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The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has determined that the minimum random drug testing rate for covered employees will be reduced to 25 percent during calendar year 2023.

Pipeline operators must randomly select and test a percentage of all covered employees for prohibited drug use in accordance with 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 199. The PHMSA Administrator can adjust this random drug testing rate based on the reported positive rate in the industry’s random drug tests, which is submitted in operators’ annual MIS reports as required by §199.119(a). In accordance with §199.105(c)(3), if the reported positive drug test rate is below 1.0 percent for two consecutive calendar years, the Administrator can lower the random drug testing rate to 25 percent of all covered employees.

In the notice, PHMSA also reminds operators “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 2022 reporting, the username and password for the Drug and Alcohol Management Information System (DAMIS) will be available in the PHMSA Portal.”

Read more 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.