Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

PHMSA is revising the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations to improve the safety of onshore gas transmission pipelines. This final rule addresses several lessons learned following the Pacific Gas and Electric Company incident that occurred in San Bruno, CA, on September 9, 2010, and responds to public input received as part of the rulemaking process. The amendments in this final rule clarify certain integrity management provisions, codify a management of change process, update and bolster gas transmission pipeline corrosion control requirements, require operators to inspect pipelines following extreme weather events, strengthen integrity management assessment requirements, adjust the repair criteria for high-consequence areas, create new repair criteria for non-high consequence areas, and revise or create specific definitions related to the above amendments.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC (CGT). The special permit request is seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements of the Federal pipeline safety regulations. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny the special permit request.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is correcting a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 26, 2022. The final rule was published to maintain alignment with international regulations and standards by adopting various amendments, including changes to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations, and vessel stowage requirements.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

PHMSA is issuing this notice to serve process and inform all persons who currently hold explosive approvals for certain jet perforating guns of the process necessary for maintaining, modifying, upgrading/up-classing, or terminating these approvals.

PHMSA is announcing an initiative to convert historical letters of interpretation (LOI) applicable to the Hazardous Materials Regulations that have been issued to specific stakeholders into broadly applicable frequently asked questions on its website. By creating a repository of frequently asked questions, PHMSA seeks to eliminate the need for recurring requests for common letters of interpretations. This Federal Register Notice introduces this initiative and its objectives to those subject to the Hazardous Materials Regulations. PHMSA's objective is to gain insight regarding the utility of this initiative and topics to prioritize in the development of future frequently asked questions. PHMSA requests comment on the initiative and input on the prioritization of future sets of frequently asked questions.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the information collection request abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the information collection was published on December 15, 2021.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

This notice outlines how PHMSA will review and process Pipeline Safety Enhancement Program (PSEP) requests from pipeline owners and operators (PSEP applicants or applicants) to implement safety-enhancing testing programs for innovative technologies and operational practices on natural gas and hazardous liquid (HL) pipeline facilities. PHMSA will review each PSEP application and provide regulatory oversight of each approved PSEP, in accordance with the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (PIPES Act of 2020), to ensure the safety measures in each achieve a level of safety greater than the level of safety provided by the federal pipeline safety regulations (PSR).

This notice announces a public informational webinar on the scope of Section 114 of the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (PIPES Act of 2020). The webinar will also cover PHMSA and state inspection plans to ensure compliance of operators' inspection and maintenance procedures to eliminate hazardous leaks, minimizes releases of methane (the predominant component of natural gas), and the replacement or remediation of facilities known to leak.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

PHMSA has determined that the minimum random drug testing rate for covered employees will remain at 50 percent during calendar year 2022. Operators are reminded that drug and alcohol (D&A) testing information must be submitted for contractors who are performing or are ready to perform covered functions. For calendar year 2021 reporting, the username and password for the Drug and Alcohol Management Information System (DAMIS) will be available in the PHMSA Portal.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA invites comments from affected agencies and members of the public on the information collection detailed below. PHMSA is preparing to request Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the renewal of the information collection covering the Gas Pipeline Safety Program Performance Progress Report and Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Program Performance Progress Report currently approved under OMB control number 2137-0584.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1 Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for special permit received from the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, LLC (NGPL). The special permit request is seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the Federal pipeline safety regulations. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny the special permit request.

This notice announces a virtual public meeting and forum titled: ``Pipeline Transportation and Emerging Fuels R&D Public Meeting and Forum.'' The public meeting and forum will serve as an opportunity for pipeline stakeholders to discuss research gaps and challenges in pipeline safety and emerging fuels, including hydrogen transportation. Furthermore, it will also serve as a venue for PHMSA, public interest groups, industry, academia, intergovernmental partners, and the public to collaborate on PHMSA's future R&D agenda.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) will hold a public Research, Development & Technology Forum October 12-15, 2021, virtually on Microsoft Teams (MS Teams) to present the results of recently completed projects, brief new project plans, and obtain stakeholder input on the direction of current and future research projects on topics including mitigation of climate change, risk management and mitigation, packaging integrity, emerging technology, and technical analysis to aid risk assessment.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.

This notice announces a meeting of the Lithium Battery Air Safety Advisory Committee.