PHMSA finalizes pipeline safety rules

The new rules cover more than 500,000 miles of pipelines. Photo: Allkindza/iStock/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) transmitted three final rules to the Federal Register written to strengthen the safety of more than 500,000 miles of onshore gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines throughout the United States. The rules will also enhance PHMSA’s authority to issue an emergency order to address unsafe safety conditions or hazards that pose an imminent threat to pipeline safety.

The gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipeline safety rules would modernize federal pipeline safety standards by expanding risk-based integrity management requirements, enhancing procedures to protect infrastructure from extreme weather events, and requiring greater oversight of pipelines beyond current safety requirements.

The gas transmission rule requires operators of gas transmission pipelines constructed before 1970 to determine the material strength of their lines by reconfirming the maximum allowable operating pressure. In addition, the rule updates reporting and records retention standards for gas transmission pipelines.

The hazardous liquid rule encourages operators to make better use of all available data to understand pipeline safety threats and extends leak detection requirements to all non-gathering hazardous liquid pipelines. In addition, the rule requires operators to inspect affected pipelines following an extreme weather event or natural disaster so they may address any resulting damage.