On January 11, 2021 PHMSA issued a final rule that will take effect on March 12, 2021. Compliance with the amendments adopted in the rule is required beginning October 1, 2021.
Rule Summary:
PHMSA is amending the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations to ease regulatory burdens on the construction, maintenance, and operation of gas transmission, distribution, and gathering pipeline systems without adversely affecting safety. The amendments in this rule are based on rulemaking petitions from stakeholders, and DOT and PHMSA initiatives to identify appropriate areas where regulations might be repealed, replaced, or modified, and PHMSA’s review of public comments. PHMSA also, as of the effective date of this final rule, withdraws the March 29, 2019 “Exercise of Enforcement Discretion Regarding Farm Taps” and the unpublished October 27, 2015 letter to the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America announcing a stay of enforcement pertaining to certain pressure vessels.
Key elements:
- Exempts distribution integrity management program (“DIMP”) requirements for master meter operators.
- States that a farm tap is “the common name for a pipeline directly connected to a gas transmission, production, or gathering pipeline that provides gas to a customer,” and provides farm tap operators the option to either comply with the requirements of Section 192.740 or the operator’s DIMP.
- Eliminates the requirement to submit mechanical fitting failure (“MFF”) reports.
- Increases the monetary property damage threshold for reporting incidents from $50,000 to $122,000, with adjustments in the future based on inflation.
- Allows remote monitoring of cathodic protection rectifiers.
- Amends the inspection interval for monitoring atmospheric corrosion on gas distribution service pipelines to five years if no corrosion is identified during the last inspection.
- Incorporates by reference the 2018 edition of ASTM “Standard Specification for Polyethylene (PE) Gas Pressure Pipe, Tubing, and Fittings” (ASTM D2513-18a), and increase the diameter of PE pipe from 12 inches to 24 inches that may use a design factor of 0.4.
- Incorporates by reference the 2019 edition of ASTM F2620, “Standard Practice for Heat Fusion Joining of Polyethylene Pipe and Fittings,” and amend the regulations to clarify that alternative written procedures may be used if the operator demonstrates that they provide an equivalent or better level of safety as ASTM F2620 and are proven by test or experience to produce strong gastight joints.
- Revises test requirements for pressure vessels consistent with American Society of Mechanical Engineers (“ASME”) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (“BPVC”).
- Revises welder requalification requirements to provide scheduling flexibility.
- Extends the allowance for pre-tested short segments of pipe and fabricated units to pipelines operating at a hoop stress less than 30 percent of the specified minimum yield strength (“SMYS”) and above 100 pounds per square inch (“psi”).
Key elements provided by Darren Hunter of Hunter Masalski LLC.
Darren Hunter is a founding partner and an environmental lawyer, OSHA and PHMSA practitioner in the Chicago law firm of Hunter Masalski LLC (www.HunterMasalski.com). This post does not constitute legal advice or the formation or proposal of an attorney-client relationship to or with any person or entity. In addition, this post should not be understood to represent the views of MEA Energy Association, the law firm, the individual attorneys at the firm, or of any of the firm’s clients or former clients.
