PHMSA issued a Final Rule on March 31, 2022 revising the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations applicable to most newly constructed and entirely replaced onshore gas transmission, Type A gas gathering, and
hazardous liquid pipelines with diameters of 6 inches or greater. In the revised regulations,
PHMSA requires operators of these lines to install rupture-mitigation valves (i.e., remote-control
or automatic shut-off valves) or alternative equivalent technologies, and establishes minimum
performance standards for those valves’ operation to prevent or mitigate the public safety and
environmental consequences of pipeline ruptures. The effective date of this final rule is October 5, 2022.

Federal Register : Pipeline Safety: Requirement of Valve Installation and Minimum Rupture Detection Standards

The final rule, first initiated 11 years ago, incorporates lessons learned through the investigation of the September 9, 2010 gas transmission pipeline incident in San Bruno, CA, which resulted in the death of eight people and injuries to more than 60 others.

PHMSA Final Rule – Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Repair Criteria, Integrity Management Improvements, Cathodic Protection, Management of Change, and Other Related Amendments | PHMSA

Pipeline Safety: Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines

Published in 84 FR 52260 on October 1, 2019 this final rule becomes effective July 1, 2020.

PHMSA is amending the Pipeline Safety Regulations to improve the safety of pipelines transporting hazardous liquids:

• extending reporting requirements to certain hazardous liquid gravity and rural gathering lines
• requiring the inspection of pipelines in areas affected by extreme weather and natural disasters
• requiring integrity assessments at least once every 10 years of onshore hazardous liquid pipeline segments located outside of high consequence areas and that are “piggable” (i.e., can accommodate in-line inspection devices)
• extending the required use of leak detection systems beyond high consequence areas to all regulated, non-gathering hazardous liquid pipelines
• and requiring that all pipelines in or affecting high consequence areas be capable of accommodating in-line inspection tools within 20 years, unless the basic construction of a pipeline cannot be modified to permit that accommodation.

Additionally, PHMSA is clarifying other regulations and is incorporating Sections 14 and 25 of the PIPES Act of 2016 to improve regulatory certainty and compliance.

Pipeline Safety: Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: MAOP Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessment Requirements, and Other Related Amendments

Published in 84 FR 52180 on October 1, 2019 this final rule becomes effective July 1, 2020.

PHMSA is revising the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations to improve the safety of onshore gas transmission pipelines. This final rule addresses congressional mandates, National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, and responds to public input. The amendments in this final rule address: integrity management requirements and other requirements, and they focus on the actions an operator must take to reconfirm the maximum allowable operating pressure of previously untested natural gas transmission pipelines and pipelines lacking certain material or operational records, the periodic assessment of pipelines in populated areas not designated as “high consequence areas,” the reporting of exceedances of maximum allowable operating pressure, the consideration of seismicity as a risk factor in integrity management, safety features on in-line inspection launchers and receivers, a 6-month grace period for 7-calendar-year integrity management reassessment intervals, and related recordkeeping provisions.

Pipeline Safety: Operator Qualification, Cost Recovery, Accident and Incident Notification, and Other Pipeline Safety Changes

Published in 82 FR 7972 on January 23, 2017 this final rule became effective March 24, 2017.

PHMSA amended the pipeline safety regulations to address requirements of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 and to update and clarify certain regulatory requirements. Among other provisions, PHMSA is adding a specific time frame for telephonic or electronic notifications of accidents and incidents and adding provisions for cost recovery for design reviews of certain new projects, for the renewal of expiring special permits, and setting out the process for requesting protection of confidential commercial information. PHMSA is also amending the drug and alcohol testing requirements, and incorporating consensus standards by reference for in-line inspection (ILI) and Stress Corrosion Cracking Direct Assessment (SCCDA).

See Docket Number: PHMSA-2013-0163 for details.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines”

As published in 80 FR 61610 on October 13, 2015, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is proposing to make certain changes to the hazardous liquid (HL) pipeline safety regulations. The proposed changes include the following:

(1) extend reporting requirements to gravity lines;
(2) extend certain reporting requirements to HL gathering lines located outside of high consequence areas (HCAs);
(3) require inspections of pipelines in areas affected by extreme weather, natural disasters, and other similar events within 72 hours and appropriate remedial action to ensure the safe operation of a pipeline;
(4) require assessments of pipelines located in non-HCAs every 10 years using in-line inspection (ILI) tools;
(5) expand the use of leak detection systems to HL pipelines located in non-HCAs to mitigate the effects of failures that occur outside of HCAs;
(6) modify the Integrity Management (IM) repair criteria and apply those same criteria to pipelines that are not subject to the IM requirements;
(7) increase the use of ILI tools by requiring that any pipeline that could affect an HCA be capable of accommodating these devices within 20 years, unless its basic construction will not permit that accommodation; and
(8) resolve inconsistent deadlines, clarify requirements for information integration, clarify definition of covered pipeline facilities, and specify timeframe for rechecking HCA status for the IM Plan.

For additional information, see Docket PHMSA-2010-0229.