The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has released its report, ‘Safety Effects of Less Prescriptive Requirements for Low-Stress Natural Gas Transmission Pipelines Are Uncertain’ to Congress. In response Congress’s request, GAO analyzed whether the integrity requirements for distribution lines should also apply to low-stress transmission pipelines due to their similar operating pressures. GAO concluded that the current regulatory approach of applying more prescriptive transmission pipeline requirements to low-stress transmission pipelines, with the option for operators to apply for a special permit, “appears reasonable” in light of the uncertain safety effects of changing integrity management requirements for low-stress transmission lines and the opinion of state pipeline officials in support of the current integrity management approach for those lines. Click here for the full report.