PHMSA Issues Revised Reporting Requirements - Second Notice & Request For Comments

On Sept. 21, 2012, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a second notice and request for comments in the Federal Register proposing revisions to 1) the hazardous liquid pipeline system accident report form, 2) the natural and other gas transmission and gathering pipeline systems incident report form, and 3) the annual report form for gas transmission and gathering systems. The proposed changes could have important ramifications for pipeline owners and operators, as well as the industries that utilize pipelines, specifically with regard to maximum allowable operating pressure and strength testing regulations among others. This second notice included PHMSA's response to the 12 comments the agency received after issuing the first notice and request for comments on April 13, 2012. Comments on this second notice are due Oct. 22, 2012.

PHMSA is expanding the amount of information that is requested in the three forms to include the disclosure of additional information as required by Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 and recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. This new information may be used to support future PHMSA rulemakings and determine pipeline operators' progress in assessing the integrity of their pipeline systems. Based on the new information collected in these forms, PHMSA may modify regulations related to maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) and strength testing, among other regulations, which some commenters noted could result in multi-billion dollar infrastructure replacement and modification projects. Those in the pipeline industry may find it beneficial to submit comments to the second notice to ensure that PHMSA fully considers the structure and ramifications of these new reporting requirements.

Comments on the second notice should be directed to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the agency responsible for approving requests from PHMSA to change information collection forms. Comments are due to OMB by Oct. 22, 2012, and the docket number is PHMSA-2012-0024.

The following are highlights of the second notice and request for comments for each of the three report forms.

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