The US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued three final rules on Sept. 24 that aimed to make more than 50,000 miles of natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines safer, US Sec. of Transportation Elaine Chao said. The rules also will enhance PHMSA’s authority to issue an emergency order to address unsafe conditions or hazards that pose an imminent threat to pipeline safety, she said.
The rules would modernize federal pipeline safety standards by expanding risk-based integrity management requirements, enhancing procedures to protect infrastructure from extreme weather events, and requiring greater oversight of pipelines beyond current safety requirements, Chao said. They address many congressional mandates from the 2011 Pipeline Safety Act and recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board, she said.
Specifically, PHMSA said that:
• The gas transmission rule requires operators of gas pipelines constructed before 1970 to determine the material strength of their lines by reconfirming the maximum allowable operating pressure. In addition, the rule updates reporting and records retention standards for gas pipelines.
• The hazardous liquids rule encourages operators to make better use of all available data to understand pipeline safety threats and extends leak detection requirements to all non-gathering hazardous liquids pipelines. The rule also requires operators to inspect affected pipelines following an extreme weather event or natural disaster to address any resulting damage.
• The “enhanced emergency order procedures” final rule adopts the provisions of a 2016 interim final rule that established temporary emergency order procedures in accordance with a provision of the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (PIPES Act). An emergency order may impose emergency restrictions, prohibitions, or other safety measures on owners and operators of gas or hazardous liquids pipeline facilities.
The leader of a national trade association whose members operate gas pipelines welcomed the new rules. Interstate Natural Gas of America Pres. Donald F. Santa said, “While INGAA is still reviewing the specifics of the final rule, we know that it embraces new pipeline safety technologies and engineering practices and constitutes the most significant enhancement to PHMSA natural gas transmission pipeline safety regulations since the federal code was created in 1970.”