[Docket No. PHMSA–2020–0135]

PHMSA has determined that the minimum random drug testing rate for covered employees will remain at 50 percent during calendar year 2021.  The notice also reminds operators to report contractor management information system data using PHMSA supplemental instructions, and the method operators should use to obtain a user name and password for electronic reporting.  The notice also reminds operators that drug and alcohol testing information must be submitted for contractors who are performing or are ready to perform covered functions.  The effective date of this notice is January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) is recruiting for a new Director of Pipeline Safety after the recent announcement of Christopher “C.J.” Osman as its new Vice President of Government Affairs.

The Director of Pipeline Safety will be responsible for leading all aspects of INGAA’s pipeline safety policy and advocacy effort. The director’s primary focus area will be advocating the association’s positions regarding PHMSA regulations. Additional information and the full job posting can be found on LinkedIn. For immediate consideration, please send your resume/CV and cover letter to careers@ingaa.org.

Nov 15-17, 2021

Join us virtually, November 15-17, 2021  for an informative and interactive online workshop on DOT Pipeline Compliance topics. This Workshop will give a brief overview of the new rules, in addition to our standard overview of the DOT pipeline regulations in 49 CFR 191, 192, 194, 195, 196, and 199. It also describes pipeline operations and engineering concepts. It is appropriate for people who are new to pipeline regulations, who could use a refresher, or anyone who needs to know the latest developments in these areas. This workshop will be a combined format, addressing both gas and liquid pipeline topics in parallel. This will eliminate some redundancy of materials, and will allow more time for in-depth discussions for each topic.

Topics to be addressed in the workshop include:

• An overview of DOT/OPS pipeline compliance requirements
• State and Federal agency roles for pipeline safety
• PHMSA Jurisdiction
• PHMSA Inspections and Enforcement Processes
• Engineering Concepts and Stress/Strain Relationships; %SMYS
• Design Requirements
• Construction Requirements
• Corrosion Control Concepts and Requirements
• Operations and Maintenance Requirements
• Emergency Response Requirements (including spill response planning requirements for liquid pipelines)
• Damage Prevention Programs
• Operator Qualification Programs
• Drug and Alcohol Programs
• Public Awareness Programs
• Integrity Management (gas and liquid) Programs
• Control Room Management Programs

We will also discuss the PIPES Act of 2021; recent Advisory Bulletins from PHMSA; and new, pending and proposed rulemakings.

Each attendee will receive an electronic copy of the presentation as well as applicable handouts, and applicable regulations and voluminous reference materials including rulemakings, letters of interpretation, and other guidance documents.

To register for our workshop, click here.

Florida has updated the state’s damage prevention regulations with enhanced enforcement provisions. Civil penalties have increased for certain violations and additional enforcement review will be conducted each year by the Sunshine State One-Call of Florida, Inc. To view Florida’s revised State Damage Prevention Regulation, click here.

RCP’s MAOP validation includes field data collection, historical document review, producing standard drawings, and uploading station data to MaxOp, the industry-leading MAOP confirmation and reporting application.

For each site, RCP takes photos and measurements of all above ground piping and components. Pressure ratings of components are confirmed where available. Ultrasonic readings are taken to confirm wall thicknesses of pipes and fittings. MAOP documentation review includes data gathering and comprehensive analysis of historical documents as well as newly available information from the field collection. RCP utilizes MaxOp to validate the MAOP of each station based on gathered data.  Finally, we deliver a comprehensive report, which includes detailed photos of the site, up-to-date station drawings, bill-of-materials, installation history, highlighted MAOP issues and recommended remediations. 

To learn more about these and other services RCP has to offer, go to www.rcp.com or contact us directly at jfoley@rcp.com.

Online Training Done Right! Check out our online training introduction video. Our online training has been built from the ground up to make the most use of the virtual learning environment. We’ve re-organized our training material into 5-10 minute* bite-sized topics, and made them all available in a format that allows students to take them in any order and at any time. Topics include a video presentation, as well as external reference links and thumbnails of the slides. At the close of each lesson we will have a short quiz. The class includes live Q&A sessions each day to address questions, work through example problems, and review the quizzes.

Students will have the ability to browse the material in the manner that best suits their learning style. They can choose to watch all the topic videos, click-through the slides to skip topics they already know, browse through the reference materials and links, or a combination of all those things. They can spend more time on topics of bigger interest and skip the ones they don’t need to review (a liquid transmission operator probably isn’t interested in gas distribution topics). A three-day in-person course can be done in three days online by watching the appropriate videos each morning and attending the live Q&A sessions in the afternoon. Or, students can review the online materials in advance as their schedule allows and just log on for the live Q&A sessions when scheduled.

While there is no substitute for in-person training, we have done our best to create the next-best thing. We hope you will agree, and here’s what past attendees are saying:

“The course was great. I really think that the course setup is helpful for comprehending the information. The biggest benefit is having “homework” and being able to look back at the information to help solidify the learning. I would recommend this layout for information delivery in the future with more “homework” and videos walking through the results.”

“I appreciated the visuals accompanied by an explanation, especially with the mouse pointer to guide where to look/which section was being explained.”

“The presentation was great – at a good pace and with enough background that I understood what he was presenting.  Thank you.”

“I liked all of the details that Nathan provided. I learned a lot about the different types of testing for each of the properties. I knew generally what was available before but now I have a lot more knowledge. This will be helpful when sourcing vendors for material testing.”

*Truth in advertising – some of the recorded topics are 40 minutes.  It must be true that the older people are, the more long-winded they become.  But it’s all good.  Honest!