[DOCKET NO. PHMSA-2016-0128]
PHMSA has announced a public meeting of the newly created Voluntary Information-Sharing System (VIS) Working Group on Monday, December 19, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST, at a location yet to be determined in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. The VIS Working Group will convene to discuss administrative procedures and consider the development of a voluntary information-sharing system. The VIS Working Group is a newly created advisory committee established in accordance with Section 10 of the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-183). The VIS Working Group will consider and provide recommendations to the Secretary as specifically outlined in section 10 of Public Law 114-183:
- The need for, and the identification of, a system to ensure that dig verification data are shared with in-line inspection operators to the extent consistent with the need to maintain proprietary and security-sensitive data in a confidential manner to improve pipeline safety and inspection technology;
- Ways to encourage the exchange of pipeline inspection information and the development of advanced pipeline inspection technologies and enhanced risk analysis;
- Opportunities to share data, including dig verification data between operators of pipeline facilities and in-line inspector vendors to expand knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of in-line inspection technology and methodologies;
- Options to create a secure system that protects proprietary data while encouraging the exchange of pipeline inspection information and the development of advanced pipeline inspection technologies and enhanced risk analysis;
- Means and best practices for the protection of safety- and security-sensitive information and proprietary information; and
- Regulatory, funding, and legal barriers to sharing the information described in paragraphs (a) through (d).
The Secretary will publish the VIS Working Group’s recommendations on a publicly available DOT Web site. The VIS Working Group will fulfill its purpose once its recommendations are published online.
This meeting will be open to the public, but will not be web cast. Members of the public who wish to attend in person are asked to register on the PHMSA Public Meeting Website no later than December 16, 2016, in order to facilitate entry and guarantee seating. Members of the public who attend in person will also be provided an opportunity to make a statement during the meeting. The meeting location, agenda and any additional information will be published on the VIS Working Group and registration page. Any documents presented will be available on the meeting Web site within 30 days following the meeting. For information about the meeting, contact Cheryl Whetsel by phone at 202-366-4431 or by email at cheryl.whetsel@dot.gov.