[Docket No. 2015-0004]
PHMSA is proposing to change the instructions for the Hazardous Liquids Accident Report Form, PHMSA F 7000-1, concerning Questions 9 and 11 in “Part A: General Report Information”, beginning in 2015. These changes are part of an effort by PHMSA to clarify the reporting of product consumed by fire or intentionally removed from the pipeline remote from the failure site. Previous instructions required the operator to estimate the volume spilled from the start of the accident until the operator gained control of the release, not including any product consumed by fire during the release.
PHMSA recognizes that during an emergency response, operators often remove product at locations other than the failure site and that this volume is irrelevant to the unintentional release or product recovered categories. The new instructions clarify that liquid volume intentionally removed from the pipeline system by the operator in a controlled manner at a location remote from the failure site should not be counted as a spilled volume under Question 9, nor as recovered volumes under Question 11. The estimate for volume unintentionally released (Question 9) should be based on the amount of commodity released at the failure site. Likewise, the amount of commodity recovered (Question 11) should be based on the amount of commodity recovered that was released at the failure site.
Volumes released at the failure site should exclude product consumed by fire inside a tank. Product consumed by fire outside of a tank is to be included in the volume unintentionally released, but is not to be included as part of the product recovered amount, even if burned intentionally as part of an emergency response or remediation effort.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before April 6, 2015. Comments may be submitted via the E-Gov Website and identify the docket number at the beginning of your comments.
For a copy of the proposed revisions to PHMSA Form F7000-1, contact Jessica Foley.