2023 APGA Operations Conference: October 24-26

2022 Operations Conference Presentations

APGA will the presentation materials from the 2022 Operations Conference in the community library. The presentations are available only to registered 2022 Operation Conference attendees and exhibitors.

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Featured 2022 APGA Operations Conference Speakers

PHMSA Perspective: Implementing Congressional Mandates & Pipeline Safety Priorities For 2022 And Beyond by Tristan Brown, Deputy Administrator, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Hear how the Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is addressing the mandates within the Congressional PIPES Act of 2020 and the PHMSA Pipeline Safety & Modernization Grant Program. Better understand how these directives are driving their regulatory agenda. Deputy Administrator Brown will discuss how the change of administration has impacted both current rulemakings and expectations for pipeline safety efforts in the future.

2022 APGA SOAR Gold Winner: Working Towards Excellence by Alex Taylor, Jared Smith & Robert Mullins, Jackson Energy Authority, TN Hear from the APGA 2022 System Operational Achievement Recognition Program Gold Winner, Jackson Energy Authority. SOAR honors natural gas distribution utilities that demonstrate commitment to system integrity, system improvement, workforce development and employee safety. JEA will share how SOAR has impacted their system and the programs it has encouraged them to implement.

PHMSA Pipeline Safety & Modernization Grant Program – Next Steps by Shakira Mack, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Shakira Mack, PHMSA’s Director of the Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure and Safety Modernization Grant Program, will discuss next steps for provisionally selected grant award winners. She will provide details and insight into the environmental review process, and post-award requirements, such as: single audits, performance period extensions, indirect costs, and accounting procedures for billing.

Three Great Tracks

To help you tailor the APGA Operations Conference to your needs, we have three concurrent topic tracks on Operations & Engineering, Environmental, and Safety & Compliance offering ten breakout sessions each. Attendees can pick and choose relevant sessions to ensure you’re getting the most out of your event experience. Here are some highlighted sessions:

OPERATIONS & ENGINEERING

• GIS Role In Supporting PHMSA Grant Requests And Utility Modernization by Tom Coolidge, ESRI Advances in recent years better enable GIS to support gas utilities in seizing new funding opportunities and responding to asset and workflow modernization challenges and opportunities.
• Lost And Unaccounted For Gas: Causes And Remedies by Bradley Bean, B3PE LLC A discussion of the various causes of Lost and Unaccounted For (LAUF) Gas and actions that can help reduce LAUF. Topics will include measurement and accounting issues, improper adjustment and handling of measured values, operation and maintenance practices, gas venting, gas lost to damage and leakage, and reporting errors. Suggestions for reducing the LAUF associated with each of these topics will be discussed.

SAFETY & COMPLIANCE

• PSMS – One Operator’s Journey by Jen Sherwood, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District Hear from a peer member system about their Pipeline Safety Management Systems (PSMS) journey. Jen will discuss how they’ve incorporated critical elements of PSMS as found in API RP 1173 into their operations. She’ll share PSMS-influenced changes and the positive impact on operations, compliance, employee engagement and safety. This talk will emphasize practical tips on getting credit for elements you’re probably already doing and how
• Panel Discussion: How Do Utility Managers Influence Safety Culture? with John Gann of MEA Energy Association (moderator), Glen Boatwright of York County Natural Gas Authority, SC, Carl Smith of Greenville Utilities Commission, NC, and Todd Hardigree, City of Lawrenceville, GA Recent industry research on safety culture found that “top management's actions have the strongest positive influence on safety culture at the work group level by emphasizing compliance and public safety, and by encouraging good safety behavior by allocating resources to ensure it.” Hear from three APGA member system leaders on how they strive to have a strong positive influence on safety culture.

ENVIRONMENTAL

• How To Remove Barriers And Reporting Challenges During Pipeline Evacuation In The Field by Heather Smercina, Onboard Dynamics In this presentation, Heather will present solutions on how to address the challenges for pipeline operators in keeping our natural gas pipeline infrastructure well maintained while mitigating methane emissions. This presentation will show how field pipeline operators can efficiently evacuate natural gas from pipelines with a much lower carbon footprint that helps to reduce the environmental impact and makes the process safe, efficient, and more reliable. She will also share new advanced methods for accurately monitoring and reporting on the captured and recovered methane that will help companies stay in compliance with future, aggressive regulations.
• Certified Natural Gas by Sharon Paterson, MiQ As natural gas pipeline companies aim to meet GHG goals, they are looking to certified (or differentiated) gas initiatives to demonstrate their commitment to delivering gas using low-emission processes. Learn about Certified Natural Gas and the MiQ Standard that was created to establish criteria for gas pipeline facilities.