PHMSA Sends Class Location Rule to OMB

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) concerning possible changes where class locations have changed due to population increases.

The Unified Agenda listing for this rulemaking notes that:

“This rulemaking regards existing class location requirements, specifically as they pertain to actions operators are required to take following class location changes. Operators have suggested that performing integrity management measures on pipelines where class locations have changed due to population increases would be an equally safe but less costly alternative to the current requirements of either reducing pressure, pressure testing, or replacing pipe. This request for public comment would be used to inform future regulatory or deregulatory efforts related to this topic.”