January 2012

President Obama denied the Keystone XL permit application based on a recommendation from the State Department that it did not have enough time to vet alternative pipeline routes before the February 21st approval deadline imposed by Congress in the payroll tax extension legislation. While the current Keystone XL application has been denied, the administration will…

President Obama signed H.R. 2845, the “Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011” into law on January 3, 2012. Among other pipeline safety requirements, this bill doubles the maximum civil fine for all safety violations; requires operators to confirm, through records or testing, the MAOP of certain untested gas pipelines in populated…

Effective Jan. 1, 2012, all liquid and gas pipeline operators must now obtain an Operator Identification (OPID) number.  The forms for doing this are available on PHMSA’s website, and become part of the National Registry of Pipeline and LNG operators.  An operator may use one number for its entire system, or obtain different numbers for…