PHMSA issues major pipeline safety rules
Published by Lydia Woellwarth,
Editor
World Pipelines,
Yesterday, the US Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) transmitted three significant final rules to the Federal Register that will strengthen the safety of more than 500 000 miles of onshore gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines throughout the US. The rules will also enhance PHMSA’s authority to issue an emergency order to address unsafe safety conditions or hazards that pose an imminent threat to pipeline safety.
“These are significant revisions to federal pipeline safety laws and will improve the safety of our nation’s energy infrastructure,” said US Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
The Nation's pipelines deliver trillions of ft3 of natural gas and hundreds of billions of t/miles of liquid petroleum products each year. The gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipeline safety rules would modernise 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.
The final rules address significant Congressional mandates from the Pipeline Safety Act of 2011 and recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board.
“The tremendous growth in US energy production will require greater anticipation and preparation for emerging risks to public safety,” said PHMSA Administrator Skip Elliott. “These forward-looking rules will help ensure pipeline operators invest in continuous improvements to pipeline safety and integrity management.”
The gas transmission rule requires operators of gas transmission pipelines constructed before 1970 to determine the material strength of their lines by reconfirming the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP). In addition, the rule updates reporting and records retention standards for gas transmission pipelines.
The hazardous liquid 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 liquid pipelines. In addition, the rule requires operators to inspect affected pipelines following an extreme weather event or natural disaster so they may address any resulting damage.
The ‘Enhanced Emergency Order Procedures’ final rule adopts the provisions of a 2016 interim final rule (IFR) which 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 liquid pipeline facilities.
All three final rules have been transmitted to the Federal Register for publication. An actual date of publication will be determined by the Federal Register.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/25092019/phmsa-issues-major-pipeline-safety-rules/
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