Government

摘要

The Department of Interior wants to impose tough new regulations on offshore "right-of-way" (ROW) pipelines now regulated by the Department of Transportation. The 14,000 miles of ROW pipelines account for about 42% of the total 33,000 miles of pipe in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, Pacific and in Alaska, all four areas making up the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The remaining 19,000 miles, mostly owned by producers, are regulated by the MMS. In an interview, Alex Alvarado, chief, pipeline section for field operations in Gulf of Mexico region, explains that the MMS pipeline safety regulations have not been updated in 20 years. That is the genesis of the proposed rule the MMS issued in October 2007, which has stirred considerable controversy in the pipeline industry. Numerous interstate companies that own OCS pipelines have written to the MMS bitterly complaining about numerous aspects of its proposal, especially its seeming intention to transfer authority for ROW pipelines to MMS.