.
The final rule is available HERE.