OPS rule sets qualifications for pipeliners

U.S. Department of Transportation has improved a pending rule setting training and qualification programs for pipeline operators, American Gas Association said.

AGA said that DOT's Office of Pipeline Safety consulted with industry on the rule, and as a result, it will cost about $60 million/year for the first 10 years, or half the estimate for the original proposal. The regulation was published in the Oct. 27 Federal Register.

Improved rule

Bert Kalisch, AGA government relations director, said, "This is a common-sense rule that will help maintain a qualified work force. The rule was carefully crafted over several years by industry, state, and federal governments."

AGA said that, when Congress reauthorized the Pipeline Safety Act in 1992, it required DOT to set pipeline operator qualifications: "DOT issued a proposed rule that AGA believed was burdensome and oppressive."

DOT withdrew that proposal in 1996 and established a negotiated rulemaking committee to develop a rule on operator qualifications. The committee included a representatives from gas pipelines and utilities, unions, and federal officials.

The panel drafted a rule to require pipeline operators to develop and maintain a qualification program for employees performing certain jobs on pipelines.

Kalisch said the regulation "is minimally intrusive, especially for those companies that already have successful programs in place."

It takes a risk management approach, leaving many decisions to the judgment of pipeline operators. It does not specify training, testing, or experience for workers.

Kalisch said, "In many respects, the approach chosen by the negotiated rulemaking committee sets a higher objective for the gas industry than command-and-control regulations. Each company will put a great deal of thought into developing its own qualification program and standards."

AGA said that because utilities may develop different lists of "covered tasks" for individuals, it contends that enabling each operator to identify those covered tasks is the best policy.