Review - PHMSA in the Federal Register – 7-31-26

 Today, DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published 17 actions in the Federal Register. These actions refer to Federal Register publications from April 24th, 2026; not all of the actions published on that day were addressed in today’s Federal Register. They include: 

• Direct final rule (DFR) withdrawals (2),  
• DFR date confirmations (15).  

Direct Final Rule Withdrawals  

When DOT direct final rules are issued, that issuance is subject to the ‘adverse comment’ exception found in 49 CFR 190.339(c). If an adverse comment is received on the DFR within the comment period, in the case of these two DFR’s June 23rd, 2026, then the DFR will be withdrawn and the responsible agency will decide whether to proceed with a revised DFR, initiate a more conventional rulemaking, or abandon the process completely. 

The two DFR withdrawals published today were:  

• Pipeline Safety: Clarifying Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Integrity Management Guidance, and 
• Pipeline Safety: Standards Update-ASME B31.4. 

For more information on the DFR date confirmations, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/phmsa-in-the-federal-register-7-31 - subscription required. Free subscribers will receive email copies of that post tomorrow. 

Personal Note: The Chief Counsel, Keith Coyle, listed in each of these rulemaking notices is, to the best of my knowledge, not related to me. 

OMB Approves PHMSA Pipeline Repair NPRM

Yesterday, OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on “Pipeline Safety: Repair Criteria for Hazardous Liquid and Gas Transmission Pipelines”. The NPRM was submitted to OIRA on May 14th, 2026. An advanced notice of proposed rulemaking was published on May 21st, 2025. 

According to the 2026 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking: 

“PHMSA plans a notice of proposed rulemaking that would modify the thresholds at which operators would be required to repair hazardous liquid pipelines, commonly referred to as anomaly repair criteria,” on pipelines located in high-consequence areas (HCA) and could-affect HCAs,” and develop new repair criteria for hazardous liquid pipelines in non-HCAs.  PHMSA is also examining changes to the repair criteria for gas transmission pipelines, including the anomaly thresholds for cracks, dents, and certain seam types.” 

According to a PHMSA press release: 

“Leveraging Modern, Proven Engineering Modeling: Prioritizes remediation based on how long pipes can safely remain in service and avoids costly, unnecessary grid outages.” 

I expect that the NPRM will be published in the Federal Register in the next week or two. 

Review - PHMSA Publishes Break Out Tank Inspection Final Rule

Today, DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (91 FR 32919-32927) on “Pipeline Safety: Breakout Tank Inspection Rule”. PHMSA is proposing to update its regulations for breakout tanks to incorporate the 5th edition of API Std 653 (issued November 2014) by reference, and to authorize the use of risk-based inspection (RBI) procedures for establishing the inspection intervals of in-service breakout tanks. 

PHMSA is soliciting comments on these proposed changes. Written comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # PHMSA-2025-1271). Comments should be submitted by August 3rd, 2026. PHMSA is also planning on conducting a public meeting to receive comments. The date and time of that meeting will be announced in the Federal Register. 

For more information on the provisions of this NPRM, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/phmsa-publishes-break-out-tank-inspection - subscription required. 

OMB Approves PHMSA Breakout Tank Inspection NPRM

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a notice of proposed rulemaking from the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on “Pipeline Safety: Breakout Tank Inspection Rule”.  

This rulemaking was not listed in the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda, so it is difficult to determine what the scope of this proposed rulemaking will be. There was, however, a question on breakout tank inspections in an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that PHMSA published in May, 2025. That question read: 

“How should part 195 regulations address the assessment of and remediation of anomalies on in-service breakout tanks? Would incorporating the risk-based inspection interval provided for in consensus industry standards ( e.g., the fifth edition of API Std 653) within PHMSA regulations be appropriate for some or all breakout tanks? Please identify any specific regulatory amendments that merit consideration, as well as the technical, safety, and economic reasons supporting those recommended amendments.” 

PHMSA Sends Pipeline Repair NPRM to OMB

 Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) from the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on “Pipeline Safety: Repair Criteria for Hazardous Liquid and Gas Transmission Pipelines”. The advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for this action was published on May 21st, 2025. 

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

“PHMSA plans a notice of proposed rulemaking that would modify the thresholds at which operators would be required to repair hazardous liquid pipelines, commonly referred to as anomaly repair criteria,” on pipelines located in high-consequence areas (HCA) and could-affect HCAs,” and develop new repair criteria for hazardous liquid pipelines in non-HCAs.  PHMSA is also examining changes to the repair criteria for gas transmission pipelines, including the anomaly thresholds for cracks, dents, and certain seam types.” 

Review - PHMSA Publishes 39 Pipeline Safety Rules – 4-24-26

 Yesterday, DOT’s Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published 30 final rules and nine proposed rules in the Federal Register. I am not planning any detailed coverage of any of these final rules or proposed rules. 

For a lists (with associated links) of each final rule and proposed rule, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/phmsa-publishes-39-pipeline-safety - subscription required. Free subscribers will receive a copy of that article tomorrow night.  

PHMSA Sends Breakout Tank Inspection NPRM to OMB

 Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a notic of proposed rulemaking from the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardousm Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on “Pipeline Safety: Breakout Tank Inspection Rule”. It appears that this rulemaking is a breakout NPRM from a question posed in PHMSA’s May 21, 2025, advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on “Pipeline Safety: Repair Criteria for Hazardous Liquid and Gas Transmission Pipelines”. 

This rulemaking was not published in the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda. 

OMB Approves PHMSA Class Location Final Rule

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a final rule from DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on “Pipeline Safety: Class Location Requirements”. The final rule was sent to OIRA on December 2^nd, 2025. 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.”

I would expect to see this final rule published in the Federal Register within the next two weeks.