CRS Reports – PHMSA and Pipeline Security

This week the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report on “DOT’s Federal Pipeline Safety Program: Background and Key Issues for Congress.” While this 27-page report is an overview of the broad scope of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s responsibilities for pipeline safety, it does include a significant discussion about pipeline security (including cybersecurity) issues and potential issues related to security that may be of concern to Congress.

An interesting comment about PHMSA’s intent on cybersecurity is found on pages 18-19:

“The Deputy Secretary of Transportation subsequently testified that PHMSA intends to “leverage its authorities to inspect and enforce three critical components of pipeline operations” related to cybersecurity: system control room regulations, integrity management plan requirements,⁶⁵ and emergency response plan regulations.⁶⁶ The Deputy Secretary also stated that DOT’s Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response was collaborating with the National Security Council and interagency partners on a natural gas pipelines Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative and that “DOT continues work with [its] sister agencies, especially TSA and CISA, to invest in world class research and pursue initiatives to address cybersecurity threats.⁶⁷”

Deputy Secretary Trottenberg’s testimony can be found here and the pipeline cybersecurity discussion is on pages 2-5.