From: Lexology
Sara E Peters | King & Spalding LLP
Authorization of the federal pipeline safety programs will expire on September 30th of this year. With this looming deadline, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is scrambling to finish the 42 mandated rulemakings and studies required by the 2011 Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act (Pipeline Act).
To-date, PHMSA has completed only 26 of the mandates, leaving some of the most controversial issues unfinished, including rules on the use of automatic and remote-controlled shutoff valves; expansion of the integrity management program (IMP) requirements; maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) verification; and additional regulation of hazardous liquids lines.