PHMSA readies work on 'ambitious' set of rules

Federal regulators are advancing rules to detect pipeline methane leaks and overhaul LNG plant safety, according to a top official at the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

PHMSA over the next year is also working to advance safety rules for pipelines in locations where there has been population growth, create new safety rules for gas distribution lines, and place an increased focus on the safety of CO2 pipelines and hydrogen infrastructure, the agency's deputy administrator Tristan Brown said today.

"That's an ambitious list, especially when you compare it to what we've done in the past," Brown said in New Orleans, Louisiana, at a conference hosted by the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust.

The US Congress, in a 2020 law reauthorizing the agency, pushed for action on 33 new mandates focused on the safety of the country's 3.3mn miles of pipelines. But PHMSA has routinely missed congressional deadlines on safety rules in the face of technical issues, industry pushback and limited staffing, with some rules being finished more than a decade behind schedule.

PHMSA recently finished some of its long-delayed rules, including standards for the first time will offer oversight to natural gas gathering lines. PHMSA's $300mn budget, staffing fewer than 600 full-time employees and difficulties hiring have constrained its ability to complete work, Brown said.

"We've managed to finalize three rules that were 12 years in the making, updating definitions that were 50 years old," Brown said.

PHMSA has recently used some of its authorities to seek to prevent the release of climate-warming greenhouse gases, such as methane. Brown said those initiatives align with the agency's core mission because many of the mechanisms to avoid leaks and emissions also improve safety.

"We're not pulling resources away, they're inextricably linked," Brown said.

By Chris Knight