The LDEQ has proposed a rule to allow operators at construction sites related to oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities that disturb equal to or greater than one acre and less than five acres of land to legally conduct those construction activities without being permitted until March 10, 2005,…
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Pipeline Safety Definitions – Louisiana Department of Natural Resources; Office of Conservation
The Louisiana Office of Conservation has proposed to promulgate new definitions for master meter, school and special class gas systems in :AC 43:XIII.125 et seq. in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, R.S. 49:950 et seq., and pursuant to the power delegated under the laws of the state of Louisiana. In accordance…
Pipeline Integrity Management in High Consequence Areas (Gas Transmission Pipelines) – notice of extension of comment period
RSPA/OPS published a proposed rule on pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas for gas transmission pipelines on January 28, 2003 ( 68 FR 4278 ). That notice provided a 60-day comment period ending on March 31, 2003. By petition dated March 6, 2003, the American Gas Association (AGA), the American Public Gas Association (APGA),…
Texas Proposed Rule – Direct Assessment Approval
The Railroad Commission of Texas proposes to amend �8.101 (relating to Pipeline Integrity Assessment and Management Plans for Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquids Pipelines) to provide an alternative means for approval of the use of direct assessment by hazardous liquids and natural gas pipeline operators as an assessment tool. Currently, �8.101(b)(1) requires that a hearing…
Texas Proposed Rule – Discontinuation of Service
The Railroad Commission of Texas has withdrawn its proposal to adopt new �8.340, relating to Discontinuance of Service, published in the October 25, 2002, issue of the Texas Register, and is proposing new �8.240, relating to Discontinuance of Service, which applies when a natural gas service customer ceases taking service at a particular location. The…
Texas Pipeline Construction – Proposed Notification Rule
The Texas Railroad Commission has proposed a rule requiring public notice for all pipelines that cross more than three counties and for which construction began on or after September 1, 2001. The term “construction” means any activity conducted during the initial construction of a new pipeline or an extension of an existing pipeline, regardless of…
Revised Texas Community Liaison Rule
The Texas Railroad Commission has published a revised regulation concerning Public Education and Liaison for gas and liquid pipelines. This revised proposal replaces the proposal issued on September 27, 2002 (see our October, 2002 newsletter). The revised proposal requires that pipeline operators or their agents communicate and conduct liaison activities with fire, police, and other…
Oil and Gas Construction Activity Storm Water NPDES Permit Deadline Extension
The EPA has postponed until March 10, 2005, the requirement to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) storm water permit for oil and gas construction activity that disturbs one to five acres of land. On December 8, 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule expanding the then-existing NPDES permitting program…
Cost-Benefit Study of Excess Flow Valve Installation on Gas Service Lines – Notice of study availability and request for public comments
Cost-Benefit Study of Excess Flow Valve Installation on Gas Service Lines – Notice of study availability and request for public comments As a result of its investigation into gas explosion and fire in the South Riding subdivision, Loudoun County, Virginia, the NTSB issued Recommendation P-01-2. It urges RSPA to require the installation of EFVs in…
Federal Advisory Committee Meeting: Electronic Transmission and Storage of Drug Testing Information
The Department of Transportation (DOT) Electronic Transmission and Storage of Drug Testing Information Federal Advisory Committee will meet for the second time in a public session on April 7-8, 2003, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Crystal City-National Airport, 1300 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202, (703) 979-9799, FAX: (703) 892-8121. The purpose of the Committee…
Critical Energy Infrastructure Information: Final rule
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued a final rule establishing a procedure for gaining access to critical energy infrastructure information (CEII) that would otherwise not be available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These restrictions and the final rule were necessitated by the terrorist acts committed on September 11, 2001, and the…
SPCC Deadline Extended by EPA
EPA is extending, by eighteen months, the compliance dates in §112.3(a) and (b). Thus, an onshore or offshore facility that: was in operation on or before August 16, 2002 must maintain its existing Plan, but must amend it, if necessary, to ensure compliance, on or before August 17, 2004, and must implement the amended Plan…
Operator Qualification Public Meeting
The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) will conduct a public meeting on Wednesday, April 23, 2003, beginning at 8:30 a.m., ending at 4 p.m. to discuss progress in implementing the operator qualification (OQ) rule for gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. The meeting will focus on development of the 13 OQ issues identified at previous public…
Pipeline Integrity Management in High Consequence Areas (Gas Transmission Pipelines) – Notice of public meeting
OPS will conduct a meeting the proposed gas pipeline integrity management rule on Friday, April 25, 2003, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Marriott at Washington Dulles Airport, 4520 Aviation Drive, Dulles, VA 20166. Tel: 703-471-9500; Web site: www.marriott.com. The meeting is open to all. There is no cost to attend. You may…
Note from the Editor
NOTE: This special edition newsletter is being sent to alert you to two recently announced meetings and deadline extension which are of broad interest to the pipeline industry. The meetings will occur before our regular monthly newsletter will be published.
OQ2 compromise – NOT
The industry / agency working group that was attempting to resolve issues related to the latest Operator Qualification inspection protocols (known as OQ2) has failed to reach an acceptable consensus. The DOT is now planning to address issues concerning training and re-evaluation intervals in a new rulemaking, which is anticipated this summer. The TSI website…
NPMS Deadline Reminder
The deadline to submit information to the National Pipeline Mapping System is June 17, 2003. The submission standards and guidelines are available at www.npms.rspa.dot.gov/default.htm. According to this site, 98% of the liquid mileage and 72% of the gas mileage in the US has been submitted. We have worked with several operators on their submittals, and…
HCA Definition – Latest Proposal
The DOT has proposed revisions to the Gas Pipeline High Consequence Area (HCA) definition, to take into consideration the directional flow of gas along a pipeline route in the event of a major pipeline rupture (think Carlsbad, NM). The HCA definition has evolved significantly since the “official” HCA definition was published on August 6, 2002.…
IMP Inspection Schedule
According to recent presentations by DOT / OPS, OPS should complete their initial IMP inspections of 14 large pipeline operators by June, 2003. They will then have a “reset” meeting (also in June), where the results of these audits will be reviewed and enforcement actions will be decided. We can expect to see a lot…
RP 1162 – Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators – Comment Period
The final draft of RP 1162, Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators, is now available for review and comment. This is the official ANSI comment period, and comments must be submitted electronically to the API ballot system. The ballot and document is available at ballots.api.org/. The Ballot ID is 196. To provide comments, enter the…