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DOT Issues Report on Burdensome Regulations

By John Erickson posted 01-04-2018 11:55 AM

  
On December 22, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released its final report on DOT actions that may directly or indirectly burden the development or use of domestic energy sources. This report is in response to Executive Order (E.O.) 13783, Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth to reduce regulatory burdens on the “clean and safe development of our Nation’s vast energy resources, and to promote, among other things, economic growth and geopolitical security.”

This final report addresses regulations from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).On December 22, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released its final report on DOT actions that may directly or indirectly burden the development or use of domestic energy sources. This report is in response to Executive Order (E.O.) 13783, Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth to reduce regulatory burdens on the “clean and safe development of our Nation’s vast energy resources, and to promote, among other things, economic growth and geopolitical security.” This final report addresses regulations from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).The final report identifies seven areas for action:

1. Licensing of Deepwater Ports for Export of Oil and Liquefied Natural Gas;
2. Cylinder Requalification Requirements;
3. Rail Transport of LNG;
4. Design Criteria and Limitations on the Use of Plastic Pipe;
5. Small Scale LNG Siting;
6. Small LPG Applicability; and,
7. Class Location Requirements.

The plastic pipe recommendation is of particular interest to APGA members. In 2016, PHMSA proposed rules to increase the design factor and incorporate the applicable ASTM standard, allow the use of Polyamide-12 (PA-12) pipe, and the use of Polyamide-11 (PA-11) pipe at higher pressures. These actions, when implemented, would allow operators to operate polyethylene and polyamide pipes at higher pressures, increasing the capacity of these pipes. APGA strongly supported these changes in written comments on PHMSA’s proposal. The proposed rule was approved by PHMSA’s Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee and is awaiting Office of Management and Budget approval for publication as a final rule. This report provides impetus for moving that rule forward.

Copies of the report can be downloaded here

For questions on this article, please contact John Erickson of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0834 or by email at jerickson@apga.org or Erin Kurilla at 202-905-2904 or by email at ekurrilla@apga.org.

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