DOT Pipeline Compliance News
February 2009 Edition

DOT Pipeline Compliance Workshop - February 25 & 26, 2009
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RCP will be hosting our very popular 2-day workshop on DOT Pipeline Compliance on February 25 & 26, 2009, in Houston, TX. Join us for an informative, lively, and interactive workshop on DOT Pipeline Compliance.

Day 1 (February 25): Gas Pipeline Regulations (49CFR192): Covering all the topics below but special emphasis will be placed on the changes in **GAS GATHERING** regulations.

Day 2 (February 26): Liquid Pipeline Regulations (49CFR195)

Each day of the workshop will address the following issues as they specifically relate to either Gas or Hazardous Liquid pipelines:

• PHMSA Overview
• PHMSA Jurisdictional Boundaries
• Production / Gathering / Transmission
• Onshore / Inlets to the Gulf of Mexico / Offshore
• Compliance Requirements:
• Design
• Construction
• Operation
• Maintenance
• Corrosion
• Testing
• Integrity Management
• Operator Qualification
• Emergency Response
• Reporting
• New/Proposed Regulations - including liquid rural low stress and new gas production pipeline rules in Texas and other states.

For additional information go to our website here.

Save the Dates!

Texas Railroad Commission Issues Revised Pipeline Regulations
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The Railroad Commission of Texas (TRRC) has approved adoption of amendments to intrastate pipeline safety regulations that will have significant impacts to both gas and liquid pipeline facilities in Texas. The proposed amendments were published on October 10th (Proposed 16 TAC Chapter 8), comments were submitted (Comments), and the final rule was posted on January 15th (Final Rules). The final rules were published in the Texas Register on January 30th and will become effective on February 4, 2009. A summary of the changes is provided below. To discuss these or get more information regarding the potential impact these may have on your pipeline facilities, please contact Jessica Roger.

• The final rule incorporates production facilities and associated pipelines into the definition of Transportation of Gas, beginning at the first point of measurement through the beginning of gathering as defined by 49 CFR 192.8. However, there are no provisions in the final rule that specify compliance deadlines for these previously exempt production and pipeline facilities. It is also unclear whether the same criteria will be used for classifying production pipelines as Type A or Type B regulated, similar to how gathering line regulated status is determined. The proposed rule included language that helped clarify these issues; however, the final rule is silent. None of the changes that were proposed in Chapter 8.1 General Applicability and Standards appear to be included in the final rule.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.5 Definitions for Master Meter System, Pressure Test, and Transportation of Gas. All of the changes that were in the proposed rule appear to have been incorporated into the final rule.
• The final rule did not exempt gathering lines from the TRRC integrity management regulations as was proposed in October 2008. It appears that gas and liquid gathering pipelines are still subject to Chapter 8.101 Pipeline Integrity Assessment and Management Plans for Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquids pipelines.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.115 New Construction Commencement Report. All of the changes that were in the proposed rule appear to have been incorporated into the final rule.
• A minor change was made by relocating the Penalty Guidelines for Pipeline Safety Violations to Chapter 8.135. The previous location (Chapter 8.245 applied only to natural gas pipelines).
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.203 Supplemental Regulations to clarify expectations for enhanced corrosion monitoring for unprotected gas pipelines. All of the changes that were in the proposed rule appear to have been incorporated into the final rule.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.205 Written Procedure for Handling Natural Gas Leak Complaints that require supervisory review of leak complaints be completed and documented by 10:00 a.m. each day for calls received the previous day. All of the changes that were in the proposed rule appear to have been incorporated into the final rule.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.210 Reports and Chapter 8.301 Required Records and Reporting. Reporting triggers for gas pipeline releases were brought in line with DOT requirements (191.3). Telephone reports of both gas and hazardous liquid incidents must now include on site point-of-contact information and other significant facts are involved. Gas pipeline incident telephone reports must now include the estimated damage and lost gas costs. The most significant change was the addition of leak reporting requirements for gas distribution and regulated plastic gas gathering and transmission pipelines. The TRRC will require semi-annual reports for all leaks (except non-hazardous, easily repaired above ground leaks), all repairs made within previous reporting period, and all remaining unrepaired leaks, including leak grade. The DOT forms and reporting deadlines used for annual reporting will be used instead of the PS-45 form for intrastate liquid pipeline annual reporting. All safety-related condition reports for hazardous liquid pipelines must now be submitted to the TRRC in accordance with Part 195 requirements.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.215 Odorization of Gas that requires gas pipelines to use only commercially available equipment and malodorants after February 4, 2009. Existing shop-made equipment may remain in place, but cannot be moved to new locations. A new criterion has been established for detection of malodorants. Revised inspection and test interval criteria clarify the TRRC expectations that these occur no more than 15 months from the previous inspection and test.
• Plastic pipe failure reporting found in Chapter 8.225 has been removed from the final rule. However, the new section under Chapter 8.210 Reports requires failures of regulated plastic gas pipelines to be included with semi-annual leak report requirements.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.230 School Piping Testing that clarifies the TRRC expectations for applicable facilities to be tested. All of the changes that were in the proposed rule appear to have been incorporated into the final rule.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.235 Natural Gas Pipelines Public Education and Liaison and Chapter 8.310 Hazardous Liquids and Carbon Dioxide Pipelines Public Education and Liaison that clarifies the TRRC expectations that liaison activities occur no more than 15 months from the previous effort. These chapters also outline a 2-year interval for TRRC notification of pipeline facilities located within 1000 feet of a public school. All of the changes that were in the proposed rule appear to have been incorporated into the final rule.
• Changes were made to Chapter 8.305 Corrosion Control Requirements that are primarily clarification and elimination of duplicative DOT regulatory language. All of the changes that were in the proposed rule appear to have been incorporated into the final rule.

Leak Management Tracking System

RCP has developed a leak management system that tracks all leaks through their life span and will allow for the reports required by the TRRC to be easily generated and uploaded into the TRRC Electronic Document Interchange process. It is a web-based application that can be customized so that field personnel can interface through laptops or hand-held devices. Because it is web-based, there are no IT issues to struggle through to get started. Simple to use, easy to access, and can be customized with GIS integration tools, etc. For more information, contact Jessica Roger.

ANOTHER SPCC Rule Delay / Reconsideration…
EPA-HQ-OPA-2007-0584; FRL-8770-7
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In accordance with the January 20, 2009, White House memorandum entitled, "Regulatory Review," and the memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget entitled, "Implementation of Memorandum Concerning Regulatory Review" (M-09-08, January 21, 2009) (OMB memorandum), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is delaying by sixty days the effective date of the final rule that amends the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2008 (73 FR 74236). Thus, the effective date is delayed to April 4, 2009. EPA additionally is requesting public comment on the extension of the effective date and its duration, and on the regulatory amendments contained in the final rule.

The Agency is taking this action to ensure that the rule reflects proper consideration of all relevant facts. While the Agency is requesting public comment on the entire final rule, the Agency is specifically interested in receiving comments on the optional approaches for produced water containers and the criteria for qualified oil production facilities. The Agency requests that comments include an appropriate rationale and supporting data for Agency review and consideration. Following the comment period, EPA will take appropriate steps to ensure careful evaluation of the comments received and will consider whether further amendment of the final rule is necessary. Finally, the Agency is also reviewing the dates by which owners or operators of facilities must prepare or amend their SPCC Plans, and implement those Plans. EPA intends to address these dates in a separate notice.

Comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPA-2007-0584, must be received on or before March 5, 2009.

SPCC Plans

Did you know RCP has developed or modified hundreds of SPCC plans, including plans for some of the biggest facilities in America? Major oil and gas companies think of us when they need SPCC plan support. Shouldn’t your company? Click here for more information.

Final Rule on Special Permits, Safety Orders, etc.
[Docket No. PHMSA-2007-0033]
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The Department of Transportation/Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has adopted, with minor modifications, an interim final rule issued by PHMSA on March 28, 2008, conforming PHMSA's administrative procedures with the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006 by establishing the procedures PHMSA will follow for issuing safety orders and handling requests for special permits, including emergency special permits. The rule also notifies operators about electronic docket information availability; updates addresses for filing reports, telephone numbers, and routing symbols; and clarifies the time period for processing requests for written interpretations of the regulations. This final rule makes minor amendments and technical corrections to the regulatory text in response to written public comments received after issuance of the interim final rule, as explained more fully below.

Safety Orders. Pursuant to section 13 of the PIPES Act, the interim final rule established the process by which PHMSA will initiate safety order proceedings to address identified pipeline integrity risks that may not rise to the level of a hazardous condition requiring immediate corrective action under 49 U.S.C. 60112, but should be addressed over time to prevent failures. The rule requires PHMSA to provide operators with notice and an opportunity for a hearing before issuing a safety order and expressly authorizes informal consultation in advance of an administrative hearing. In the absence of consent, a safety order must be based on a finding by the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety that a pipeline facility has a condition that poses a risk to public safety, property, or the environment. In making the required finding, the Associate Administrator will consider all relevant information, including the nine considerations expressly enumerated in 49 U.S.C. 60117(l)(2). PHMSA expects the majority of safety order proceedings to be resolved by consent agreement between the operator and PHMSA. The safety order process established in the interim final rule is largely unchanged in this final rule.

Special Permits. To clarify the procedures governing special permits, and to establish new procedures for exercise of the agency's emergency authority, the interim final rule added a new section, entitled "Special permits," to the administrative procedures in 49 CFR Part 190. The rule outlines the procedures under which pipeline operators (and prospective operators) may request special permits. It specifies the information that must be provided in each application and, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 60118(c)(1)(B), provides for public notice and hearing on applications for (non-emergency) special permits. Section 10 of the PIPES Act provided PHMSA with the authority to issue an emergency waiver of a pipeline safety regulation without prior notice and hearing if necessary to address an emergency involving pipeline transportation, and the rule outlines the procedures for operators to request such emergency special permits. The special permit process established in the interim final rule is largely unchanged in this final rule.

Other Amendments. The interim final rule also amended part 190 by adding a new paragraph notifying operators that all materials they submit in response to administrative enforcement actions may be placed on publicly accessible websites. The rule sets forth the procedure for seeking confidential treatment, along with other information concerning the agency's new enforcement transparency website. The rule also reflects the recent relocation of DOT Headquarters and the transition from the Department's electronic docket management system to the government-wide electronic docket system (found at regulations.gov), enabling electronic service of enforcement documents. This final rule also amends 49 CFR Parts 191-199 to correct the address for filing annual, accident, and safety-related condition reports for hazardous liquid pipelines (which was inadvertently omitted from the interim final rule) and corrects addresses, telephone numbers, and routing symbols in the regulations for filing various other forms and reports.

This final rule is effective February 17, 2009.

NPMS Submission Standards Updated
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The National Pipeline Mapping System has issued revised standards for submission of pipeline data. To obtain a copy of the December 2008 NPMS Standards for Pipeline, LNG and Breakout Tank Farm Operator Submissions, click here.

The following changes were made to the December 2008 NPMS Standard:

• The list of acronyms was updated.
• The section on regulatory requirements was updated.
• The section on annual resubmissions was updated.
• A section was added regarding the newly required cover/transmittal letter to accompany all submissions.
• The list of pipeline status was updated.
• The list of commodities was updated and an option was added for specifying a finer commodity detail.
• The attribute table for the Pipeline submission was updated.
• The information on the NPMS Metadata/Attribute Builder tool (formally known as the NPMS Metadata Data Template and NPMS Attribute Data Template tools) was updated in the Attribute Data and Metadata sections.
• The section on breakout tank submission methods was updated.
• The glossary was updated.

RCP & ESRI Business Partner Program

RCP is pleased to announce our partnership with ESRI in providing consulting services to GIS users. ESRI designs and develops the world's leading geographic information system (GIS) technology. RCP's staff includes GIS and mapping experts that conduct high consequence area (HCA) identification, risk assessment, class location analysis, underwater inspections, NPMS/RRC submittals, spill modeling, as well as other spatial analysis projects. For more information, contact Jessica Roger.

API Public Awareness Workshop
March 24-25, 2009
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The American Petroleum Institute (API) is planning a Public Awareness Workshop, March 24-25, 2009 in Houston, Texas. The workshop is open to member company industry personnel only. Key personnel responsible for developing and implementing Public Awareness programs would benefit from attending. Among the learning objectives are: Assessing your current public awareness efforts; Trigger points for program enhancements; Program evaluation, Continuous improvement and Program implementation and progress tracking. More detailed information will be posted at www.api.org/meetings by the end of January. Please contact Madeleine Sellouk at 202-682-8332 or sellouk@api.org with questions.

API Pipeline Conference and Safety, Environmental, and Distinguished Award Program
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The 60th Annual API Pipeline Conference will be held April 21-22 in Fort Worth, Texas, with registration April 20. The Conference will end this year at 3:30 PM on April 22. The Pipeline Safety, Environmental and Distinguished Awards will be presented at the luncheon on April 22. A letter describing the award program was sent to all pipeline operators the week of January 12, along with the applications. The deadline for submitting the Safety and Environmental Award applications is March 2. More information, including a link to online information, will be provided after the award letter is finalized.