New Pipeline Safety Act
The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 passed
the House and the Senate and was signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday,
January 3, 2012 (see related story in the November edition of the DOT Pipeline
Compliance News.) The bill reauthorizes the federal pipeline safety
programs at DOT through FY 2015, and includes a number of other provisions
affecting pipeline owners and operators – some of which do not depend upon
DOT’s additional rulemaking. Items that are immediately effective for pipeline
owners and operators are in bold underline below. The Act:
- Increases the cap on civil penalties for violators of pipeline regulations and adding civil penalties for obstructing investigations;
- Establishes more stringent standards for grant recipients pertaining to state “One-Call” systems by requiring the elimination of blanket exemptions given to local and state government agencies and their contractors on notifying “One-Call” centers before digging;
- Allows (but does not require) DOT to promulgate regulations requiring installation of automatic or remote control shut off valves for new or totally replaced transmission pipelines (within 2 years of enactment, and after the response capability study described below)
- Allows DOT to grant 6 month extensions for the 7 year gas transmission IMP reassessment intervals;
- Requires DOT to maintain a map of designated HCAs in NPMS
- Requires (within 1 year) DOT to develop and implement an awareness program for NPMS
- Requires DOT (within 18 months) to develop guidance for pipeline operators to share system-specific information with emergency responders
- Requires DOT to retain copies of pipeline operator OPA-90 plans and provide them to the public as requested (after possibly redacting certain information);
- Requires DOT to develop regulations (within 18 months) that establish time limits on accident and leak notifications to local and state officials and emergency responders;
- Allows DOT to collect GIS and other technical data from operators, including operators of unregulated “transportation-related oil flow lines”, which have a new, unique, and rather extensive definition…
- Allows DOT to recover expenses for design reviews for new pipelines costing more than $2.5B, or using “new or novel technologies or design”, requires DOT to define “new or novel technologies or design” within 1 year, and requires the person proposing the affected project to submit plans and specifications to DOT 120 days prior to beginning construction;
- Requires DOT to establish regulations for gaseous CO2 pipelines;
- Allows DOT to grant certain waivers to states for state funding of pipeline safety programs;
- Establishes various changes to the administrative enforcement process, including hearings;
- Allows DOT to regulate offshore oil gathering, after the study mentioned below;
- Allows DOT to establish regulations on excess flow valves for multi-family residences / commercial users, depending on the results of the study mentioned below (2 years)
- Requires DOT (within 6 months) to establish requirements for gas transmission pipeline operators to confirm the pipelines’ physical and operation characteristics and their established MAOP, for pipelines in class 3 and 4 locations, and HCAs.
- Requires gas transmission pipeline operators to report to DOT any pipeline segments with insufficient MAOP records (18 months). DOT is required to establish requirements for pipeline operators to address these issues.
- Requires gas transmission pipeline operators to report MAOP exceedances (above relief allowances) to the DOT within 5 days;
- Requires OT to issue regulations on testing of grandfathered / previously untested gas transmission pipelines (18 months);
- Prohibits the DOT from issuing regulations or guidelines incorporating any documents that are not available for free on a website (1 year)
- Requires all pipeline operators to consider seismicity in their evaluation of pipeline threats;
- Requires DOT to develop and implement protocols for technical assistance to Indian tribes (1 year);
DOT and the Comptroller General are also tasked with conducting several studies and developing several reports over the next 2 years, some of which are a necessary prelude to additional rulemaking. These studies include:
- A study on excavation damage (2 years)
- A study on transmission pipeline operator response capabilities in HCAs (1 year)
- A study on expanding IMP requirements outside of HCAs, and possibly eliminating Class Location requirements (18 months for the study, 2 years for a report to Congress)
- A report to Congress on using Risk Based Assessment Intervals for IMP (2years)
- Surveys and reports on cast iron pipe management and replacement (recurring)
- A report to Congress on liquid pipeline leak detection systems (1 year)
- A study and report to Congress on the transportation of diluted bitumen (18 months)
- Allows DOT to study transportation of nonpetroleum hazardous liquids (i.e. chemicals)
- A report to Congress on existing gathering line regulations (2 years)
- A report evaluating NTSB’s recommendation on excess flow valves (2 years)
- A report to Congress on minority, women, and disadvantaged business participation in the pipeline industry (1 year)
- A study and report to Congress on pipeline construction permitting issues
- A study and report to Congress on depth of cover for liquid pipeline navigable water crossings (1 year); and another year to make “legislative recommendations” based on the study
- A report to Congress on PHMSA staffing (1 year)
Disclaimer: This article, as always, is simply your humble newsletter editor’s feeble attempt to summarize a very important issue. Use at your own risk. There is no substitute for the original. For copy of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (HR 2845) contact Jessica Roger.