PHMSA held a joint meeting with the Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC) and the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) on December 13th and a GPAC-only meeting the following two days. Transcripts and presentations made at the meetings can be found here. Issues discussed at the joint LPAC and GPAC meeting included:
- Voluntary Information-Sharing Working Group
- Underground Gas Storage Interim Final Rule
- Pressure Vessel Testing Requirements
- Safety Management Systems
- Enforcement Update
- Excavation Damage Enforcement
The GPAC meeting was the third in a series of meetings to specifically discuss the Safety of Gas Transmission and Gathering NPRM. The committee was able to vote on 192.607 Material Verification with several modifications, including but not limited to the following:
- Remove applicability criteria and change this section to a process for material verification where required by other sections of Part 192.
- Remove requirements for a material verification plan.
- Retain the opportunistic approach of obtaining unknown or undocumented material properties when excavations are performed for other repairs or other reasons.
- Incorporate language stating that, if an operator does not receive an objection letter from PHMSA within 90 days of notifying PHMSA of an alternative sampling approach, the operator can proceed with their method.
- Reduce number of quadrants at which NDE tests must be made from 4 to 2.
- Delete specified program requirements for how to address sampling failures and replace with a requirement for operators to determine how to deal with sample failures through an expanded sample program that is specific to their system and circumstances.
Future GPAC meetings are planned for March and June.