PHMSA Sends Pipeline Class Locations Final Rule to OMB

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a final rule from the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on “Pipeline Safety: Class Location Requirements”. The advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) for this rulemaking was published on July 31^st, 2018 and the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published on October 14^th, 2020.

According to the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking:

“This rulemaking action would address class location requirements for natural gas transmission pipelines, specifically as they pertain to actions operators are required to take following class location changes due to population growth near the pipeline. 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.”