RCP has been involved in 28 Pipeline Integrity Management Programs to date including the development of 15 complete programs for both large and small companies or industrial facilities. RCP has experience in Integrity Management Programs for both gas and hazardous liquids pipelines. These services include the following: Plan Development – RCP can start from scratch…
May 2004
Failures of Excess Flow Valves (EFV’s) in Hazardous Materials Service
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently issued an Alert as part of its ongoing effort to protect human health and the environment by preventing chemical accidents. The alert is available on RCP’s website here. Major industry and commercial accidents cannot be prevented solely through regulatory requirements. Rather, understanding the fundamental root causes, widely disseminating…
TSA Plans Facility Access Survey
In a related development, the Transportation Security Administration issued request for comments this week on a new effort aimed at gathering facility access information on pipelines, as well as other transportation modes. Comments are due by June 4, 2004. TSA is in the process of testing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Program concept, which,…
TSA Working on Transportation Worker Credential
The Transportation Security Administration is preparing a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program to create a universal credential to be used as a means to enhance access control for individuals requiring unescorted access to secure areas of the national transportation system. This program is intended to apply to pipelines. Comments are due by June 4,…
Renewal of Existing Information Collection by OPS; Request for Comments
The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) published a notice in the Federal Register on February 13, 2004 (69 FR 7283) requesting public comments on renewal of an information collection, Reporting of Safety-Related Conditions on Gas, Hazardous Liquid and Carbon Dioxide Pipelines and Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities. No comments were…
OQ Audit Results
We’d like to share the initial results from one Operator Qualification program audit that recently made the news. Since the pipeline company has not had a chance to respond to the alleged deficiencies, we’ve omitted their name from the following text. But the citations are instructive, and should provide food for thought for other pipeline…
MMS Announces Availability of Revised Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Map
The Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Map in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area is on file and available for information only, in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Regional Office, New Orleans, Louisiana. In accordance with Title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, this map is the basic record for the description of mineral and oil…
DOT Makes Off-Shore Pipeline Report Available
The DOT has this week posted a 1998 report on burial, inspection and risk to off-shore pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. This Texas Transportation Institute study examined burial depths, various sub-sea inspection techniques and the effects of weather and erosion on pipelines, as well as other risk factors. Given the current interest in off-shore…
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting the Precision Strike Weapon (PSW) Testing and Training by Eglin Air Force Base in the Gulf of Mexico
Editor’s note: The following article doesn’t have anything to do with our newsletter purpose, other than to point out that, in the United States, you need a permit, by golly, before dropping any bombs near our marine mammals!!! National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has received a request from Eglin…
Proposed Rule Re: Movement of Oil and Gas as Required by the OCS Lands Act
The MMS requests comments and any suggestions to assist in potentially amending the regulations regarding how the Department of the Interior (DOI) should ensure that pipelines transporting oil or gas under permits, licenses, easements, or rights-of-way on or across the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) “provide open and non-discriminatory access to both owner and non-owner shippers”…
Notice of Workshop on Gas Pipeline Integrity Management
The Research and Special Programs Administration’s (RSPA) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) and the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) will cosponsor a workshop on Tuesday, May 11, 2004, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, May 12, 2004, from 8 a.m. to Noon to discuss the Gas Pipeline Integrity Management final rule…