On December 11, APGA members and staff met with the leadership team at the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA). Rich Worsinger, from City of Rocky Mount, N.C., and John Leary, from Borough of Chambersburg, Penn., led the discussion on behalf of APGA member systems. They were joined by Bert Kalisch, Erin Kurilla, and Doug MacGillivray from APGA staff. Among the eight attendees from PHMSA were Administrator Skip Elliott, Deputy Administrator Drue Pearce, Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety Alan Mayberry, and Chief Counsel Paul Roberti.
The discussion focused on mutual goals between APGA and PHMSA for 2019 and beyond. Those goals include continued cooperation with PHMSA to promote and support a higher level of pipeline safety and greater access to natural gas in both unserved and underserved areas. APGA also called PHMSA’s attention to an October 2017 report from the Government Accountability Office titled “Federal Regulations: Key Considerations for Agency Design and Enforcement Decisions.” Included in the report is a description of key considerations for agency decisionmakers related to regulatory design and enforcement. Additionally, APGA highlighted our commitment to learning from the September incident in Merrimack Valley, Mass.
APGA looks forward to continuing these conversations with PHMSA in 2019.
For questions on this article, please contact Erin Kurilla of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at
ekurilla@apga.org.