PHMSA Announces R&D Public Debrief Meetings – 7-10-26

Yesterday, DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) sent out a series of emails announcing the latest additions to their PHMSA R&D Public Debrief agenda. Each of these virtual meetings discusses the latest research sponsored by PHMSA on issues related to pipeline safety. 

The table below shows the dates for each of the currently planned meetings.  

Sep 2, 2026	Liquefied Natural Gas Tanks Without Bottom Fill
Aug 27, 2026	Monitoring the Long-Term Compatibility of VCI and CP Associated Components
Aug 27, 2026	Dynamic Geohazard Risk and Decision Support Platform
Aug 26, 2026	Assessment of Nondestructive Examination (NDE) and Condition Monitoring Technologies for Defect Detection in Non-Metallic Pipe
Aug 25, 2026	Hydrostatic Retesting Optimization for Older Liquid Pipelines
Aug 20, 2026	Developing Corrosion Control Monitoring Technology for Hazardous Liquid Breakout Tanks
Aug 19, 2026	A Comprehensive Study of Barriers for Underground Natural Gas Storage Wells
Aug 12, 2026	Rapid Ultraviolet (UV) Cured Adhesive for Gas Main Cured-In-Place-Lining (CIPL)
Jul 22, 2026	Accelerating Pipeline Leak Detection Quantification Solutions Through Transparent and Rigorous Scientific Validation
Jul 21, 2026	Design and Placement of Compact Service Regulators
Jul 21, 2026	Innovative Leak Detection Methods for Gas and Liquid Pipelines
Jul 14, 2026	Development and Validation of a Probabilistic Method for Estimating Accumulated Strain and Assessing Strain Demand and Capacity on Existing Pipelines

The links take one to the information page about that presentation. The page provides a brief overview of the topic, a link to the Google Meeting page for the presentation, and a registration link. 

Review - SLTT cUAS Authority IFR - Detect, Identify, Monitor, and Track

This is the second in a series of blog posts about the interim final rule (IFR) published last week by DHS and DOJ on “Counter-UAS [cUAS] Authority for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement and Correctional [SLTT] Agencies”. This post will look at the first of two cUAS authorities provided by the IFR. 

Previous posts include:  

• DHS/DOJ Publish SLTT cUAS Authority IFR – IFR Overview 

NOTE 1: All links to 6 USC 624n are provided to the updated version of that section available on Law.Cornell.edu since the federal government does not currently have a publicly available version that has been updated for the SAFER SKYS Act {TITLE LXXXVI of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (PL 119-60, 139 STAT. 1938)}. 

NOTE 2: All links to the regulatory language proposed in this rulemaking will be to the proposed DHS language under 6 CFR Part 124. That language will be virtually identical to the proposed DOJ language under 28 CFR Part 124. 

Detection and Warning Overview 

The preamble to the rule discusses the source authorities for the SLTT certification to detect, identify, monitor, and track UAS. Those authorities allow SLTT individuals, subject to the training and certification requirements of §124.5, “to ‘detect, identify, monitor, and track’ UAS or unmanned aircraft, without prior consent, including by means of interception of or other access to a wire communication, an oral communication, or an electronic communication used to control the UAS or unmanned aircraft”. Such actions are subject to the requirement to: 

• Use systems or technologies that are included on a list of authorized technologies,  
• Comply with specific privacy protections, and 
• Comply with Federal oversight, audits, coordination, and compliance requirements. 

The detection and warning provisions of the rule will generally be found in the following proposed CFR sections: 

• The Detection and Warning Certification requirement of §124.5(c),  
• The detection and warning policy provisions of §124.6(g),  
• The authorized technology requirements of §124.7,  
• The C-UAS Operations Plan requirement of §124.8,  
• The operational conditions of §124.12, and  
• The privacy and data handling requirements of §124.14. 

For more details about these provisions of the NPRM, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/sltt-cuas-authority-ifr-detect-identify - subscription required.