On January 11, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) finalized its June 2020 proposed rulemaking intended to reduce regulatory burdens and offer greater flexibility to gas pipeline operators, previously discussed in our post here. Pipeline operators may voluntarily comply with the rule starting on the effective date of March 12, 2021, but mandatory compliance is not required until October 1, 2021. Although the rule implements moderate changes to the pipeline safety regulations, given the timing of the final rule’s release, it is at least possible that the new administration could withdraw the rule.
Continue Reading Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform Rule Finalized
Administrative Rulemaking
PHMSA Issues Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform Proposal
By Catherine D. Little, Annie M. Cook & Viktoriia De Las Casas on
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on May 28, 2020, issued a pre-publication Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform. The proposal is issued pursuant to the Administration’s executive orders directing federal agencies to reduce burdens and in response to comments from the industry. In keeping with that intent, the proposed changes appear generally favorable to the gas pipeline industry and should ease certain regulatory burdens related to discrete areas of gas pipeline incident reporting, construction (welding requalification), operation (primarily distribution and plastic pipelines), and maintenance (rectifier inspections and low-pressure pipelines).
…
Continue Reading PHMSA Issues Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform Proposal
OIG Critical of PHMSA LNG Reviews
By Catherine D. Little, Annie M. Cook & Mandi Moroz on
The United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”), Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued its audit findings of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (“PHMSA’s”) procedures and standards for reviewing whether liquified natural gas (“LNG”) facilities meet federal safety standards. The audit was designed to assess PHMSA’s (1) review of proposed LNG facilities, (2) inspection of existing LNG facilities, and (3) evaluation of state gas programs that are tasked with inspecting LNG facilities. While the OIG found that PHMSA’s inspection of existing interstate LNG facilities met agency standards, the audit identified several deficiencies with PHMSA’s siting of proposed LNG facilities and its review processes of state programs. This report comes as PHMSA’s proposed overhaul of its Part 193 LNG safety regulations moves toward publication.
…
Continue Reading OIG Critical of PHMSA LNG Reviews
PHMSA Proposes Regulatory Reform Rule
By Catherine D. Little, Annie M. Cook & Mandi Moroz on
Posted in Administrative Rulemaking, Emergency Response, Integrity Management, Natural Gas, Oil, PHMSA, Policy
PHMSA is proposing regulatory reform changes to the federal pipeline safety regulations at 49 CFR 190, 194, and 195, predominantly impacting liquid pipelines. Consistent with the Administration’s directives, the proposed revisions are intended to reduce regulatory burdens and improve regulatory clarity, without compromising safety and environmental protection. The proposed revisions were published in the Federal Register on April 16, 2020 and comments are due by June 15, 2020. These proposed changes would clarify and revise the requirements for how operators submit records to PHMSA; make important clarifications to the scope of pipelines that would require oil spill response plans; and, specific to liquid pipelines, substantially increase the property damage incident reporting threshold, allow remote monitoring of rectifier stations, and clarify integrity management guidance.
…
Continue Reading PHMSA Proposes Regulatory Reform Rule
PHMSA Publishes Long-Awaited Final Rules
Tomorrow’s Federal Register will include three final rules published by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) that have been years in the making: (1) Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessment Requirements, and Other Related Amendments; (2) Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines; and (3) Enhanced Emergency Order Procedures. All three rules have been lingering at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review for at least several months, and probably none have been more anticipated than the gas transmission and liquid pipeline rules.
…
Continue Reading PHMSA Publishes Long-Awaited Final Rules
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Changes to Endangered Species Act Regulations
Posted in Administrative Rulemaking, Environmental
On August 12, 2019 the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) and National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (collectively, the “Services”) released pre-publication versions of three final rules that are expected to significantly affect the applicability and implementation of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). These regulations relate to the process and standards for listing species and designating…
EPA Proposes Sweeping Changes to Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Regulations
On Friday, August 9, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) unveiled a pre-publication version of a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NOPR”) to clarify state water quality certification (“certification”) procedures under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) to allow for increased regulatory certainty in federal licensing and permitting activities, and particularly authorization of infrastructure projects. …
Congress Turns its Attention to Pipeline Safety Act Reauthorization
The first Congressional Hearing on Pipeline Safety Act Reauthorization for 2019 was held this week before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The Hearing did not have as much drama as last summer’s Hearing before the same Committee, where PHMSA Administrator Skip Elliott was asked sharply to explain why the Agency had failed to fulfill so many Congressional mandates and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Recommendations. In his written testimony at this week’s Hearing, Administrator Elliott stated that “When I spoke [here] last year, I heard clearly from [Committee] members that finalizing outstanding Congressional mandates must be a top priority.” The Committee staff report issued for the Hearing listed 12 “unmet mandates,” and Administrator Elliott’s written testimony conceded that PHMSA yet to address 8 mandates from the 2011 Pipeline Safety Act (PSA) reauthorization, and another 4 from the 2016 PSA reauthorization. Of that dozen outstanding mandates, 4 relate to reports and 8 involve rulemaking. Jennifer Homendy, a member of the NTSB, testified that the NTSB has 24 “open” recommendations to PHMSA, several on the Board’s “most wanted” list for completion. Homendy previously served as the Democratic Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
…
Continue Reading Congress Turns its Attention to Pipeline Safety Act Reauthorization
The Importance of Creating A Record for Judicial Review of Agency Action
For at least the past 35 years, federal courts have generally allowed an administrative agency’s interpretation of a regulation or statute that it administers to prevail when challenged by a member of the regulated community or any other interested party. The ‘agency deference’ doctrine has been questioned in recent years, however, and a new case pending review before the Supreme Court may reverse or revise the doctrine as it relates to an agency’s interpretation of its own regulation. Whether a court defers to an agency’s interpretation of a statute or regulation defines the standard of review with which it will review the Agency’s decision. For that reason, whether agency deference remains in place or not, regulated entities should focus on the importance of creating a record for judicial review of agency action.
Continue Reading The Importance of Creating A Record for Judicial Review of Agency Action
Draft Pipeline Risk Modeling Report Issued for Public Comment
As part of its integrity management regulatory scheme, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is requesting comments on a draft risk modeling report. In certain densely populated or environmentally sensitive areas, PHMSA integrity management rules require the continual evaluation of ways to reduce pipeline threats to minimize the likelihood and consequences of an incident. Because these rules are performance based, the methodology for analyzing and assessing risk is not prescribed and the industry employs a variety of approaches. PHMSA’s draft report similarly does not dictate a particular methodology but clearly favors probabilistic and quantitative risk models that may not be practical or effective for many operators. Operators should take the opportunity to review and comment on the draft report to ensure that their experiences and insights with risk modeling are reflected prior to finalizing the document. Based on a request from industry trade groups, PHMSA recently extended the comment period an additional 30 days until October 17, 2018.
…
Continue Reading Draft Pipeline Risk Modeling Report Issued for Public Comment