On May 5 and 6, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) hosted a virtual workshop on leak detection and repair programs. PHMSA received two mandates in the PIPES Act of 2020 related to pipeline leak detection and repair. Section 113 mandates PHMSA to promulgate a regulation pertaining to gas pipeline leak detection and repair by December 27, 2021. Section 114 requires pipeline operators to revise their inspection and maintenance plans to contribute to eliminating hazardous leaks and minimizing releases of natural gas. It also requires PHMSA and its state partners to inspect those plans. Finally, Section 114 mandates PHMSA to conduct a study and provide a report to Congress discussing best available technologies or practices for preventing or minimizing the release of natural gas.
The workshop was opened by PHMSA Acting Administrator Tristian Brown. Brown’s comments set the stage for the balance of the workshop. He reminded participants that “the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s mission is to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives.” He went on to echo the administrations focus on fighting climate change and promoting environmental justice, “as we know natural gas is composed primarily of methane. Therefore gas pipeline leaks and other releases of natural gas emit methane into the atmosphere and change our climate. With an impact that pound for pound is multitudes more significant that carbon dioxide population. In fact the on-shore oil and gas industry is the largest domestic source of methane emission.” Brown also emphasized PHMSA’s commitment “to making regulatory choices based on data and to ensuring transparency and engagement with all stakeholders.” However, one of his final comments was “the concept of ‘an acceptable level of release into the environment’ is a long outdated concept for gas or hazardous liquids. We must change how we think about small releases, because they too add up and can and do have a big impact on the environment.”
Other presenters included state pipeline safety regulators, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Defense Fund, and several leak detection technology researchers and providers.
Also on the first day was an industry panel with representatives from the four major gas trade associations: APGA, the American Gas Association, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, and the Gas Processors Association. Brooke Sinclair, APGA Board member from Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), represented APGA and publicly owned natural gas utilities on the panel. Brooke’s presentation highlighted the effectiveness of current leak detection technologies to identify, pinpoint and categorize leaks. She also discussed the evolution of KUB’s leak repair strategy as KUB removed cast iron from their system. You can watch a recording of her presentation on the event webpage.
APGA is filing joint industry comments on the workshop. The comments will aim to clarify questions that arose during the conversation and provide additional context to some of the discussion points. Those comments are currently under review by the APGA Operations & Safety Committee and are due to PHMSA by May 24, 2021.
PHMSA will continue their information gathering process and has mentioned a potential second workshop in the fall. There is still no established anticipated publication date for the proposed rule, but some project that it will be in 2022. Once the proposed rule is shared, APGA and other industry trade associations will collaborate to advocate for reasonable and flexible regulatory requirements.
Presentation recordings, slides and transcripts can be found
here.
For questions on this article, please contact Erin Kurilla of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at
ekurilla@apga.org.