Page 28 - Texas811 Magazine 2018 Issue 1

Dy/nhn/scnbl
Gas Pipeline Safety
have wntmn sevelal eululnns OVC! always lalluws Lhc reeblnnlendanuns lnlernallbllal and [’ubll(Affalr~ nus
llle years regarellng the ofIcn- of the cmc. Transerlpls of llle Individual ls lespbnslble for assuring
painful pnxess of rcgulatlng GPAC nleenngs used to be avallable lllal lbe current admInislrzmon'.s
p|pL‘lmL‘~ l aln relnlndeel of tlm on llle PHMSA web slle (the PHMSA regulalury lerurnl pollcics ale belng

analogy of makmg sausage and passlng well ~llc ls currently belng upgradcd lnlplelnenled. Al llle seeand cmc
leglslallbn —bOtll ean be extremely and full mnnlbnallly llas yet [0 be lneellng, llls presence was aulle
unpleasanl la watch. lll-led to find reslured) but are sllll avallallle ln lhc apparent. By llle llllrd cmc lneellng,
the Originator of Lhc analogy and, dockcl al ulflY‘IL'.ICXMI/1!/Ul(5.XUU. l have llle pbslllun was vacant. clearly,
dependlng un wlllell suuree you eall nut chctkud llle lalal, bul lyplcally PHMSA ls conmmed wllll llle eusl
belleve, llulll Om: vun BIsmr1rck(1315 eaell cmc gas Mega Rule nleenng of Lhc proposed ellanges but, in my

— 1898) and Mark Twaln (1335 — 1910; generales sunlellnllg elbse [O BUD pages Dp|nlOn, |t would be ln [’HMSA’s besl
offered eulnlnenls. As a slreplle,l of lranserlpl lnlelesl (as well as llle publles besl
would slnlply add lllal, ln llle end, H I (I I I7 lnleresl) Io lry to get that pbslllun filled
sausage ls usually much more palalable “V” "“‘ “ "‘> P°“‘ * as qulckly as pusslble. ln PHMSA’s
Lhan new leglslallbn ur new regulatlon. derense, |I ls a pblllleal puslnun and
Baek ln 2011, PHMSA (llle Federal ‘ ‘ ‘I __ I , I l; I N , : :H::l::
pipeline safety regulalury ageney) I I L’ " l‘ is ‘ ll 9 3‘ 5 g ’ ‘ ‘
slaned llle prbeess ui lnlplelnellllng _ Nuw fax a 3n,lmu-rubl repurl on
major revlslans [O Lhe legulalluns , . a I I . llle aenlal prugress; Nothmg ln
gavel-nlng nalural gas plpellnes. nus l “by ’L I “W llle Gas Mega Rule ls all Ihalezlrth
was llased on ebngresslunal dlleellles , ‘ sbanerlng ln lcrm~ of mqulnng
(leglslanon), reeornnlendanons [mm ef ; r I. -. a e » Q I I lraeeable, venfiabln and eulnplele

llle Nallonal Tlanspurlallbn Safety Q J. L ~>. § — ‘l« ‘e é a reeurds necessary to eslallllsll sare
Buard (tlmy lnvesngale plpellne as well a K I e * opexatlng pressures sol gas plpellnes
as alrllne lncldznts), demands from s 2,: r a a, The elevll ls, as they say, ln tlm
plpcline safely aellvlsls, demands fmm ' i‘ - ~ l ‘~ detr1|l~. wllen lllls proeess slalled ln
environmental aellvlsls (wbb dun’l llkn v I »« — 2011, Lhc pulllleal environment was
plpellnes — PERIOD), adverse pubhclty I‘ I’ : ll ,5 ‘ [I re; eunslderably diffcmm PHMSA louknd
relaled to several slgnllleanl lnelelenls, ' * * ‘ A ' " at all tlm Input and elullrully lrled

the results of plpellne lnspeellbns, Input la accommudale all llle Input from
crbln slale plpellne safety ageneles, ‘ _ government and llle publlc 7 la llle
and Pl~lMsA's own pereeplluns of :I“‘I‘“:;;"AdC“"" "‘ ‘h‘ ”“:I‘°IC“’IM“g“V lune of aver lau pages ln llle Federal
wllal needed to be done Tlle nauee of I “ E II II 'I"I‘If“"g‘ “I:‘ _ “:"III‘“Pl’> Reglsler. In 2017, «he polllleal ellnlale
proposed rulenlalung was pullllslled ° “P” “‘ ‘ "‘‘"‘ °” ° “ ellanged. The mtngnty of plpellnes

GPAC were all well pmpamd and well

Aprll 8, 2016 and gelleraled OVQ! we I Ii II I I I IIIMSAII d was, and ls, llle pnmary bbleellve.
comments (over 4,000 pages‘). As ‘ ‘CI If’ P“ 'f‘PI:‘I‘f/ d “ Huwevnr, Economic iaclun. were

of January 2018, «he prueess ls ~tlIl °“‘ ‘ ’ °"‘“‘“ °’ ‘“ ‘“’P"“ ‘"5 finally reeugnlzed as a eunslderallun

lo the comments mtmved dullng Lhe _
gulng on. Ta dale, thcrr: have been wllere ean lllnlled resuurees be besl
III” mmm _ III‘ _C _I, I pubhc eblnnlenl perlarl, and PHMSA I II I “I K I I ,,
gs u e as lpe lne I d M II“ m m ,0 mm mm lnves e 0 e lanee plpe lne sa en
Advisory cunlrnlllee (CPACD Tlle ”‘”"“ 'd I ’ 3‘ f’_ ' PHMSA llad lleen prunlullng l-lsk-
CPACl\as15 members —5 each from °|’;“ ‘SI’ ‘_’5““ W‘ ‘“*’““ '° llased regulauuns (a goud Llungl) but
gavel-nnlenl, the gas p|pL‘llnQ lndustry, "' “" ““ "°""’ PHMSA’- euneepl of wllal ll eusls lo
and llle pubIlc— and PHMSA alnlusl one lssue of pnrwlxal ebneern lelales to uperale a plpellne ls, ln nly erperlenee,
llle PHMSA Dlmclor of cuvernnlenlal,
2s . lerasall 2013, Issue l