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In This Issue

  1. PHMSA Advisory Bulletin ADB-2014-01: Improvements in Preparing Oil Spill Facility Response Plans
  2. Need to Update your Response Plan (FRP, ICP or OSRP)?
  3. PHMSA Pipeline Safety Notice & Request for Comments
  4. Pipeline Advisory Committee Meetings in DC Area (February 25 & 26)
  5. Louisiana State Police Enforcement of One Call Violations
  6. Pipeline Regulations for iPhone
  7. Mobile Friendly rcp.com
  8. Spring Conference Schedule March – May 2014
  9. DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop – March 25 – 27, 2014
  10. Class Location Methodology Public Workshop April 16, 2014
  11. Class Location Studies
  12. Editor’s Correction to ANSI Website Link
  13. ASME Training Week – Denver April 14 – 18

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. The location of the workshop has not been determined yet. To check for updates on the meeting location, click here. Online registration can be found on the PHMSA meetings website.

Locations along gas pipelines are divided into classes from 1 (rural) to 4 (densely populated) and are based upon the number of buildings or dwellings for human occupancy. Allowable pipe operating stresses, as a percentage of specified minimum yield strength (SMYS), decrease as class location increases from Class 1 to Class 4 locations. Gas IMP requirements use a different approach to identify areas of higher risk along pipelines.

The workshop will have presentations from PHMSA, State representatives and other stakeholders on the review of both methodologies, discussion panels, and an overview of comments received from August 1, 2013 Notice of Inquiry and from August 25, 2011 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023 on www.regulations.gov.