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In This Issue

  1. PHMSA NPRM: OQ, Cost Recovery, Accident and Incident Notification, and Other Pipeline Safety Proposed Changes
  2. PHMSA Advisory Bulletin ADB-2015-02: Potential for Damage to Pipeline Facilities Caused by Hurricanes
  3. Pressure Test WebEx
  4. Gas Distribution Annual Report Form
  5. Pipeline Pressure Testing Workshop: August 4-5, 2015
  6. Revised PHMSA OpID Assignment Request and Operator Registry Notification
  7. PHMSA Pipeline Data & Stats Website and Incident Flagged File Change
  8. DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop – Gas & Liquid
  9. PHMSA Report to Congress: Review of Existing Federal and State Regulations for Gas and Hazardous Liquid Gathering Lines
  10. Storage Tanks in West Virginia – Proposed Rule
  11. API Publishes API 1173 Recommended Practice for Pipeline Safety Management Systems
  12. Jurisdictional Determination
  13. PHMSA Risk Modeling Methodologies Public Workshop
  14. P&GJ Pipeline Integrity Issue
  15. Summer/Fall Conference Schedule
  16. Save the Dates!

Revised PHMSA OpID Assignment Request and Operator Registry Notification

Revised OpID Assignment Request and Operator Registry Notification forms and instructions are available on the PHMSA website and for online entry in the PHMSA Portal. The changes took place June 1st, 2015.

Basic changes to the OpID assignment request include requiring cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses for operator contacts. Gas Distribution includes more categories such as Landfill Gas, Synthetic Gas, and Hydrogen Gas. Definitions of these new categories are included in the instructions. In Gas Distribution, two new categories for the type of operator, investor owned or cooperatively owned, have been added while categories LPG and LNG have been removed. Supplemental data for assets now include whether pipeline or facilities are inter or intrastate and the number of miles of pipe per state is also required.

Procedure Manual for Operations, Maintenance, and Emergencies is now included for ALL facilities while Integrity Management Programs are now required for Gas Distribution, Gas Transmission, and Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Facilities. For operators who are not sure if safety programs will be separate and independent of other OpIDs at the time of OpID application, a Registry Type C Notification is required within 60 days after approval of the OPID.

Basic changes to the Operator Registry Notification form mirror the changes to the OpID assignment request. Clarifying language has been added on when a Type C Notification is required. When facilities remain with an OpID, but the operator begins using a new, shared safety program for that system, a Type C notification is required within 60 days of the change. Flow diagrams have been added to help operators decide which type of notification is necessary for buying or selling assets, changing the operating entity, or constructing/rehabilitating facilities.

Major changes include the ability for operators to deactivate an OpID number. Type D and E notifications, for acquisition and divestiture of 50 or more miles of pipeline has been merged into a single Type D notification. If you need to report both an acquisition and a divestiture (Type D) or change the operating entity that includes both an assumption and cessation (Type B), then two separate notifications must be submitted regardless of whether the date of the events is the same or not. If Gas Transmission and Hazardous Liquid are selected for a Type C notification, it must be completed twice – once for Gas Transmission and once for Hazardous Liquid. Construction or Rehabilitation of facilities Type F or J notifications are required 60 days prior to such an “event”. On September 12, 2014, PHMSA published an Advisory Bulletin describing the activities that constitute the “event” of construction, which determines the due date for the notification.