The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) released their annual report which provides a summary and analysis of the events submitted into CGA’s Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) which analyzes damage and near-miss events from excavation activities related to buried facilities. The complete report for 2017 is available for download on the CGA Website. In addition, CGA…
November 2018
Free Training on Pipeline Safety for Non-Pipeline Personnel
May 8 – 10, 2019, Houston, TX The Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) received a grant in 2017 and again in 2018 to send 20-30 people from local and tribal government, and non-profit organizations to an in-depth training on pipeline safety. Their goal with this training is to provide attendees with the information they need to…
Underwater Inspection Procedures & Inspection Interval Risk Model Updates
2018 has been one of the busiest hurricane seasons in recent history for operators with assets in the Gulf of Mexico and its inlets subject to 49 CFR 192.612 and 195.413. Because of the strength and number of tropical cyclones in the shallow waters of the Gulf it may be appropriate to re-evaluate the inspection…
FERC Guidance for Horizontal Directional Drill Monitoring, Inadvertent Return Response, and Contingency Plans (HDD Plan Guidance)
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Energy Projects (OEP) has developed draft Guidance for Horizontal Directional Drill Monitoring, Inadvertent Return Response, and Contingency Plans (HDD Plan Guidance), dated October 2018, to help industry professionals improve the quality and consistency of their HDD Plans and, as a result, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of…
Project Report: Addressing Human Factors for Non-Destructive Evaluation In-The-Ditch
Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) is frequently performed in-the-ditch to evaluate potential pipeline defects that could impact safety and reliability, but these in-the-ditch inspections may lack accuracy and reliability due to human factors. PHMSA funded a project focused on this issue, led by Battelle. Extensive interviews, protocol reviews, field observations, and control tests with field pipe defects…
Update on PHMSA Rulemakings
PHMSA has posted a table summarizing the status and schedule for various rulemakings per the 2011 and 2016 pipeline safety acts. It can be found on the PHMSA website.
Operator Submitted Forms to PHMSA
PHMSA now has two (2) options for downloading forms and instructions for reporting under various parts of 49 CFR 191 and 195: A zip file containing ALL the potentially relevant forms and instructions can be downloaded here. Alternatively, individual forms and instructions can be browsed and downloaded here. Both links include both current and superseded…
PHMSA Interpretation on Farm Taps and Regulator Maintenance
On November 5, 2018, PHMSA issued a letter of interpretation (LOI) to the Kentucky Public Service Commission concerning the application of 49 CFR 192.740 to Farm Taps, including Farm Taps which come directly from otherwise un-regulated gas pipelines. The LOI says in part: Part 192 defines a service line as a “distribution line that transports…