The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report criticizing PHMSA’s implementation of Congressional mandates and recommendations from the NTSB, GAO and the OIG itself.
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NTSB
Distribution Excess Flow Valve Rule Finalized
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PHMSA released a pre-publication copy of its final rule expanding requirements for excess flow valves in natural gas distribution service pipelines. …
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Oil Spill Response Planning Developments
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PHMSA’s oil spill response regulations have been subject to increased scrutiny by Congress, the NTSB and citizen groups since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and Marshall, Michigan incidents. …
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Crude by Rail Developments
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In response to recent crude by rail incidents in the United States and Canada, Congress, PHMSA, NTSB, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and even some railroads have proposed improvements in safety standards for trains transporting crude oil.
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PHMSA Announces Public Workshop on Safety Management Systems
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The Agency announced a public workshop to discuss the voluntary Pipeline Safety Management Systems (SMS) national consensus standard on April 22, 2015 in Houston, Texas. This standard, Recommended Practice (RP) 1173, has been in development by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for some time now as a result of the NTSB’s Investigation of the Marshall, Michigan incident. …
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NTSB Issues Safety Study Critical of PHMSA Gas Integrity Management Program
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or the Board) recently released a Safety Study on the need for safety improvements to the natural gas Integrity Management Program (IMP). …
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Pipeline Law 2015: The Year Of Living Uncertainly
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The US oil and gas industry has been transformed over the past few years by development of new shale resources. The US is now the world’s largest producer of natural gas and on track to be the world’s largest producer of oil. These changes have affected America’s energy future, as well as global markets.
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The Pipeline Safety Management Standard (Draft API RP 1173): What It Means to Operators
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Posted in Practice Pointers
In 2012, following a 2010 oil pipeline accident in Marshall, Michigan, NTSB recommended that API develop a pipeline Safety Management Standard (SMS). …
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Pipeline Crack Detection and R&D Public Workshops Announced
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PHMSA and the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) announced a public workshop to be held on August 5, 2014, to discuss challenges associated with detecting and characterizing crack-like defects in oil and gas pipelines (e.g., environmentally assisted cracks and cracks associated with corrosion). …
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PHMSA Issues Advisory Bulletin Regarding 2010 Marshall, Michigan Release
Almost four years after the Enbridge crude oil spill near Marshall, Michigan, PHMSA issued an Advisory Bulletin urging operators to evaluate their safety programs and implement changes to eliminate deficiencies identified by the NTSB’s investigation of the release. …
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