The industry / agency working group that was attempting to resolve issues related to the latest Operator Qualification inspection protocols (known as OQ2) has failed to reach an acceptable consensus. The DOT is now planning to address issues concerning training and re-evaluation intervals in a new rulemaking, which is anticipated this summer. The TSI website…
June 2003
NPMS Deadline Reminder
The deadline to submit information to the National Pipeline Mapping System is June 17, 2003. The submission standards and guidelines are available at www.npms.rspa.dot.gov/default.htm. According to this site, 98% of the liquid mileage and 72% of the gas mileage in the US has been submitted. We have worked with several operators on their submittals, and…
HCA Definition – Latest Proposal
The DOT has proposed revisions to the Gas Pipeline High Consequence Area (HCA) definition, to take into consideration the directional flow of gas along a pipeline route in the event of a major pipeline rupture (think Carlsbad, NM). The HCA definition has evolved significantly since the “official” HCA definition was published on August 6, 2002.…
IMP Inspection Schedule
According to recent presentations by DOT / OPS, OPS should complete their initial IMP inspections of 14 large pipeline operators by June, 2003. They will then have a “reset” meeting (also in June), where the results of these audits will be reviewed and enforcement actions will be decided. We can expect to see a lot…
RP 1162 – Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators – Comment Period
The final draft of RP 1162, Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators, is now available for review and comment. This is the official ANSI comment period, and comments must be submitted electronically to the API ballot system. The ballot and document is available at ballots.api.org/. The Ballot ID is 196. To provide comments, enter the…
Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs: Interim final rule
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is amending a provision of its drug and alcohol testing procedures to change the instructions to medical review officers (MROs) with respect to reporting specimens as dilute or substituted. The change is based on the Department’s experience since the adoption of its current rule and new scientific information on the…
Direct Assessment Market Report 2003
Direct Assessment Technology Partners (DATP) and Technical Toolboxes, Inc (TTI) have completed a comprehensive market study to assist companies interested in the growing Direct Assessment market within the Pipeline Industry. Access to this information can be had through the member’s only section at www.datp.net. For more information either visit www.datp.net or contact Gary R. White…
Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Operator Annual Report Form – Notice and request for comments
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the RSPA Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on July 26, 2002, announcing RSPA’s/OPS’s intention to collect pipeline characteristics information via a hazardous liquid pipeline operator annual report form. RSPA/OPS received comments on the proposed form and changed the form…
Anomaly Repair Requirements
We thought our readers would be interested in the following “Frequently Asked Question” from the OPS integrity management website: FAQ 7.21 Must anomalies identified during pig runs not considered “baseline” or “reassessments” under the rule be repaired in accordance with the rule’s repair criteria? ANSWER: Yes. The integrity management rule requires a program that integrates…
DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop – July 30-31, 2003 – Houston
RCP will conduct a 2 day workshop on DOT Pipeline Regulations on July 30th and 31st in Houston. Day 1 of this workshop will present an overview of all the current DOT regulations for pipeline operators. Day 2 will review recent regulatory initiatives such as pipeline integrity management, high consequence area (HCA) analysis, community education…