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On September 20, Erin Kurilla, APGA’s Vice President of Operations and Safety, presented to the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) during their annual national meeting in Minneapolis, MN. NAPSR is the national association representing State pipeline safety personnel in the United States. Through their partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), NAPSR members “have oversight responsibilities for the safe and reliable transportation of natural gas and hazardous liquids through pipelines.”

The presentation shared the natural gas distribution industry’s perspectives on the numerous pipeline safety regulatory initiatives underway by PHMSA. Erin shared some of the industry positions on PHMSA’s Leak Detection and Repair proposed rule that were expressed in their written comments, early concerns the industry has identified in PHMSA’s Safety of Gas Distribution Pipelines proposed rule, and APGA’s position on the feasibility of full-scale Pipeline Safety Management Systems adoption by small operators. She also provided a quick overview of PHMSA’s Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant Program and the projects underway at the APGA Security & Integriaton Foundation (SIF) on the SHRIMP tool for distribution integrity management.

APGA is thankful for the opportunity to share these positions and concerns with the state regulators and looks forward to future opportunities to continue these important conversations on pipeline safety.

To learn more about NAPSR, please visit http://www.napsr.org/home.html.

For questions on this article, please contact Erin Kurilla of APGA staff by phone at 202-905-2904 or by email at ekurilla@apga.org.