Pipeline Safety TrustDecember 1-2 |Hotel Monteleone |New Orleans, LA The Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) 2022 conference will be an in-person event. Keynote Speakers include Jennifer Homendy – Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and Tristan Brown – Deputy Administrator of the PHMSA. Registration and hotel information can be found on the PST website. NISTM…
October 2021
Pipeline Safety Institute
Welcome to the Pipeline Safety Institute – your one-stop destination for pipeline compliance training. Whether you are new to the industry, an experienced oil & gas professional that needs a refresher, or you want to take a deep dive into the latest regulation changes, you have come to the right place. Training topics cover pipeline…
The Enforcement Corner
The Enforcement Corner summarizes recent PHMSA enforcement actions, indicating where PHMSA is putting its enforcement efforts and the fines they are proposing for various types of violations. In December 2021, PHMSA issued 1 NOA and 1 NOPV with no proposed penalties at this time. Please note: Pipeline operators may disagree in whole or in part…
The Enforcement Corner
The Enforcement Corner summarizes recent PHMSA enforcement actions, indicating where PHMSA is putting its enforcement efforts and the fines they are proposing for various types of violations. In November 2021, PHMSA issued 5 NOAs, 12 NOPVs, and 6 WLs accompanied by $1,323,347 in proposed fines. Significant proposed fines were attributed to the following code sections:…
GPAC and LPAC Virtual Public Meetings October 20-21
[Docket number PHMSA-2021-0069] PHMSA has announced a meeting of the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC) to discuss a variety of policy issues and topics relevant to both gas and liquid pipeline safety. In addition, the committees will discuss the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled, “Periodic Updates of Regulatory…
Texas Proposed Gas Regulations for Critical Infrastructure
[TR, Volume 46, Number 40] On October 1, 2021, the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) published in the Texas Register proposed regulations for implementing Senate Bill 3 (SB3) and House Bill 3648 (HB3648). These bills are titled, “Critical Designation of Natural Gas Infrastructure.” In the preamble, the RRC stated these proposed regulations are the first of…
Louisiana Gas & Liquid Pipeline Regulations Updates
Louisiana published updates to its hazardous liquid pipeline and gas pipeline regulations. These updates are primarily to adopt changes made in the corresponding PHMSA regulations. There are some exceptions to this general adoption of the federal regulations. In Title 43, Part XIII Chapter 9, the minimum wall thickness for 1” CTS pipe is 0.119inches (PHMSA…
Tennessee Damage Prevention Act Changes
On September 16, Tennessee published changes to its Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act. The changes mostly added details or changed certain aspects of reporting. If an underground utility is damaged during excavations, the person responsible for the excavation is to report the damage to the One-Call Center instead of the utility owner; and, if there…
Texas Railroad Commission PIPES Online Portal Webinar
October 20, 2021 The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) will host a free webinar to inform and train industry personnel and the public on the Pipeline, Inspection, Permitting and Evaluation System (PIPES) portal. The webinar will be held at 10 AM CT on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. RRC PIPES, which launched in July, allows pipeline…
PHMSA Grants to Support Pipeline Safety Efforts
PHMSA is awarding $98,800,117 in grants to states, territories, and tribes to help enhance pipeline and hazardous materials safety programs at the community level for 11 different safety programs. The awards provide over $69 million in grant funding for six different pipeline safety grant programs, including: Pipeline Safety State Base grants Underground Natural Gas Storage Pipeline Safety Technical Assistance State Damage Prevention Program grants One-Call grants In addition, the award provides over $28 million…