On August 24, APGA’s Vice President of Operations, John Erickson, provided an update on recently proposed pipeline safety regulations and SHRIMP at the Western Regional Gas Conference in Tempe, Ariz. The annual conference attracted over 250 attendees. John reviewed the provisions of the construction inspection final rule, which has been stayed as a result of a petition filed by APGA. That rule would prohibit utilities from allowing employees who construct a new main from performing the final inspection of that main to ensure it meets construction standards. A working group was convened by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to advise on how to fix the rule; however, that group has not met since October 2015, so the rule remains stayed for the time being.
John also described the provisions of proposed rules for excess flow valves (EFV), plastic pipe, operator qualification (OQ), and transmission integrity management. When finalized later this year, the EFV rule will require utilities to install EFVs on new and replaced service lines to multifamily residential and small commercial services if the meter capacity for the customer is 1,000 cubic feet per hour or less. The plastic pipe rule includes 25 separate changes to pipeline safety regulations affecting the design, installation and maintenance of plastic pipe. Noteworthy is the requirement for utilities to keep specific records for all pipe and components installed after the rule takes effect, expected to be sometime in 2017. The OQ rule makes many changes that will require operators to update their covered task lists and written OQ plans.
John warned the conference attendees that the proposed changes to transmission regulations will be very expensive. While only 62 municipal systems have lines classified as transmission, virtually all receive gas from transmission lines, so APGA’s comments on the proposal urged PHMSA to carefully consider the costs and benefits of each provision. APGA also pointed out that several sections of the rules that PHMSA proposed to change applied to distribution lines as well as transmission.
John also reminded users of resources available on the SHRIMP website to help users during compliance audits. The SIF has prepared a document that explains where and how each of the 51 items on the DIMP inspection form are addressed in a SHRIMP-created written DIMP plan. This document can be downloaded at www.apgasif.org by clicking on the SHRIMP/DIMP menu. He also mentioned that PHMSA has developed a new form for auditing implementation of DIMP plans. This form is also available on the SIF website.
For questions on this article, please contact John Erickson of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at
jerickson@apga.org.