The Department of Transportation/Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is requesting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the revision of Form PHMSA F7100.1-1, Annual Report for Gas Distribution System. Proposed revisions include:

• Specify Commodity: Natural Gas, Synthetic Gas, Hydrogen Gas, Propane Gas, Landfill Gas and Other Gas. Operators will select a commodity group based on the predominant gas carried and complete the report for that commodity group.
• Specify Operator Type (new): Municipal, Privately Owned and Other (e.g., cooperatives, public utility districts).
• Additional Material Type: Adding “Reconditioned Cast Iron” as a pipe material and defining it as a cast iron gas distribution pipe that has been lined internally by use of suitable materials that ensure safe operation at a MAOP not to exceed the previously established MAOP. “Reconditioned Cast Iron” does not include cast iron pipe inserted with a gas pipe that is, by itself, suitable for gas service under Part 192.
• PHMSA has also proposed to revise leak cause categories and add excavation damage cause categories.

Submit comments on or before April 15, 2013 via the E-Gov Website. Identify the docket number, PHMSA–2013–0004, at the beginning of your comments.

For a copy of this Federal Register notice regarding revisions to the Gas Distribution Annual Report, contact Jessica Roger

PHMSA issued a notice and request for comments on proposed changes to its Form PHMSA F7000–1.1, Annual Report for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Systems. Proposed revisions include:

• Obtain additional information on a state-by-state basis for information in Part D “Miles of Steel Pipe” by corrosion protection, and Part E “Miles of Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) Pipe” by State.
• Improve information collection on mileage of older pipe (Part I).
• Require reporting of actionable anomalies removed due to pipe replacement or abandonment (Part F).
• And, removal of sections A3, A6 and A8 which have limited value.

Submit comments on or before April 8, 2013 via the E-Gov Website. Identify the docket number, PHMSA–2013–0003, at the beginning of your comments.

For a copy of this Federal Register notice regarding revisions to the Hazardous Liquid Annual Report, contact Jessica Roger

In December 2012, PHMSA revised forms PHMSA F 7100.2-Incident Report-Natural and Other Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipeline Systems and PHMSA F 7000-1-Accident Report-Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Systems. These revised forms are now available for electronic submittal in the PHMSA Portal. Visit the PHMSA website to see the revised forms and instructions. These forms should be used for all incidents/accidents that have occurred on or after January 1, 2010.

For a copy of this PHMSA Notice from the Federal Register, contact Jessica Roger

On February 26, 2013 the New York Public Service Commission adopted amendments to 16 NYCRR Part 255 adding Gas Distribution Pipeline Integrity Management (GDPIM) regulations. The revised Chapter III, Gas Utilities, Subchapter C, Safety, Part 255, Transmission and Distribution of Gas; includes:

• §255.1001 Definitions that apply to sections 255.1003 through 255.1015.
• §255.1003 General requirements of a GDPIM plan.
• §255.1005 Implementation requirements of a GDPIM plan.
• §255.1007 Required elements of a GDPIM plan.
• §255.1009 Required report when compression couplings fail.
• §255.1011 Records an operator must keep.
• §255.1013 Deviations from required periodic inspections.
• §255.1015 Requirements a small liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) operator must satisfy to implement a GDPIM plan.

For a copy of New York State’s GDPIM, contact Donna Williams

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a notice and request for comments regarding their request to the OMB to renew an existing information collection authority for the Pipeline Corporate Security Review (PCSR) Program. The purpose of the PCSR program is to develop first-hand knowledge of a pipeline operator’s corporate security policies and procedures, establish and maintain working relationships with key pipeline security personnel, and identify best practices observed at individual facilities to help enhance and improve the security of the pipeline industry. The data collection will assess the current security practices in the pipeline industry which includes site visits and interviews, and is part of the larger domain for awareness, prevention and protection program supporting the TSA’s and Department of Homeland Security’s missions.

Comments are due by April 29, 2013 and can be TSAPRA@dhs.gov For a copy of this TSA notice and request for comments, contact Jessica Roger

In response to Safety Recommendation R-12-04 issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued an Advisory Notice to inform railroads of the circumstances surrounding the June 19, 2009, derailment of eastbound Canadian National Railway Freight Train U70691-18 in Cherry Valley, IL. The Advisory Notice also reminds railroads of the need to immediately notify pipeline operators of rail accidents occurring in railroad rights-of-way where pipelines are present and the need to ensure that pipeline inspections are accomplished prior to resumption of service.

For a copy of this FRA Advisory Notice, contact Jessica Roger

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will sponsor a public forum on state one-call exemptions to discuss the requirements of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 relating to exemptions in state one-call programs and actions taken to date. In addition, damage prevention stakeholders will discuss existing data relating to this topic and present perspectives during panel discussions. The forum is open to all and there is no cost to attend.

• Date: Thursday, March 14, 2013 (9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST)
• Location: Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida, 33401.
• Registration: To help assure that adequate space is provided, all attendees are encouraged to register for the workshop. Name badge pickup and onsite registration will be available starting at 8:30 a.m. A preliminary agenda and additional information can be found on this PHMSA meeting webpage.

Please note that the public forum will be webcast live and presentations will be available on the forum Website within 30 days following the public forum.

PHMSA is holding the forum at this location because it is the same location where the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) 811 Excavation Safety Conference & Expo will be held March 11–14 and many of the likely attendees for the PHMSA Forum will participate in the CGA Excavation Safety Conference. Attendees can make hotel arrangements for the PHMSA Forum under the CGA room block at a rate of $199.00 per night. Further details can be found on the CGA website. Written comments, either before or after the workshop, should reference Docket No. PHMSA–2013–0029 and may be submitted via the E-Gov Website. For further information, contact: Annmarie Robertson, Office of Pipeline Safety, at 317–253–1622 or email at annmarie.robertson@dot.gov

Have you registered and confirmed your reservations for these upcoming conferences? RCP will have representatives and Exhibits at NACE, API and AGA. We hope to see you there!

API Pipeline Conference April 16 & 17

April 16 – 17 (San Diego, CA)

AGA Ops Conference & Biennial Exhibition

May 21 – 23 (Orlando, FL)

The Pipeline Research Council International held its 7th annual Research Exchange meeting on February 5 – 7, 2013 in Grapevine, Texas (near Dallas) with nearly 300 attendees from around the world, including PRCI member company representatives, key researchers and stakeholders in the pipeline industry.

Results from the past year from over 50 PRCI research projects that focused on improving pipeline safety and integrity were reviewed. Sessions highlighting research challenges and results in several areas of interest to hazardous liquids and natural gas pipelines included: damage prevention, emergency response, stress corrosion cracking, leak detection, mechanical damage assessment, materials and welding, NDE methods and ILI technologies. Important results from the first phase of work on using ILI for discrepancy analysis on pipelines for verifying MOP and MAOP should become available within the next month.

Additional information can be found on the PRCI website.

March 17 – 21 Orlando County Convention Center

RCP Integrity Services is proud to exhibit in Booth #930 at Corrosion 2013. If you plan on attending and have not registered yet, online registration ends March 14! More than 5,000 corrosion professionals will convene from around the world to participate in the technical symposia, committee meetings, seminars and lectures, training opportunities, and networking venues to obtain invaluable information for their careers and share knowledge with their peers. The preliminary agenda, registration and hotel information can be found on the NACE website. Stop by booth #930 to discuss our services and register to win an iPad. We look forward to seeing you at Corrosion 2013 in Orlando.