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).
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Trump Administration
As Cyberthreats Continue, PHMSA and TSA MOU Stresses Information Sharing and Coordination
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently finalized an Annex to a longstanding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding pipeline safety and security. This Annex comes just weeks after a publicized natural gas pipeline cybersecurity intrusion and responds to several recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) discussed in our earlier alert to update the prior Annex which had not been reviewed or revised since its inception over 14 years ago. The updated Annex emphasizes information-sharing and coordination between the agencies and signals that the agencies are moving forward on satisfying outstanding GAO recommendations. While this is a step in the right direction, questions remain whether TSA is the appropriate agency to oversee pipeline security and whether existing voluntary standards should be mandatory.
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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…
Pipeline Security and Cybersecurity: Are Guidelines Enough to Protect Critical Infrastructure?
Since 9/11, no new rules or regulations have been promulgated to address pipeline or LNG facility security or cybersecurity. Although the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently released an updated version of its “Pipeline Security Guidelines” (Guidelines) that were last issued in 2011, those Guidelines remain advisory. And both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have made only informal outreach to pipeline and LNG industry as issues have arisen. As the threat of both cyber and physical attacks on critical energy infrastructure continues, however, some question whether minimal standards for prevention of threats should be in place. In particular, there has been recent attention by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), members of Congress, and at least one Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioner. (See E&E News Article of May 29, 2018). These discussions, along with recent proposed legislation in the House and the fact that the Pipeline Safety Act is up for reauthorization later this year, are likely to bring these issues into sharper focus.
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The Congressional Review Act May Be Coming Soon to a Rule Near You
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) has been in the news of late, yet few people know its history, purpose or challenges. Although used only once in its first 20 years, the Act was resurrected at the outset of the Trump Administration. In the first four months of 2017, the new Administration used the CRA to withdraw 14 rules promulgated late in the Obama Administration. There is an effort now to try to use the CRA to nullify even older rules, promulgated over the past 20 years, which could threaten to create more uncertainty for the regulated community.
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Definition of “Waters of the U.S.” Remains Uncertain
On January 22, 2018, the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision threw the long contested issue of what constitutes “waters of the U.S.” back to the lower courts. Somewhat surprisingly, the Supreme Court held that federal district courts have jurisdiction to hear challenges to the rule, reversing a Sixth Circuit decision and suspending that court’s nationwide stay of the rule. In doing so, the Court guaranteed that a revised definition of “waters of the U.S.” will remain undecided for some time to come.
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All I want for Christmas is … regulatory certainty?
Last week, PHMSA’s oil and gas pipeline technical advisory committees convened to review and discuss significant pending rulemakings and regulatory reform initiatives, among other topics. At the same time, the White House touted its deregulation efforts, including the purported elimination of 22 regulations in the past year for each new rule passed. For an agency that is facing outstanding statutory mandates to enact certain regulations, with reauthorization looming in 2018, it is expected that PHMSA will promulgate some new rules in the New Year. It is not yet known, however, what the content of those rules will be and whether the expansive gas ‘mega rule’ will be among those finalized in 2018. Given the overall regulatory climate to reduce regulation and burden, a little certainty might be appreciated in the New Year.
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The First 100 Days: Executive Directives Impacting the Oil & Gas Pipeline Industry
President Trump has issued 30 Executive Orders and 28 Executive Memoranda since taking office on January 20, 2017, despite his failure to pass any major laws. That is more Executive Orders than any President has issued in the first 100 days since World War II. Nearly one fourth of these executive actions have affected the pipeline industry, either directly or indirectly, as noted below:
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Insights to PHMSA Enforcement and Rulemaking under the Trump Administration
Since the Trump Administration took office, oil and gas industry stakeholders have questioned whether pending PHMSA rulemakings will move forward, whether the rate of PHMSA enforcement will continue, and whether agency priorities will change. The API conference held in San Antonio last week provided a rare opportunity in recent months for the industry to hear from key PHMSA personnel and industry practitioners on the status of agency priorities, rulemakings, enforcement and leadership vacancies. As explained below, while the Agency currently lacks key leadership positions and is analyzing executive directives on rulemaking, it intends to move forward with proposed rules and continue enforcement.
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Executive Order Focuses on Deregulation
On Friday, February 24, 2017, President Trump signed another Executive Order (EO) aimed at identifying and eliminating federal regulations that burden businesses. The EO states that “[i]t is the policy of the United States to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.”…
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