Blogs

This Monday, APGA staff and members attended a forum hosted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on upcoming inspections related to Security Directive (SD) 2C. These inspections have already begun in some regions and are only being conducted on covered owner/operators, who would have been notified mid-July of 2022. This forum provided pipeline industry members with the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about the SD 2C, as well as share about the corresponding inspections, which TSA should ensure are consistent.

In addition, attendees heard from a number of TSA officials who spoke about the important role cybersecurity plays in the pipeline industry. Sonya Proctor, TSA Assistant Administrator, began the conversation with an impassioned description of the menacing forces that, “wake up every day and go to work to threaten the safety and integrity of the pipeline industry.” More real today than ever before is the threat posed by foreign actors to our critical infrastructure. While most are not directly impacted by this SD 2C, APGA’s members should continue their hard work preparing for whatever cybersecurity threats these actors pose. APGA members’ customers enjoy incredibly dependable service; across the entire industry, as only one in 800 natural gas customers experience an unplanned outage in a given year. It is vitally important to continue to take the necessary steps to maintain this high level of reliability.

Attendees that have already participated in their inspections provided TSA officials with important feedback specifically regarding the scope of the inspections and the flexibility of the reporting requirements. While the SD 2C is effective today, APGA continues to support regulators’ efforts to progress other policies while ensuring they provide APGA members with flexible and scalable objectives. We recognize the possible need to enhance current regulatory capabilities, so we will continue to advocate for practical cybersecurity policies. To find out more about APGA’s cybersecurity efforts click here. 

If you are interested in getting involved with APGA’s Security Task Group, read more here. 

For questions on this article please contact Josh St. Pierre of APGA staff by phone at 202-470-4262 or by email at jstpierre@apga.org.