[Docket No. PHMSA-2014-0098: Amdt. No. 192-124]

PHMSA is amending the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations that govern the use of plastic piping systems in the transportation of natural and other gas. These amendments are necessary to enhance pipeline safety, adopt innovative technologies and best practices, and respond to petitions from stakeholders. The changes include increasing the design factor of polyethylene pipe; increasing the maximum pressure and diameter for Polyamide-11 pipe and components; allowing the use of Polyamide-12 pipe and components; new standards for risers; more stringent standards for plastic fittings and joints; stronger mechanical fitting requirements; the incorporation by reference of certain new or updated consensus standards for pipe, fittings, and other components; the qualification of procedures and personnel for joining plastic pipe; the installation of plastic pipe; and a number of general provisions.

The Final Rule will only apply to new, repaired, and replaced pipelines. Regulatory updates include an increased design factor for polyethylene pipe; updated standards governing the use, maximum pressure limits, and diameters for pipelines made of polyamide 11 and 12 thermoplastics; new and expanded standards for the installation of plastic pipe to help mitigate contact with other underground utilities and structures; and several other installation and operational related provisions for plastic pipe and plastic pipe components.

As a result of the Final Rule’s updated design factor, the cost of materials to produce new pipe is estimated to be reduced by 10 percent, resulting in an annual material cost savings of approximately $32 million for transmission, gathering, and distribution operators.

This final rule is effective 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. For a copy of the Plastic Pipe Final Rule, contact Jessica Foley.

[Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0073]

On November 15, 2018, PHMSA published a document titled “Pipeline Safety: Guidance on the Extension of the 7-year Integrity Management Reassessment Interval by 6 Months.” PHMSA is requesting comments on the FAQs developed for the aforementioned subject.

Under the amended section 5 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, an operator may request an extension of 6 months beyond the required 7-year reassessment interval of high-consequence areas (HCA). The guidance consists of one revised and two new FAQs on the eligibility for this type of extension. The main points of the FAQs are summarized below.

• In order to request an extension of no more than 6 months, an operator must notify PHMSA 180 days prior to the end of the 7-year assessment date (49 CFR 192.949).
• The operator must include documentation (49 CFR 192.943) which:
  • Explains why the deadline could not be met and how it will not compromise safety
  • Identifies any additional actions to ensure public safety during the extension period.
• Section 192.939(a)(1) specifies two options for establishing reassessment intervals: (i) considering identified threats, assessment results, data integration, and risk analysis, or (ii) using Table 3 of ASME/ANSI B31.8S. Operators choosing option (i) may establish intervals longer than those in Table 3 but must not exceed the maximum intervals listed in the table in 192.939.
• For operators conducting assessments by pressure testing:
  • Higher pressure tests are required to justify reassessment intervals which extend beyond the 7 years (192.937(c)(2), 192.937(a), and 192.939(a) and (b)).
  • If using test pressures meeting Subpart J requirements, the operator may establish a 7-year reassessment interval regardless of the result from Table 3, unless their analysis under 192.939(a)(i) indicates a need for a shorter interval.
  • If using test pressures and reassessment intervals from Table 3, the operator may establish a reassessment interval up to the maximums listed in the table in 192.939, unless their analysis under 192.939 indicates a need for a short interval. In order to establish intervals longer than 7 years, the operator must conduct a confirmatory direct assessment within the 7-year period. This assessment may be substituted with a low-stress reassessment per 192.941 for pipe segments operating under 30% specified maximum yield strength (SMYS).

Comments can be submitted on the e-gov website on or before December 17, 2018. Reference Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0073 when submitting comments. For a copy of the Notice from the Federal Register, contact Jessica Foley.

[Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0073]

The US Senate on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on November 26th to hear testimony regarding the over-pressurization incident that occurred in Merrimack Valley Massachusetts on September 13, 2018. Representatives from the federal, state and local government, emergency responders, NiSource and affected public provided testimony, including what actions are being taken to understand the causes of the incident and what steps are being taken to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.

To read and/or download copies of testimonies, click here.

[Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0073]

On September 13, 2018, a series of explosions and fires occurred after high-pressure natural gas was released into a low-pressure gas distribution system in the northeast region of the Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts. The distribution system was owned and operated by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, a subsidiary of NiSource. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued five urgent safety recommendations as investigation of this incident continues:

To the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

Eliminate the professional engineer licensure exemption for public utility work and require a professional engineer’s seal on public utility engineering drawings. (P-18-005)

To NiSource:

1. Revise the engineering plan and constructability review process across all of your subsidiaries to ensure that all applicable departments review construction documents for accuracy, completeness, and correctness, and that the documents or plans be sealed by a professional engineer prior to commencing work. (P-18-006) (Urgent)
2. Review and ensure that all records and documentation of your natural gas systems are traceable, reliable, and complete. (P-18-007) (Urgent)
3. Apply management of change process to all changes to adequately identify system threats that could result in a common mode failure. (P-18-008) (Urgent)
4. Develop and implement control procedures during modifications to gas mains to mitigate the risks identified during management of change operations. Gas main pressures should be continually monitored during these modifications and assets should be placed at critical locations to immediately shut down the system if abnormal operations are detected. (P-18-009) (Urgent)

The preliminary report and related recommendations can be found on the NTSB Investigations webpage.

The American Gas Association (AGA) has published a 43-page document intended to provide guidance to natural gas utilities on leading practices that may supplement current practices to reduce the possibility of an over-pressurization event, especially in a utilization pressure system. The document contains practices above and beyond minimum federal regulations, recognizing that not all practices will be applicable given the size, configuration, pressures, and other features of a particular system. The document addresses the following as related to preventing over-pressurization of gas distribution systems:

• Design of Distribution Systems and Regulator Stations
• Operating Procedures and Practices
• Human Factors
• Managing the Risk of an Over-pressurization Event

AGA has posted this document on their website.

The Unified Agenda has appeared in the Federal Register twice each year since 1983 and has been available online since 1995. The complete Fall 2018 Unified Agenda contains the Regulatory Plans of 28 Federal agencies and 66 Federal agency regulatory agendas providing information about regulations that the Government is considering or reviewing.

The Fall Edition of the Unified Agenda include the agency regulatory plans required by Executive Order 12866, “Regulatory Planning and Review,” which identify regulatory priorities and provide additional detail about the most important significant regulatory actions that agencies expect to take in the coming year. All federal regulatory agencies have chosen to publish their regulatory agendas as part of this publication.

The complete Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan can be found online. The online Unified Agenda offers flexible search tools and access to the historic Unified Agenda database to 1995. A reduced print version can be found in the Federal Register. Information regarding obtaining printed copies can also be found on the Reginfo.gov website.

JANUARY 8-10, 2019

The Voluntary Information-sharing System (VIS) Working Group is meeting to discuss proposed recommendations to establish a voluntary information-sharing system. The public meeting will be held on December 18th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET and December 19th from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Members of the public who wish to attend in person should register no later than December 11. The meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. The meeting agenda and additional information can be found on the VIS Working Group registration webpage.   

JANUARY 8-10, 2019

Join us January 8-10, 2019 in Houston at our corporate 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, 196, and 199. It also describes pipeline operations and engineering concepts. It is appropriate for people who are new to pipeline regulations, who could use a refresher, or anyone who needs to know the latest developments in these areas. This workshop will be a combined format, addressing both gas and liquid pipeline topics in parallel. This will eliminate some redundancy of materials, and will allow more time for in-depth discussions for each topic.

Topics to be addressed in the workshop include:

• An overview of DOT/OPS pipeline compliance requirements
• State and Federal agency roles for pipeline safety
• PHMSA Jurisdiction
• PHMSA Inspections and Enforcement Processes
• Engineering Concepts and Stress/Strain Relationships; %SMYS
• Design Requirements
• Construction Requirements
• Corrosion Control Concepts and Requirements
• Operations and Maintenance Requirements
• Emergency Response Requirements (including spill response planning requirements for liquid pipelines)
• Damage Prevention Programs
• Operator Qualification Programs
• Drug and Alcohol Programs
• Public Awareness Programs
• Integrity Management (gas and liquid) Programs
• Control Room Management Programs

We will also discuss the PIPES Act of 2016; recent Advisory Bulletins from PHMSA; and new, pending and proposed rulemakings.

Each attendee will receive the presentation as well as applicable handouts in a hardcopy notebook, and electronic copies of the applicable regulations and voluminous reference materials including rulemakings, letters of interpretation, and other guidance documents. The workshop will adjourn at 2 p.m. on the third day, for those who need to fly out Thursday evening.

To register for our workshop, click here.

May 8-10, 2019; Houston, TX

The Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) received a grant in 2017 and again in 2018 to send 20-30 people from local and tribal government, and non-profit organizations to an in-depth training on pipeline safety. Their goal with this training is to provide attendees with the information they need to better understand pipelines and pipeline regulations. With this information, participants will be better able to understand the daily operations and potential risks from pipelines, and hopefully develop programs and engage in regulatory processes that address these risks more effectively. This training focuses on the safety of existing (or soon to be existing) pipelines, and will not get into other important related issues such as the impacts of oil and gas production methods, the impacts from the use of the fuels pipelines transport, or the regulatory system for the siting of new pipelines.

The training will be held May 8-10, 2019 and take place in downtown Houston, Texas. Over the course of this three-day training, attendees will learn how pipelines are constructed, operated, maintained, inspected and regulated, as well as a review of the different types of pipelines and the major failure causes and what is done to try to prevent those failures. The PST seeks to fund people who will continue to be involved in pipeline safety issues in years to come. This training will be provided by RCP at our headquarters in downtown Houston. All travel costs for the selected attendees will be paid by the Pipeline Safety Trust.

Application for the 2019 training is now open. To apply go fill out the short nine question application here. If you know of other people who might be interested in this training please forward them this notice.

For any questions send an email to carl@pstrust.org or call at (360) 543-5686.

Editor’s Note: Those of you who work in the for-profit world should plan to attend RCP’s regular 3-day DOT training course on the following week, May 14-16. Please forward this notice to those people in the non-profit world who have a legitimate need and desire to understand pipelines and pipeline safety.