On April 17, 2023, PHMSA issued a Notice of Limited Enforcement Discretion for the recently published Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Repair Criteria, Integrity Management Improvements, Cathodic Protection, Management of Change, and Other Related Amendments, or “RIN 2.” This enforcement discretion pertains to new and replaced onshore gas transmission pipelines and expands on the December 6, 2022, notice of enforcement discretion for existing transmission lines that were in service on the date of the Rule publication, August 24, 2022. (See related article in the January 2023 edition of the DOT Pipeline Compliance News.)
PHMSA will exercise enforcement discretion for onshore gas transmission pipelines that entered into service after August 24, 2022, and will not initiate enforcement action for an additional nine (9) months (to February 24, 2024) with the exception of the following:
- §§ 192.917(b) applies to data gathering and integration, and 192.13 (d) pertains to the Management of Change.
- §§ 192.319 establishes coating evaluation and records retention requirements for construction projects of 1,000 ft or more, while 192.461 establishes coating assessment requirements for repair or replacement projects of 1,000 ft or more. Additionally, 192.613 establishes requirements for inspection after extreme weather events.
While these enforcement discretion actions provide limited relief in the form of an extension, pipeline operators should initiate their program updates as soon as practicable, as RIN 2 requirements are robust and require careful and thorough Operations and Maintenance and Integrity Management Program updates.
More information is posted on PHMSA’s website and a copy of the Notice can be found here.