Updated PHMSA Rulemakings Chart. The chart below shows the status of PHMSA’s pending pipeline safety rulemakings as reflected in (1) DOT’s June Significant Rulemaking Report, (2) PHMSA’s status Chart of legislatively mandated actions, and (3) the Office of Management & Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Spring 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Unified Agenda appears in two principal parts, Current Agenda Agency Regulatory Entries for Active Actions and Current Long Term Actions. 

PHMSA recently announced that the Gas Transmission Final Rule (Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines MAOP Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessment Requirements and Other Related Amendments) and Valve Installation and Minimum Rupture Detection Standards notice of proposed rulemaking have been transmitted to OMB. Under Executive Order (EO) 12866, OMB reviews proposed significant rules to ensure they are consistent with applicable law, the President’s priorities, and the principles set forth in the EO, and to ensure the proposals do not conflict with another agency’s policies or actions. OMB also analyzes the cost-benefit analyses in support of the proposals. The EO sets out deadlines for OMB evaluation, but review periods are often extended. 

Pending Final Rules

Pending Notices of Proposed Rulemakings

Pending Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemakings

Other PHMSA Updates 

PHMSA has posted the voting slides from the June 25-26 GPAC Meeting. PHMSA has posted the voting slides from the January 25-26 meeting of the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) addressing PHMSA’s notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the federal safety regulations applicable to gas gathering pipelines. The voting slides contain the language approved by GPAC. 

Updates from Capitol Hill

House members request GAO to examine BSEE’s safety oversight of offshore oil and gas pipelines. On July 9, Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Alan S. Lowenthal (D-CA), and Joe Cunningham (D-SC) submitted a letter to the U.S. Comptroller General requesting that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) oversight of offshore oil and gas pipelines and facilities. The congressmen are concerned about BSEE’s ability to ensure the integrity of older oil and gas pipelines in federal offshore waters and the risk of leaks caused by hurricanes, corrosion, accidental damage and other factors. Representatives Grijalva and Lowenthal are the Chairs of the House Natural Resources Committee and House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, respectively.

Updates from other Federal Agencies

DOE seeks information on methods to strengthen resilience of oil and gas infrastructure against cyber and physical threats and severe weather. On July 9, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a notice of request for information (RFI) encouraging stakeholders in the pipeline industry to submit information on current consensus-based codes, specifications, standards, and informal guidance that improve the resilience of oil and natural gas infrastructure with respect to both system design and operation. DOE is interested in technical design standards and requirements for system components, corporate business practices, and analytic methods and tools for estimating economic benefits from strategies, investments or initiatives. DOE plans to catalogue and synthesize existing expert knowledge and make it available to interested policy officials and decision-makers. Comments are due August 23.

TSA seeks comment on extending collection of information regarding pipeline security practices. On July 3, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a notice that it intends to request OMB to approve renewal of an existing information collection regarding pipeline security practices through TSA’s Pipeline Corporate Security Review (PCSR) program. Under this program, TSA collects data and assesses the physical and cyber security practices of pipelines. Comments are due to TSA by September 3.

Updates from Select States

Alabama: Act 2019-407 (S.B. 315), which becomes effective January 1, 2020, contains numerous changes to the state’s One-Call Notification System. Among other things, the act creates a new Underground Damage Prevention Authority; establishes a procedure for enforcing notification requirements and penalty provisions; revises civil penalties for violations; and amends substantive requirements.

Texas: The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) has released informal working drafts of possible amendments to its pipeline safety regulations (Chapter 8) pertaining to unregulated intrastate gas gathering and hazard liquid gathering pipelines. The working draft describes a number of possible regulatory changes, including requiring that operators of unregulated onshore natural gas gathering pipelines located in Class 1 areas and unregulated rural hazardous liquid pipelines comply with regulations pertaining to corrosion control for steel pipelines, damage prevention, public education programs, maximum allowable operating pressure (gas pipelines), maximum operating pressure (hazardous liquid pipelines), line markers and leakage surveys for gas gathering and right-of-way inspections for liquid pipelines.

In addition, Class 1 onshore natural gas gathering lines greater than 12.75 inches in diameter with MAOPs that produce a hoop stress of 20 percent or more of specified minimum yield strength (SMYS) would be required to comply with Part 192 of the federal pipeline safety regulations, except for integrity management and requirements for inline inspection. The working draft also would require such pipelines to comply with requirements pertaining to incident and accident reporting, inspections, and enforcement. Among other things, the working draft reflects revised definitions of incidents and accidents and a shortened time for reporting an incident or leak from 2 hours to 1 hour after discovery. The working draft also includes record-keeping requirements for plastic pipelines.

The RRC is convening a public workshop in Austin on July 24 and is requesting comments no later than July 31.

HB 864: On June 14, the Governor Abbott signed H.B. 864 directing the RRC to require that distribution pipeline operators provide notification of an incident within 1 hour after the operator discovers it and describing the information to be provided. This legislation becomes effective September 1.

HB 866: On June 2, Governor Abbott signed H.B. 886 which prohibits operators of gas distribution pipelines from installing underground cast iron, wrought iron or bare steel pipelines and requires the RRC to implement a risk-based program for removing or replacing underground distribution gas pipelines, annually removing or replacing at least 8 percent of underground distribution gas pipelines posing the greatest risk, and removing underground cast iron pipelines by December 31, 2021.