[Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023-0471] PHMSA has made several important modifications to the incident report form and instructions for reporting Natural Gas Transmission and Gathering releases. The following changes have occurred: Major Changes: PHMSA asks what time the release met report criteria (A.4) and when the operator identified the failure. These times may be the same, but…
November 2019
PHMSA ID’s Great Lakes as an Ecological Resource in NPMS
PHMSA recently updated its National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) by reclassifying the Great Lakes region as an unusually sensitive area (USA) ecological resource. A USA is a subset of the high consequence areas hazardous liquid pipeline operators are required to identify as part of their integrity management programs. Pipeline operators will now be able to use…
Pipeline Research & Development Forum
February 19-20, 2020 The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will hold their next Pipeline R&D Forum on February 19-20, 2020 in Arlington, VA. The forum allows public, government and industry pipeline stakeholders to develop recommendations on the technical gaps and challenges for future research. It also reduces duplication of programs, factors ongoing research efforts,…
NTSB Issues Findings and Recommendations from Merrimack Valley Incident
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a public meeting on September 24th and issued their findings and recommendations related to the Columbia Gas of Massachusetts’ overpressurization incident. The incident that occurred on September 13, 2018 involved high-pressure natural gas accidentally released into a low-pressure gas distribution system in the northeast region of the Merrimack…
Petition for Reconsideration Submitted for Recent Gas Transmission Regulation
Four trade associations jointly submitted a Petition for Reconsideration to PHMSA for the recently published final rule Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: MAOP Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessment Requirements, and Other Related Amendments. There are two issues in the new regulation that The Associations found to be in conflict with approved language voted on by the…
Advisory Committee Meetings
PHMSA will hold a joint public meeting of the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) and the Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC) on November 14, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. ET. The meeting will be held at the Intercontinental Washington DC—The Wharf, 801 Wharf Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. The committees will discuss a…
California Code of Regulations: Title 19. Public Safety, Division 1. State Fire Marshal Chapter 14. Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety, Article 7: §2100 – §2120 10.1.2019
New Requirements for Pipelines near Environmentally & Ecologically Sensitive Areas in the Coast Zones of California The state of California Fire Marshal’s office is proposing to adopt new requirements for pipelines located within a ½ mile of environmentally and ecologically sensitive areas in coastal zones. Pipelines in these sensitive areas, including low stress and gravity…
Underwater Inspection Procedures & Inspection Interval Risk Model Updates
2019 has been a busy hurricane season. For many operators with assets in the Gulf of Mexico and its inlets subject to 49 CFR 192.612 and 195.413 there have been only a couple of named storms near those assets. However, some operators did receive requests from the off shore regulators to evaluate the impact on…
API RP 1181 Pipeline Operational Status Determination, First Edition
API has recently published the first edition of API RP 1181. This document provides guidance for operations, inspection, and maintenance activities based on the operational status of a pipeline. This establishes four statuses: precommissioned, active/in-service, idled, and abandoned; and gives operations, inspections, and maintenance recommendations for various pipeline operational statuses; explains pipeline status documentation requirements;…
TRRC Hires Pipeline Safety Inspectors
According to the Railroad Commission of Texas (TRRC), Texas is employing a record-high 69 pipeline inspectors, up from 63 in fiscal year 2018. Those inspectors completed more than 4,800 pipeline safety inspections and issued more than 2,500 citations for violations in fiscal year 2019, which ended on Aug. 31. The increase was possible due to financial support…
Oklahoma Administrative Code Title 165 Updates
On October 14, 2019, Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OKCC) issued revisions to Oklahoma Administrative Code Title 165. These changes included requiring Operators to provide Excavators with additional information as outlined in Title 165, Section 20. In addition, Section 25 concerning underground storage tanks was updated to provide new and additional requirements around vapor and water monitoring…
CGA Annual DIRT Report
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 2018 is available for download on the CGAWebsite. In addition, CGA is…