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The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s (“CSB’s”) long-awaited accidental reporting rule became effective on March 23, 2020. Under the new rule, 40 C.F.R. §§ 1604.1-1604.6., owners and operators of chemical facilities must report accidental releases that result in fatalities, substantial injury, or substantial property damage over a million dollars. This requirement includes reporting of releases that result in in-patient hospitalization, even if the hospitalization is taken as a precautionary measure. As such, this rule may impose a new reporting requirement for accidental releases from certain pipeline facilities that result in injury or property damage, such as at complex facilities where there is non-transportation related storage, processing or other handling of chemical substances.
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Continue Reading New Chemical Release Reporting Rule Potentially Applicable to Pipeline Facilities

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.
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Continue Reading PHMSA Proposes Regulatory Reform Rule

Over the past week and in just the last 24 hours, several federal and state agencies have issued guidance documents and orders impacting the oil and gas pipeline industry. Through this guidance and other orders, federal and state governments are recognizing the oil and gas industry as critical to responding to COVID-19, while at the same time providing for some flexibility in the likelihood that operators will face resource and staffing constraints in executing their pipeline safety compliance obligations.
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Continue Reading COVID-19 Oil and Gas Update – Agencies Provide Limited Enforcement Discretion and Confirm Infrastructure as Essential

The coronavirus is causing marked disruption in the U.S., with increasing impacts across the country. Pipeline, terminal and LNG facilities are no exception, and many operators have been reviewing or implementing their contingency and emergency response plans. The current situation falls outside of most existing plans, however. With staffing concerns, travel limitations and other unforeseen issues, we expect operators will be presented with some challenges in the coming weeks in meeting all pipeline and LNG safety legal requirements. For example, we expect there may be issues with maintaining sufficient adequately trained and qualified staff for control rooms or field positions responsible for inspection and maintenance.
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Continue Reading Oil and Gas Preparedness and Contingency Planning in the Wake of COVID-19

DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a Final Rule titled “Oil Spill Response Plans and Information Sharing for High Hazard Flammable Trains.” Among other requirements, certain rail trains carrying petroleum oil will be required to prepare comprehensive oil spill response plans to address a worst case discharge.  Modifications to the existing…

Hurricane season is upon us, with Hurricane Florence making its way towards landfall in the Carolinas, currently expected to reach the coast by early Friday morning, September 14, 2018.  Tropical storm force winds and heavy rain will reach the coastal areas even before that, and the storm is forecast to bring high winds, torrential rain,…

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, PHMSA issued a press release regarding hurricane preparedness and response.  As operators implemented hurricane preparedness plans to minimize the impact of the storm, PHMSA noted several significant allowances for pipeline systems impacted by the hurricane including the following:

  1. Temporarily suspending enforcement for noncompliance with pipeline operator qualification or pre-employment

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As the waters begin to recede from our nation’s energy capital following Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented rainfall in the state of Texas, the full impacts of Hurricane Harvey are beginning to become more apparent.  Beyond the incredible toll on the residents of the state, the daily damage estimates continue to rise.  Significantly, nearly one-third of the U.S. refining capacity in the U.S. has been affected.  The nation’s two largest refineries have closed, and many others are shut down or operating on a limited basis.  One chemical plant suffered from several explosions, while another reported a release from a pipeline, and at least one of the country’s largest liquid transmission pipelines is shut down.  While the full extent of damage to the energy industry is not yet known, the importance of good planning, preparedness and response is central to minimizing damage.  These efforts, by both emergency responders and the private sector, can substantially limit the amount of damage to both the public and the environment.
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Continue Reading Impacts of Hurricane Harvey: Underscoring the Importance of Planning, Preparedness & Response