Docket ID PHMSA-2010-0229 On October 18, 2010, (75 FR 63774) the Department of Transportation/Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments on the need for changes to the regulations covering hazardous liquid onshore pipelines. In particular, PHMSA is interested in knowing whether: it should extend regulation to…
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DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop – January 18-20, 2011
Join us January 18 – 20 in Houston at our new office and dedicated training facility for an informative, lively, and interactive workshop on DOT Pipeline Compliance and OPA Planning for DOT Pipelines. This workshop has been attended by hundreds of pipeline personnel, with excellent feedback. The workshop provides an overview of the DOT pipeline…
NTSB Recommendations on San Bruno Incident: Records and MAOP Calculations
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has made several Urgent safety recommendations to PHMSA, the California Public Utilities Commission, and Pacific Gas & Electric (the pipeline operator) regarding the San Bruno, CA pipeline incident. The focus of these recommendations is to ensure that PG&E specifically, and pipeline operators in general, have adequate documentation of their…
PHMSA Advisory Bulletin ADB -11-01: MAOP / MOP and IMP
On January 3, 2011, The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued recommendations to PHMSA, CPUC, and PG&E related to the San Bruno pipeline incident (see related article in this month’s newsletter). NTSB’s preliminary findings indicate that the pipeline operator did not have an accurate basis for the MAOP calculation. PHMSA issued ADB-11-01 on January 4,…
API Pipeline Conference and Cybernetics Symposium April 19 – 22, 2010
The Annual API Pipeline Conference will be held April 19-22 at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel in New Orleans, LA. The premier conference and symposium of their kind in the U.S. will provide over 100 session topics of critical importance to the pipeline and related industries. Early registration ends March 31, 2010 and the cut…
PHMSA Pipeline Construction Website
This may be old news for some, but PHMSA has posted a page on their website dedicated to pipeline construction. The site includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions, reference documents, a list of hot-button issues observed by PHMSA inspections over the last few years of pipeline construction growth, as well as a summary of…
Are you ready for a Public Awareness Plan Audit?
A recent NTSB accident investigation determined that an operator’s oversight and evaluation of the effectiveness of the public education program, and the performance of the public awareness contractor, were inadequate. The NTSB recommended that PHMSA exercise their right to review the operators’ evaluation process to determine the effectiveness of the public awareness plans developed. Will…
2010 ASME International Engineering Congress and Exhibition – Call for Abstracts
Our president, Bill Byrd, is chair of the Safety Engineering, Risk Analysis, and Reliability Methods track at the ASME International Engineering Congress and Exhibition in Vancouver, Canada, November 12 – 18, 2010. Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts for papers that they would like to present at the congress. In addition to the general topics…
Florida Pipeline Safety Regulations – Misc. Revisions and Updates
The state of Florida has modified their gas pipeline safety regulations (Division 25 – PSC, Chapter 12 – Safety of Gas Transportation by Pipeline) to incorporate more recent editions of standards and federal regulations, make various minor modifications to specific requirements in Florida, and to change reporting requirements.
Advisory Bulletin ADB-09-03 – Operator Qualification Programs
The Department of Transportation/Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued Advisory Bulletin ADB-09-03 informing pipeline operators about the standardized notification process for operator qualification (OQ) plan transmittal from the operator to PHMSA. PHMSA has added to the glossary of definitions of the terms “Observation of on-the-job performance” as applicable to determining employee qualification and “Significant”…
DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop – Gas, Liquids, DIMP & Control Room Management
March 2, 3, and 4, 2010 / Houston, TX Join us March 2-4, 2010 in Houston at the Crowne Plaza Downtown for an informative, lively, and interactive workshop on DOT Pipeline Compliance and OPA Planning for DOT Pipelines. This workshop has been attended by hundreds of pipeline personnel, with excellent feedback. The workshop provides an…
Extension of Comment Period – DIMP Coupling Failure Reporting Requirement
[Docket No. PHMSA-RSPA-2004-19854] On December 4, 2009, PHMSA published a final rule (74 FR 63905) under Docket No. PHMSA-RSPA-2004-19854 amending the Pipeline Safety Regulations (49 CFR Parts 190-199) to require operators of gas distribution pipelines to develop and implement integrity management programs. In that final rule, PHMSA adopted a requirement that operators report failures of…
ASME Training Week – Denver April 14 – 18
Check out the pipeline training programs offered by ASME in Denver the week of April 14-18, 2014. Subject Matter Experts from RCP will provide training on the first day regarding pipeline pressure testing. Other courses are offered on ASME B31.4 (liquid transmission) and ASME B31.8 (gas transmission), as well as Composite Repairs, Defect Assessment, Inline…
Editor’s Correction to ANSI Website Link
In the January edition of the “DOT Pipeline Compliance Newsletter” there was an incorrect link posted in the Summary of Pending PHMSA Regulations. Click on http://ibr.ansi.org/ to access the ANSI Incorporated by Reference (IBR) Portal: Final Rule – in PHMSA Standards Update (NPRM 8/16/2013, Adv. Committee OK 12/2013): This rule would update 22 of the…
Class Location Methodology Public Workshop April 16, 2014
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is holding a public workshop to present and seek comment on whether applying the integrity management (IM) requirements beyond high consequence area (HCAs) would mitigate the need for class location requirements. The workshop will be held on April 16, 2014 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT.…
DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop – March 25 – 27, 2014
Join us March 25 – 27, 2014 in Houston at our new 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…
Spring Conference Schedule March – May 2014
Have you registered and confirmed your reservations for these upcoming conferences? RCP and RCP Integrity Services will be attending. We hope to see you there! NACE Corrosion 2014 Conference & Expo March 9-13, 2014 Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center; San Antonio, Texas NACE International’s Annual Conference and Exposition, Corrosion 2014, brings together leaders from the…
Mobile Friendly rcp.com
Have you checked out our new website? We have a new look that is also mobile friendly. Be sure to visit www.rcp.com and enter to win an iPad Air. Deadline for entries is February 15.
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 email excerpts of the regulations to others. There have been several updates since the original app was released and was…
Louisiana State Police Enforcement of One Call Violations
On January 20, 2014 the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Office of State Police issued a notice of its intent to amend the rules pertaining to Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention (LAC 55:I.Chapter 21) to permit department investigators to investigate a complaint of potential one call violation or third party damage, issue…