2012

In response to Section 23(a) of the 2012 amendments to the Pipeline Safety Act, PHMSA issued an advisory notifying natural gas transmission operators that pressure exceedances above maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) plus the build-up allowed for operation of pressure-limiting or control devices, must be reported on or before the fifth day following the date

In response to NTSB recommendations issued as a result of the San Bruno incident, PHMSA issued guidance on what it considers to be an effective integrity management (IM) performance evaluation process and program for measuring program effectiveness.  In addition, PHMSA IM inspections will emphasize review of operator IM performance metric methodology and confirm that operators

On November 8, 2012, PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman addressed the AOPL- API Leadership meeting in Washington, DC. Notably, Ms. Quarterman mentioned the following PHMSA priorities, among others, (1) draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for hazardous liquid pipelines (expected later this month); (2) review of leak detection and valve studies required by the 2012 amendments to

PHMSA will host a public meeting on the use of pipeline data in operator IMP programs on October 29 and 30, 2012 in Washington DC, which will also be available by webcast. Speakers at the meeting include Mark Rosekind of the NTSB, as well as representatives from PHMSA, NAPSR and the Pipeline Safety Trust. Click

In response to NTSB Safety Recommendation P-11-9 issued as a result of the Agency’s San Bruno investigation, PHMSA published an Advisory Bulletin reminding operators of their responsibility to notify local first responders (identified as Public Safety Access Point or PSAP) when there are indications of a pipeline facility emergency. Consistent with the requirements under 49

As a follow-up to Department of Transportation (DOT)’s “Call to Action,” the Agency released a Pipeline Safety Update to provide a pipeline safety report after a review of the nation’s pipeline infrastructure. In particular, the update summarizes DOT’s call to action plan to accelerate the rehabilitation, repair, and replacement of high risk pipeline infrastructure, the

PHMSA has requested comments on an information collection request that it will submit for OMB renewal. Specifically, the Agency will request renewal and a three year term of approval for the following information collection (1) liquid and gas operators human factors management plan designed to reduce risk associated with human factors in the control room

PHMSA announced over $1.5 million in grants to 22 states to support state pipeline damage prevention programs.  Excavation damage continues to be the number one cause of pipeline accidents that result in fatalities and injuries and since 2002 it has resulted in over $190 million in property damage nationwide. Coincident with these grants, the Agency

PHMSA has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) including numerous proposed amendments to 49 C.F.R. Part 190 with regard to PHMSA enforcement and administrative procedures in order to conform the Agency’s regulations with various requirements of the Pipeline Safety Act Reauthorization amendments that were signed into law on January 3, 2012, as well as