PHMSA Update: Rule Adds Protocols for Pipelines Near Sensitive Waterways

摘要

The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to the Federal Register in December that designated the Great Lakes, coastal beaches and marine coastal waters as "Unusually Sensitive Areas." The move extended more stringent pipeline Integrity Management Program requirements to hazardous liquid pipelines near such areas. PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown said of the change in designation, "The Great Lakes and our coastal waters are natural treasures that deserve our most stringent protections. This rule strengthens and expands pipeline safety efforts in these sensitive areas."