Last year PHMSA proposed to revise release reporting forms (Form 7100.2 for natural gas or gathering line “incidents”, and Form 7100-1 for liquid pipeline “accidents”). The revised Forms are now available and should be used for future reporting required under either 49 C.F.R. Part 191 or Part 195. Notably, PHMSA also asks operators who filed certain reports between Jan. 1, 2010 and Mar. 6, 2013, to submit supplemental reports using the new forms. Incidents or accidents involving girth welds are subject to this supplemental reporting requirement, along with some other events as described in the Notice. Click here  for a copy of the Federal Register Notice.

Although not defined by PHMSA regulations or required, note that the recent Keystone SEIS distinguishes reportable events for liquid pipelines as being either: a release (a loss of integrity of a pipeline), a leak (a release over time), or a spill (the liquid volume that escapes containment and enters the environment).