The API workshop on Pipeline Safety Management Systems on February 16th of this year was sold out with more than 100 people in attendance – so a second workshop similar to the first has been scheduled for April 26th. This workshop is designed to provide liquids pipeline companies with tools and knowledge to implement API…
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DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop – Gas & Liquid
APRIL 12-14, 2016 Join us April 12-14, 2016 in Houston at our corporate office and dedicated training facility for an informative, lively, and interactive workshop on DOT Pipeline Compliance topics. The workshop provides an overview of the DOT pipeline regulations in 49 CFR 191, 192, 194, 195, and 199. It also describes pipeline operations and engineering concepts.…
PHMSA Oil Spill Response Planning and Preparedness Public Workshop April 12, 2016
[DOCKET NO. PHMSA-2016-0021] The Department of Transportation/Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will hold a public workshop to address oil spill response planning and preparedness. This workshop will include how to harmonize PHMSA’s regulations with the requirements of other agencies, and how operators of onshore oil pipelines can prepare for an oil spill. The public…
RCP Integrity Services: Salt Domes, Too!
RCP has the tools and expertise to develop comprehensive Integrity Management Plans and implementation for liquid and gas pipelines, and salt dome storage facilities. If you would like information on RCP’s Integrity Management Services, contact Jessica Foley.
Louisiana State Regulation Changes Concerning Salt Dome Storage
UPDATED APRIL 4, 2016 Changes were made to Louisiana state regulations concerning Hydrocarbon Storage Wells in Salt Dome Cavities (43.17.3.3) and Class III (Solution Mining) Injection Wells (43.17.5.33). Salt dome storage development and activity has come under increasing scrutiny at the state and federal levels, and these changes reflect the additional interest in these operations.…
PHMSA Gas Transmission NPRM
[DOCKET NO. PHMSA-2011-0023 RIN 2137-AE72] The Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) intends to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) to revise the Pipeline Safety Regulations applicable to the safety of onshore gas transmission and gathering pipelines. The proposals within this rule cover many different aspects of the safety of these pipelines, including: New…
PHMSA Incident and Annual Data Analysis
RCP has designed a Pipeline Database Query tool, PDQ™, which researches gas transmission, gas distribution, or hazardous liquid pipelines based on PHMSA accident or infrastructure data. Have you ever wondered: How does your company stack up against your peers in accident rates? How do you weigh the risk based on the materials and age of…
PHMSA Public Awareness Workshop
HOUSTON, TX We’ve heard through the grapevine that PHMSA is planning to conduct a workshop on Public Awareness programs in Houston on Wednesday, May 25th, in the Galleria area. Be on the lookout for additional information, and start working on your shopping list if you are interested. Registration details will probably be posted on the PHMSA…
Public Workshop on Liquefied Natural Gas Regulations
[DOCKET NO. PHMSA-2016-0005] PHMSA is co-sponsoring a two-day Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Workshop with the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives on May 18-19, 2016 at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. This workshop will bring federal and state regulators, emergency responders, NFPA 59A technical committee members,…
API RP1173 Assessment Services
API recently published a new Recommended Practice (RP) concerning safety management systems for pipelines. API RP 1173 provides pipeline operators with a comprehensive way to make safe operations and continuous safety improvement a constant focus of their operations. The first step for most pipeline operators will be to assess their current safety management system maturity…
RCP Adds 2 World-Class Experts to its Roster of Employees
RCP is proud to announce that 2 world-class experts have recently decided to join the RCP team. Dwight Johnston: Executive-Level Management Systems ExpertDwight is on the Board of the Center for Offshore Safety (COS), which assists offshore operators in the development and execution of Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS), and Chairperson of new Ocean…
Utah Gas Pipeline Regulations – Misc. Revisions
The state of Utah has revised its gas pipeline safety regulations in Title R746 – Public Service Commission: Administration; Rule 409 – Pipeline Safety and in Title 54 – Public Utilities; Chapter 13 – Natural Gas Pipeline Safety. It changes a previous requirement for operators to file their O&M manuals with the commission, and instead…
Updated PREP Guidelines Available for Comment
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced that the updated draft PREP Guidelines are available for public comment. In simple terms, the PREP guidelines lay out exercise and training requirements for companies that have oil spill response plans required by OPA-90 (including those required by PHMSA in 49 CFR 194). Below is a summary of the…
Summer Conference Schedule
Have you registered and confirmed your reservations for these upcoming conferences? RCP will be attending. We hope to see you there! SGA Operating Conference & ExhibitsJuly 25-27, 2016George R. Brown Convention Center – Houston, TX Mark your calendar and plan to attend the 2016 “Mega Rule” Notice of Proposed Rule Overview session on Monday, July…
Pipeline Regulations for iPhone
There’s an app for that! In 2009, at our request, Tekk Innovations developed an iPhone application containing the federal pipeline safety regulations (49 CFR 40, and 190-199). It has keyword search and the capability to e-mail excerpts of the regulations to others. There have been several updates since the original app was released and was…
Gas and Liquid Advisory Committee Meetings
[DOCKET NO. PHMSA-2016-0032 PHMSA held public meetings of the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) and the Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC) on June 1-3, 2016. Topics discussed included GPAC’s consideration and voting on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled: Pipeline Safety: Plastic Pipe Rule (80 FR 29263; May 21, 2015), and in a joint…
Louisiana Dig Law Changes Effective Immediately
[LA HOUSE BILLS 249 & 250] For the past year, the Louisiana Dig Law Advisory Committee has worked on revising the Louisiana Underground Utility and Facility Damage Prevention Law (Dig Law). The purpose of these discussions was to define the intent of the law. On June 2nd at the 2016 Regular Legislative Session House Bill…
PHMSA Gas & Liquid Advisory Committee Member Nominations
[DOCKET NO. PHMSA–2016–0033] PHMSA is requesting nominations for individuals to serve on the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) and the Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC). The GPAC is composed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary of Transportation after consulting with public and private agencies concerned with the technical aspect of transporting gas or operating…
PHMSA Releases Joint Pipeline Public Awareness SWOT Report
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) posted the joint Pipeline Public Awareness Program Working Group’s (PAPWG) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Report to the Agency’s Stakeholder Communications website today. The report highlights key findings from SWOT results to foster continuous improvement in pipeline public awareness efforts. The full report can be accessed on the PHMSA…
PHMSA Proposes Changes to Incident and Accident Reports
[DOCKET PHMSA-2015-0205] On May 13, 2016, PHMSA proposed revisions to the incident and accident reports for gas distribution, gas transmission and gathering, LNG facilities, and hazardous liquid pipelines. Numerous changes are proposed for each form, including costs, consequences, causes and sub-causes, contributing factors, incident response actions, detection methods, volumes lost and recovered, how the MAOP…