American Gas - May 2012 - (Page 30)

The Letter of the . . . Here, a brief analysis and summary of the major provisions of The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011. The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 was signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 3, 2012. Effective immediately, the measure raised the penalty cap for a safety violation from $100,000 to $200,000. The maximum for any related series of violations was raised from $1 million to $2 million. Numerous other provisions of the act call for regulations, studies and reports, mostly by the Department of Transportation (DOT). That means that the exact rules under which the pipeline industry must operate have yet to be determined. Here is a summary of the act’s major provisions: Damage prevention. State one-call notifica- tion programs cannot exempt municipalities or state agencies or their contractors. The secretary of transportation must conduct a study of the impact of excavation damage on pipeline safety and report the results to Congress within two years of enactment. The study must include an analysis of the frequency and severity of different types of excavation-damage incidents; an analysis of exemptions to the one-call notification system requirements in each state; a comparison of exemptions to the one-call notification systems requirements in each state to the types of excavation-damage incidents in that state; and an analysis of the potential safety benefits and adverse consequences of eliminating all exemptions for mechanized excavation from state one-call systems. Automatic and remote-controlled shut-off valves. If deemed appropriate, DOT may require the use of automatic or remotely controlled shut-off valves where economically, technically and operationally feasible on transmission pipelines constructed or entirely replaced after the regulations are promulgated. The comptroller general must conduct a study of the ability of pipeline operators to respond to a hazardous-liquid or gas release By S. Lawrence Paulson 30 AMERICAN GAS MAY 2012 from a pipeline segment located in a high-consequence area, taking into consideration the swiftness of leak detection and pipeline shutdown capabilities, the location of the nearest response personnel, and the costs, risk and benefits of installing automatic and remote-controlled shut-off valves. Integrity management. Within 18 months, the secretary of transportation must determine whether integrity management system requirements should be expanded beyond high-consequence areas and whether such an expansion would mitigate the need for class location requirements. Factors that must be considered in making this determination include the continuing need to enhance public safety; the continuing importance of reducing risk in high-consequence areas; the incremental costs of applying integrity management standards to pipelines outside high-consequence areas where operators are already conducting assessments beyond what is required by current law; the need to undertake integrity management assessments and repairs in a manner that is achievable and sustainable and does not disrupt pipeline service; the options for phasing in the extension of integrity management beyond high-consequence areas; and the appropriateness of applying repair criteria, such as pressure reductions and special requirements for scheduling remediation, to non-high-consequence areas.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - May 2012

American Gas - May 2012
Contents
President’s Message
In the News
Advertisers’ Index
Ask AGA
It’s Unanimous: Pipeline Safety Is Key
The Letter of the Law …
Places to Be
Jobline
Marketplace
Facts on Gas

American Gas - May 2012