PHMSA Publishes Pipeline Safety Reform NPRM

Today the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (85 FR 2114-021159) concerting “Pipeline Safety: Regulatory Reform for Hazardous Liquid Pipelines”. The proposed rule would revise the requirements for facility response plans, revise the definition for accidents, and consider repealing, replacing, or modifying other specific regulations.

The proposed rule would make changes to 49 CFR Parts 190, 194 and 195. The proposed changes would include:

Part 190 - PHMSA is proposing to clarify the requirements for producing records during an inspection or investigation and reduce the burden required to submit confidential commercial information under most circumstances;

Part 194 - PHMSA is proposing amendments that would streamline the oil spill response plan requirements and clarify or eliminate requirements that may be confusing or redundant;

Part 195 - PHMSA is proposing amendments that would relieve accident reporting burdens, allow remote monitoring of rectifier stations, and clarify integrity management (IM) guidance.

Part 190 Changes

PHMSA is proposing to make changes to two sections in Part 190;

§190.203, Inspections and Investigations, and

§190.343, Information Made Available to the Public and Request for Protection of Confidential Commercial Information.

In §190.203 PHMSA is proposing to clarify that operators may submit records electronically, provided that:

• The method used to submit information allows PHMSA to download and print non-redacted copies of records in their original format; and

• Does not impose limitations that impede PHMSA's ability to enforce the Pipeline Safety Laws.

In §190.343 PHMSA is proposing to revise the procedures for operators to request confidential treatment of commercial information to reduce the burden associated with redacting documents containing confidential information.

Part 194 Changes

PHMSA is proposing several changes to part 194 to streamline how operators of onshore oil pipelines must plan, prepare, and submit facility response plans (FRP) for a worst-case oil discharge as required by Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90 - 33 USC 1321). The NPRM would make changes to the following sections:

§194.3, Applicability;

§194.5, Definitions;

§194.7, Operating Restrictions and Interim Operating Authorization;

§194.9, Incorporation by Reference;

§194.101, Operators Required to Submit Plans (to be removed);

§194.103, Significant and Substantial Harm - Operator's Statement;

§194.105, Worst Case Discharge;

§194.107, General Response Plan Requirements;

§194.109, Submissions of State Response Plans;

§194.113, Information Summary;

§194.115, Response Resources;

§194.119, Submission and Approval Procedures;

§194.121, Response Plan Review and Update Procedures;

Appendix A to Part 194; and

Appendix B to Part 194

Part 195 Changes

PHMSA is proposing amendments to part 195, including:

• Adjust the monetary damage criterion for reporting pipeline accidents for inflation,

• Clarifying that operators may monitor cathodic protection rectifiers remotely, and

• Correcting the organization of the IM guidance in appendix C of part 195.

The following sections would be affected:

§195.50, Reporting Accidents;

§195.52, Immediate Notice of Certain Accidents;

§195.573, What must I do to monitor external corrosion control?

Appendix C, Guidance for Implementation of an Integrity Management Program;

Information Collection Requests

This NPRM would require changes being made to two currently approved information collection requests (ICR):

• Transportation of Hazardous Liquids by Pipeline: Record keeping and Accident Reporting (2137-0047); and

• Response Plans for Onshore Oil Pipelines (2137-0589)

For the first, PHMSA estimates that due to the revised monetary damage threshold for reporting accidents operators will submit 40 fewer hazardous liquid accident reports per year.

For the second, the proposed rule would:

• Reduce burden hours associated with justifying harm categories or preparing duplicate federal facility response plans in addition to state mandated response plans; and

• Reduce reporting costs but not paperwork burden hours due to eliminating the expectation to submit paper copies of facility response plans.

Public Comments

PHMSA is soliciting public comments on this NPRM. Comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov: Docket # PHMSA-2018-0047). Comments need to be submitted by June 15^th, 2020.

PHMSA Publishes Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Final Rule

Yesterday the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule in the Federal Register (84 FR 52260-52298) on “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines”. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this rule was published in October 2015. The effective date for this rule is July 1^st, 2020.

Summary

This rule amends the Pipeline Safety Regulations for the transport of hazardous liquids in pipelines. The rule:

• Extends reporting requirements to certain hazardous liquid gravity and rural gathering lines;

• Requires the inspection of pipelines in areas affected by extreme weather and natural disasters;

• Requires integrity assessments at least once every 10 years of onshore hazardous liquid pipeline segments located outside of high consequence areas and that are “piggable”;

• Extends the required use of leak detection systems beyond high consequence areas to all regulated, non-gathering hazardous liquid pipelines;

• Requires that all pipelines in or affecting high consequence areas be capable of accommodating in-line inspection tools within 20 years, unless the basic construction of a pipeline cannot be modified to permit that accommodation;

• Clarifies other regulations; and

• Incorporates Sections 14 and 25 of the PIPES Act of 2016 to improve regulatory certainty and compliance.

Changes from NPRM

The preamble to this rule discusses the comments submitted in response to the NPRM provides the following responses:

Reporting Requirements for Gravity Lines: PHMSA will require operators of gravity lines to report information annually, starting 1 year from the rule's effective date, and to report accidents and safety-related conditions starting 6 months from the rule's effective date. PHMSA will exempt  pipelines located within the confines of a facility or in close proximity (within 1 mile) to a facility and do not cross a waterway currently used for commercial navigation from these reporting requirements. PHMSA does not require mapping of gravity lines at this time. PHMSA does not require telephonic reporting of accidents involving gravity lines at this time but may reassess this requirement in a future rulemaking.

Reporting Requirements for Gathering Lines: PHMSA has modified its existing reporting form to provide clear instructions, including skip patterns, on the relevant sections that gathering line operators must fill out. PHMSA is not imposing a pipeline mapping submission requirement on operators of gathering lines. PHMSA is not requiring telephonic reporting of accidents involving gathering lines.

Pipelines Affected by Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters: PHMSA adopted most of the changes proposed by the Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC) in the final rule under §§ 195.414(a), (b), and (c). PHMSA clarified that the cessation of the event occurs as soon as it is safe for personnel and equipment to access the area. PHMSA notes that the proposal did not require completion of the inspections within 72 hours, and neither does the final rule.

Periodic Assessment of Pipelines Not Subject to IM: PHMSA is limiting the assessment requirement to onshore, non-HCA, non-gathering lines that can accommodate inline inspection tools. PHMSA has determined that inline inspection (ILI) tools may not be available for all pipe diameters and threats being assessed, and providing operators the ability to use these other assessment methods on piggable lines is appropriate at this time. PHMSA has revised the final rule, at both §195.416 and §195.452, to require crack tools only when there is an identified or probable risk or threat supporting their use. PHMSA has expanded the assessment provisions to require operators to use a tool or tools capable of assessing seam integrity, cracking, and of detecting corrosion and deformation anomalies on low-frequency ERW pipe, pipe with a seam factor less than 1.0, or lap-welded pipe susceptible to longitudinal seam failure. PHMSA has revised §195.416 to be consistent with the revised requirements under §195.452 regarding the discovery of condition. PHMSA is specifying that these requirements apply to onshore, piggable line pipe not covered under the IM requirements, including the relevant line pipe within pump stations, but not other appurtenances and components like metering stations, tanks, etc.

IM and Non-IM Repair Criteria: PHMSA has decided to separate the repair-criteria provisions from this final rule.

Leak Detection Requirements: PHMSA is not extending leak detection requirements to offshore gathering lines or regulated rural gathering lines at this time. PHMSA is pursuing leak detection system performance criteria, valve spacing requirements, and automatic shutdown capability in a separate rulemaking.

Increased Use of ILI Tools in HCAs: No changes were made.

Clarifying Other Requirements: PHMSA agrees with commenters who believe hydrostatic testing is an acceptable baseline assessment method for newly constructed pipelines and is incorporating that option into this final rule.

PIPES Act of 2016

Changes were made to this rulemaking based upon specific requirements imposed by Congress in §14 and §25 of the Pipes Act of 2016. Since DOT had no discretion in implementing these requirements, a notice a comment period was deemed not to be necessary.

Section 14 requires owners and operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, following accidents involving pipeline facilities that result in hazardous liquid spills and within 6 hours of a telephonic or electronic notice of the accident to the National Response Center, to provide safety data sheets on any spilled hazardous liquid to the designated Federal On-Scene Coordinator and appropriate State and local emergency responders. This was addressed by changes to §195.65.

Section 25 requires operators of any underwater hazardous liquid pipeline facility located in an HCA that is not an offshore pipeline facility and any portion of which is located at depths greater than 150 feet under the surface of the water to ensure that pipeline integrity assessments using internal inspection technology appropriate for the pipeline's integrity threats are completed not less often than once every 12 months. This was addressed by including a new §195.454.

OMB Approves Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Rule – 09-13-19

Last Friday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved, with change, a final rule from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) for “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines”. The notice of proposed rulemaking was published in October of 2015.

Once again, it is not possible to predict when DOT will get around to actually publishing this final rule; the Trump administration’s loathing of regulations apparently extends to rule which they write. I guess that you have to admire them for their consistency…..