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APGA Members Visit with PHMSA Leadership

By Erin Kurilla posted 05-09-2019 12:24 PM

  
On May 8, as a part of the APGA Government Relations Conference, APGA visited with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) leadership at their Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters in Washington, D.C. In attendance on behalf of APGA were: Owen Reeves, APGA Chairman from Henderson Municipal Gas; Pat Riley, APGA Operations & Safety Committee Chairman and Board Member from Gibson County Utility District; Alonzo Weaver, APGA Board Treasurer and Operations & Safety Committee Vice Chairman from Memphis Gas, Light & Water; Rich Worsinger, APGA Board Member from City of Rocky Mount; Bob Dowel, APGA Board Member from Long Beach Gas & Oil; and, Erin Kurilla, APGA Vice President of Operations & Safety. PHMSA attendees included: PHMSA Administrator Skip Elliott; PHMSA Deputy Administrator Drue Pearce; PHMSA Director of Governmental, International and Public Affairs Bobby Fraser; PHMSA Associate Administrator of Pipeline Safety Alan Mayberry; and, Deputy Associate Administrator for Policy and Programs Massoud Tahamtani.

APGA members briefed PHMSA on APGA’s policy positions pertaining to pipeline safety reauthorization topics. They highlighted APGA’s Commitment to Pipeline Safety and the membership’s dedication to adopting Pipeline Safety Management System (PSMS) principles. PHMSA challenged APGA to continue to find ways to encourage adoption of PSMS given the heightened focus on this program by lawmakers and safety stakeholders. There was also discussion on the topics of: professional engineering stamps for distribution construction and maintenance activities; management of change; PHMSA’s rulemaking process; the proposed Voluntary Information Sharing System; and, pipeline security.
APGA members in attendance also provided excellent anecdotes about their internal programs that are enhancing pipeline safety and the safety culture within their systems. PHMSA encouraged APGA to continue to regularly visit with their leadership team to share the excellent work being done by APGA member systems pertaining to pipeline safety.

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.

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