U.S. PIPELINES RECOMMEND DOT RULES CHANGE

May 29, 1995
U.S. pipelines are eager to help Washington find ways to improve safety and environmental rules by streamlining the regulatory process. But pipelines and environmentalists are far from agreement on how the Department of Transportation (DOT) can improve pipeline rules. At a DOT hearing in Houston, pipeline officials cited examples of guidelines that were out of date, inconsistent interpretation and administration of rules, and unclear definitions and requirements.

U.S. pipelines are eager to help Washington find ways to improve safety and environmental rules by streamlining the regulatory process.

But pipelines and environmentalists are far from agreement on how the Department of Transportation (DOT) can improve pipeline rules.

At a DOT hearing in Houston, pipeline officials cited examples of guidelines that were out of date, inconsistent interpretation and administration of rules, and unclear definitions and requirements.

Industry said inconsistencies reduce public and environmental safety, in some cases interfering with efficient construction and operating practices and increasing costs.

However, a speaker representing Florida environmental group Friends of the Aquifer objected to the government's emphasis on helping pipeline operators deal with pending changes in rules.

Instead, said Robert B. Rackleff, Tallahassee, the main goal of pipeline regulators and the rules they administer should be to protect the public and environment from hydrocarbon releases. Rackleff said the main problem facing U.S. pipelines stems from a history of liquid spills recorded under relatively limited reporting rules.

DOT heard those pros and cons on pipeline issues during the last of three meetings called by its Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA).

RSPA will submit preliminary findings from its hearings to DOT early in June.

ASME OFFERS HELP

A spokesman for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) said many rules for U.S. gas pipelines are out of date because they are based on specifications issued in 1968. The specs appeared in that year's edition of ASME's B31.8 Code of gas pipeline design, construction, testing, operating, and maintenance.

While many U.S. pipeline specs are out of date, ASME in the past 25 years has tracked the progress of pipeline technology through a standing committee and has updated the B31.8 Code. As a result, the code today is accepted throughout the world as the best set of standards for gas pipeline safety, ASME said.

ASME urged that state and local governments not be permitted to issue or enforce pipeline safety rules. The group's aim is to prevent pipelines crossing jurisdictional boundaries from being forced to comply with a range of often conflicting rules.

ASME called for a shift in pipeline regulatory philosophy. The goal should be industry/ government cooperation aimed at improved safety measures and better use of advanced technology.

Because of diverse representation on the ASME B31.8 Code Committee, ASME said, "public safety would be best served by use of the B31.8 Code either in full or direct reference to selected parts."

ODORIZATION

The process safety group of Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, Pa., urged that odorization rules for natural gas pipelines not be broadened to cover lines carrying volatile or combustible industrial gases, specifically hydrogen.

There are only 500-600 miles of hydrogen pipeline in operation in the U.S., mostly regulated by the states, Air Products said. So the safety benefits gained by odorizing hydrogen would be very small and the cost very large.

Safety benefits would be small because hydrogen is far more likely than natural gas to ignite before a potentially lethal volume can accumulate.

What's more, odorization is most effective to enhance leak detection in confined areas. Hydrogen pipelines don't enter confined areas in the U.S., Air Products. said.

The cost of odorizing hydrogen in pipelines is too high because the odorant would have to be removed for most industrial uses. Air Products reckoned the cost of odorizing/deodorizing hydrogen would amount to 30-80 times the cost of odorizing natural gas.

SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS

A spokesman for a Shell pipeline unit praised ideas that would bolster pipeline management and help improve the dialogue between government and the pipeline industry.

But Shell pointed out that part of the problem with U.S. pipeline safety involves efforts to solve complex problems with simple solutions. Rules fashioned for specific situations won't fit all types of pipelines.

"Universally applied, one-size-fits-all regulations are becoming less effective ways of assuring efficiency of pipeline safety," Shell said.

It said DOT should ease requirements for reporting safety related matters and adopt industry safety standards- drug testing, and safety training.

As official of El Paso Natural Gas Co. said drug testing rules require too many job site inspections by government and companies. Manpower needed to conduct inspections could be better used elsewhere.

In some cases, he said, pipelines are cast in the unfamiliar role of acting like a drug enforcement agency. And record keeping requirements are excessive.

Several pipeline representatives said government and industry should do whatever is necessary to assure adoption of nationwide one-call systems to report pipeline accidents. That would be the quickest, most effective way to better protect the public and the environment.

FRIEND OF THE AQUIFER

Rackleff objected to accords reached between the pipeline industry and regulators without public comment and to proposals in Congress that would halve the budget of RSPA!s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS).

Even with current staffing levels, he said, OPS is stretched too thin to effectively monitor pipeline safety.

Rackleff said federal figures based on limited reporting show U.S. crude oil and products pipeline accidents in the past 25 years have spilled 280 million gal of hydrocarbons. In 1994, 237 pipeline related incidents were reported in which about 6.6 million gal of material was released.

However, no one is sure of the extent of all releases, he said.

To improve the DOT pipeline safety program, Rackleff called for thorough data about safety and environmental risks and better safety standards, such as reduced spacing between safety valves. He said pipeline safety rules should be extended to unregulated low pressure lines and civil penalties for violations should be increased.

Claiming that statistics show four of five pipeline accidents on average are caused by the pipeline company, or an affiliate, Rackleff said OPS must have a staff large enough to be effective. It also should require closer pipeline monitoring by states and more reporting requirements for pipelines.

He also said OPS should be required to inform the public about proposed routes for liquids pipelines.

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