On October 1, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published the Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: MAOP Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessments, and Other Related Amendments Final Rule. After careful review of the final rule, two elements were identified as unclear. The industry jointly drafted and submitted a Petition for Reconsideration to PHMSA requesting the revision or clarification of those elements. The petition was submitted on November 1.
The first area of clarification pertains to the new recordkeeping requirement for class locations. The class location provision of 49 CFR 192 is applicable to both gas distribution and gas transmission pipelines. However, the new recordkeeping requirement is intended to be specific to gas transmission pipelines. Industry requested that PHMSA add a qualifier in the new section to ensure that the requirement is only applicable to gas transmission pipelines.
Industry also requested clarification on the new requirement for Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) Reconfirmation. The final regulatory language included in the rule differed from the language that was discussed and approved by PHMSA’s Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC). Industry recommended that PHMSA revise the code language to match the language discussed during rulemaking so as to avoid future misinterpretations of the requirement.
Many APGA members have also inquired about the omission of the definition of “Distribution center” in this rulemaking. APGA, and the other industry trade associations, encouraged PHMSA to address both the definition of “Distribution center” and the definition of “Transmission line” in this rulemaking. PHMSA, however, believes there is no direct congressional mandate for this change and, therefore, did not include it in the first rulemaking. APGA remains hopeful that PHMSA will provide clarity on the demarcation between a transmission line and a distribution line in the second gas transmission final rule. However, there is no set timeline for the completion for the second rule and there is no guarantee that it will be included. APGA will continue to advocate for this issue to be addressed.
View the petition here.
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.