Federal Pipeline Safety Regulator Revises Draft Integrity Verification Process and Extends Public Comment Period
As announced in today’s Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has released a new draft of its proposed Integrity Verification Process (IVP) for gas transmission lines and extended the period for submitting public comments on the proposal from September 9, 2013, to October 7, 2013. PHMSA revised its original version of the draft IVP in response to comments received from various stakeholders at an August 7, 2013 public workshop. While still in the early stages of development, the IVP is part of PHMSA’s efforts to comply with a mandate in the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, the most recent reauthorization of the federal pipeline safety laws, and to address the recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board following its investigation of a September 2010 natural gas transmission line failure in San Bruno, California.