On June 25-26, the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee (TPSSC) met in Washington, D.C., to continue its review of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) proposed changes to gathering line regulations. The TPSSC is a congressionally-mandated peer review committee composed of industry, government and public pipeline safety experts that advises whether PHMSA’s rules are reasonable, practicable, technically feasible and cost-effective. Rich Worsinger of Rocky Mount, N.C., represents public gas on this committee.
The proposed gathering line rule would subject some gathering lines that are currently not regulated by federal pipeline safety regulations to certain portions of the pipeline safety regulations. The Pipeline Safety Act of 2011 mandated that PHMSA consider regulating certain large diameter, high pressure gathering lines. Specifically, PHMSA proposed to require gathering lines over 8 inches in diameter and operating over 125 psig to file annual and incident reports; however, these lines would not be subject to National Pipeline Mapping System requirements. PHMSA proposed to change the definition of the beginning and endpoints of gathering to differentiate gathering from production at one end and transmission/distribution at the other. The proposed rule would extend requirements for design, construction operation and maintenance to these gathering lines, including requirements for damage prevention, corrosion control, determination of Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) and public awareness.
The TPSSC agreed to PHMSA’s proposal to require incident and annual reporting for gathering line operators but cautioned that operators may not possess all the information asked for in the annual reports. The committee was split on PHMSA’s proposed redefinition of gathering lines. Some of the public and government members supported PHMSA expediting developing a new definition, but industry members expressed concern that the new definition would make many miles of lines that are currently considered part of production to be reclassified as gathering, some of which would become subject to pipeline safety regulations for the first time.
Few APGA members operate lines that would be affected by these rule changes, but APGA supported changes that would improve the safety of currently unregulated gathering lines but cautioned PHMSA to ensure that it’s regulations do not impose unreasonable costs that would be passed on to gas consumers.
The TPSSC will meet again in November to continue its review of the remainder of PHMSA’s proposed changes. For questions on this article, please contact John Erickson of APGA staff by phone at 703-407-0212 or by email at
jerickson@apga.org.