It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that John T. Schmidt passed away unexpectedly on June 4, 2014. John was a recognized leader in the corrosion control industry and a long-standing and active member of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE). In his 40+ years in the industry he held the positions of Director of Pipeline Integrity and Director of Asset Risk Management. He had worked both domestically and internationally on corrosion control and pipeline integrity projects for major engineering and pipeline operations companies. He was a NACE certified instructor and member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI); Southern Gas Association (SGA); and the American Gas Association (AGA). He will be greatly missed.

The National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) Operator Standards for Pipeline, Liquefied Natural gas and Breakout Tank Farm Submissions has been updated, effective May 2014. Changes include:

• Section 1.1 regarding abandoned pipelines was clarified to specifically include gas pipelines, not just liquid pipelines.
• In the Pipeline Attribute Table, a note was added to the COMMODITY attribute description to clarify when to use the commodity code EPL and EPG.
• A typo was corrected in the Abandonment Certification Template in Appendix B.

Both the NPMS Operator Standards and the content of the Making a Submission Website page have been updated and are available online.

RCP provides NPMS Submittal services for initial submittals and updates as required by federal regulations. For more information on these services, contact Jessica Roger.

Last month’s article headlined “NTSB Report on PHMSA’s State Pipeline Safety Program” was incorrectly titled and incorrectly attributed the report in question to NTSB. The report was actually from the Office of Inspector General in the US Department of Transportation, at the request of NTSB. It was not NTSB’s report. We apologize for the error.

June 18 – 19, Houston, TX

Protecting lives, the environment and property in the wake of a hazardous liquid pipeline release is the shared goal of first responders, regulatory agencies and pipeline operators. The Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) is presenting a 2-day forum on how we together can promote a timely & effective response to pipeline emergencies.

Full Agenda and Online Registration here.

Sheraton North Houston
15700 John F. Kennedy Blvd
Houston, Texas 77032

Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Full-day session is open to ALL interested in liquids pipeline emergency response.

Thursday, June 19, 2014
Half-day session for pipeline operators only.

Forum Registration Fee: No registration charge for qualified first responders and first responder association staff.

• The forum registration fee for pipeline operators (both days – June 18-19) is: $225.
• The forum registration fee for all others, including state and federal agency representatives, for the June 18 joint emergency response forum (one-day only) is: $125

Hotel Room Registration:
The hotel cutoff date for room reservations was June 3. Call the Sheraton North Hotel at 281-442-5100 for availability.

PHMSA has announced that they intend to host another public workshop on July 2 on the Pipeline Safety Management System Recommended Practice currently being developed by API. PHMSA hosted a previous workshop on this topic on February 28, 2014 (see our April 2014 newsletter for information and links to the presentations). The RP development team expects to have a revised draft for final approval before the upcoming workshop. The upcoming workshop is expected to take place at the Westin Alexandria, Alexandria, VA, and will also be webcast. PHMSA has not yet provided a draft agenda or links for online registration, but details should be posted at this site once they are available: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/Home.mtg.

The Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives are holding this event to gather and disseminate information on the state of the art of crack detection in hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines. Perspectives on the challenges involved with detecting and characterizing crack like defects, including environmentally assisted cracks and cracks with corrosion, will be provided from operators and regulators. This event will provide an update on technology developments via research, the success rate in deploying such technology for detection and a discussion on the level of and types of data collected in support of engineering assessments. It will also discuss other information in support of criteria for determining when a probable crack defect in a pipeline segment must be excavated, the time limits for completing those excavations and in support of models for determining crack growth rates.

Online registration, hotel information and a draft agenda can be found on PHMSA’s website.

The Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives periodically hold this event to generate a National research agenda that fosters solutions for the many challenges with pipeline safety and with protecting the environment. The forum allows public, government and industry pipeline stakeholders to develop a consensus on the technical gaps and challenges for future research. It also reduces duplication of programs, factors ongoing research efforts, leverages resources and broadens synergies. The national research agenda coming out of these events is aligned with the needs of the pipeline safety mission, makes use of the best available knowledge and expertise, and considers stakeholder perspectives.

Online registration, hotel information and the draft agenda can be found on the PHMSA website.

There’s an app for that! In 2009, at our request, Tekk Innovations developed an iPhone application containing the federal pipeline safety regulations (49 CFR 40, and 190-199). It has keyword search and the capability to e-mail excerpts of the regulations to others. There have been many updates since the original app was released. Version 5.101.20140124 was updated on February 3, 2014. The app can be found in the iTunes store. The cost is $19.99.

Tekk Innovations has also developed apps for all the other CFRs, including all of 49 CFR for those who want all the transportation regulations, not just the pipeline ones; Louisiana Law, California Law and FAA FAR for Pilots.

Editor’s Note: I like the app with just the pipeline parts of 49 CFR, since I can search the pipeline regulations easier that way without getting hits from the other transportation regulations.

Is your pipeline company merging? Divesting? Moving? Are old hands retiring, and clearing out their offices? No matter the reason, if you have interesting pipeline samples that need a new home, please let us know. We do training frequently, and would like to have physical pipe samples of corrosion, cracking, welding defects, seam defects, etc. Miniature models of smart pigs and other tools are also welcome. We promise to give them a good home – but call before shipping those 40’ pipe joints.

For more information, contact Jessica Roger. Or ship direct to: RCP Inc., 801 Louisiana Street, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77002.

For the first time, RCP is offering a 2-day workshop on Pipeline Pressure Testing. RCP personnel have established themselves as industry experts, designing, implementing and validating pressure test programs for various operators. Recent PHMSA advisories and pending regulations will soon mandate pressure tests for operating gas and liquid pipelines that have not previously been subjected to pressured leak and strength tests. This course will provide an overview of how to efficiently plan, execute and document pipeline pressure tests that consistently satisfy code requirements as defined by CFR 49 Parts 192 and 195.

More information and class registration can be found on the RCP website.