DOT PUBLISHES GULF PIPELINE INSPECTION RULE

The Transportation Department has issued a rule requiring inspection of all shallow water pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. The rule, which takes effect Jan. 6 and was drawn up by DOT's research and special programs administration (RSPA), was published in the Dec. 5 Federal Register. Congress passed a law a year ago requiring the inspections, a reaction to accidents in 1987 and 1989 in which fishing vessels struck pipelines on the seabed in shallow waters.