The Pipeline Safety Trust, which came about after the pipeline tragedy in Bellingham Washington, has recently published its first quarterly newsletter which can be found at pstrust.org/newsletter/vol1no1/index.htm. According to the Trust’s executive director, Carl Weimer, the purpose of the newsletter is to “provide a variety of pipeline safety information from a concerned citizen perspective to…
May 2005
Advisory Bulletin ADB-05-02 – Strapping Tables for Breakout Tanks
The Office of Pipeline Safety recently distributed this advisory bulletin concerning strapping tables for breakout tanks. Simply put, if the strapping table is wrong, the floating roof may in fact be on its legs when the operator thinks it is still floating, or vice versa. This type of error was a contributing factor to the…
DOT Technical Advisory Committees Meeting – June 14-17
We got the following heads-up from Ben Cooper at AOPL: The next set of pipeline safety technical advisory committee meetings will be June 15-16 at the Ritz Carleton Hotel at Pentagon City in Arlington, VA. The schedule is as follows: Tuesday June 14, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will hold an orientation and…
Proposed Advisory Bulletin on Contractor Drug Testing Data Submittals
The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) intends to issue an Advisory Bulletin to begin collecting annual drug and alcohol testing data for contractor employees performing covered functions in the pipeline industry. The collection of contractor testing data is necessary for the calculation of the minimum annual percent rate for random drug testing, which is based…
OPS Announces Liquid IMP Meeting, May 17-18
The Office of Pipeline Safety will sponsor a 1-1/2 day workshop on May 17th & 18th in Houston to discuss lessons learned from the initial Integrity Management inspections of hazardous liquid pipeline operators, and to communicate expectations for further operator Integrity Management program development. There will also be panel discussions that include industry and regulatory…
OPS seeks volunteers for pipeline Controller Certification Pilot Program (CCERT)
OPS is seeking hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipeline operators to participate in a pilot program aimed at determining whether a certification process for controllers is warranted. These actions are in response to requirements within Section 13(b) of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002. OPS will be focused on the content of the pipeline…
811 One Call Number
The Federal Communications Commission has designated 811 as the national abbreviated dialing code to be used by state One Call notification systems for providing advanced notice of excavation activities to underground facility operators in compliance with the Pipeline Safety Act. The 811 abbreviated dialing code shall be deployed ubiquitously by carriers throughout the United States…
RCP Services Spotlight – Underwater Inspection Procedures and Interval Risk Modeling
Underwater Inspection Procedures – On August 10, 2004, the DOT published final amendments to 49 CFR 195.413 and 49 CFR 192.612 for Periodic Underwater Inspections of regulated pipeline facilities located in water depths of 15’ or less in the Gulf of Mexico and its inlets. Effective August 10, 2005, operators of certain hazardous liquid and…
Meeting on Pipeline Repairs and Permitting – May 6, 2005
On May 6, 2005, OPS will hold a meeting to discuss pipeline repairs and permitting at the Hyatt Regency Reston Hotel, 1800 Presidents Street, Reston, VA 20190, (703) 925–8225. This meeting provides the pipeline industry an opportunity to share its experience with making pipeline repairs and obtaining permits. During the meeting, OPS would like participants…
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Public Meeting To Discuss Technical Issues Associated With the NPDES Stormwater Permit Coverage for Small Oil and Gas Construction Activities – May 10, 2005
The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public meeting to discuss specific issues associated with the development of regulations for storm water discharges from oil and gas construction activities. The intent of the public meeting is to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to participate in an open discussion of the technical issues associated with controlling…
OSHA Final Rule on Pipeline Whistleblowers
OSHA has finalized its regulations governing the employee protection (“whistleblower”) provisions of Section 6 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (“Pipeline Safety Act”), enacted into law December 17, 2002. This rule establishes procedures and time frames for the handling of discrimination complaints under the Pipeline Safety Act, including procedures and time frames for…