Regulatory Submissions

On August 6, APGA along with several other industry trade associations filed joint comments in response to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) proposed Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) concerning 911 Notifications Following Possible Pipeline Ruptures.

The FAQs are “intended to clarify existing regulatory requirements that operators of natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines and hazardous liquid pipelines alert emergency responders when a pipeline emergency occurs. The draft FAQs explain that compliance with these existing requirements is best achieved when operators promptly identify a possible rupture and alert emergency responders in the impacted community or jurisdiction through 911 services, or direct contact with emergency responders in areas where 911 services are not available.”

Industry’s comments highlighted two issues in the proposed FAQs:

1. The term “rupture” is only currently defined for transmission pipelines as part of the Automatic Shut-off Valve/Remote Control Valve proposed rulemaking. The industry suggests that notifications for distribution pipelines should be addressed separately and provides recommendations on how to account for those differences.

2. The industry also suggests a revision to the FAQs to account for personnel outside of a control room who may be responsible for making notifications to 911 call centers.

The Operations & Safety Committee will be notified when these FAQs are finalized and posted to PHMSA’s website.