PHMSA Issues Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Seeking Stakeholder Comments Related to Repair Criteria for Hazardous Liquid and Gas Transmission Pipelines

On May 21, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) submitted an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to the Office of the Federal Register (publisher of the Federal Register) seeking public comment on updates to repair criteria for hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipelines across the United States. PHMSA is seeking stakeholder feedback to identify opportunities to improve the cost-effectiveness of its repair requirements for gas transmission (49 CFR Part 192) and hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide (49 CFR Part 195) pipelines. By submitting this ANPRM, PHMSA is recognizing the need to update its pipeline safety regulations as they relate to pipeline repair criteria, as many of these regulations have not been updated in 20 years and have not kept up with modern repair technologies. Additionally, PHMSA is seeking stakeholder feedback on authorizing risk-based inspection procedures for determining the inspection interval for in-service breakout tanks under Part 195.

Currently, PHMSA’s remediation standards for gas transmission lines under Part 192, and for hazardous liquid and carbon dioxide pipelines under Part 195, address the remediation of anomalies through prescriptive regulations and through the Integrity Management requirements for those segments of pipeline that pose risk to “high consequence areas” (HCAs). While these two approaches to remediation are credited for the downward trend in pipeline incidents, the regulations have not been updated in several years, a delay that may lead to barriers to innovation, technological development, and other safety-enhancing industry practices.

PHMSA did address Part 192 anomaly remediation following the San Bruno incident in its August 24, 2022, final rule, which focused specifically on certain high-risk anomalies in HCAs by updating repair criteria and remediation timelines in Subpart O and touched on some remediation changes under Subpart M for those areas beyond the HCAs. However, some of those amendments have been remanded for further consideration following litigation. As a result, PHMSA is seeking to conduct a more holistic review of its repair criteria.

In addition to the proposed changes to hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipelines, PHMSA is seeking comment on 49 CFR § 195.432, which prescribes the default annual inspection requirements for in-service breakout tanks associated with hazardous liquid pipelines. This revisits a previous proposed rule published by PHMSA, updating the reference to American Petroleum Institute (API) Standard 653, Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction, Third Edition, including Addendum 3 and Errata, 2008, except for Section 6/4/3 on Risk Based Inspections (RBI). The API then argued that use of RBI technology strengthened the standard by ensuring that those using risk-based inspection intervals meet the most stringent requirements by utilizing the best available and safest technologies.

Finally, a review of PHMSA’s repair criteria and associated timelines is consistent with the recent directive from President Donald Trump in his Executive Order (EO) 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” as well as EO 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” and EO 14156, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” which, combined, seek to alleviate regulatory burdens and promote the expansion of energy infrastructure.

The ANPRM includes a number of topics for consideration that cover general anomaly repair criteria and timelines, topics covering repair criteria and remediation timelines specific to carbon dioxide and hazardous liquid pipelines, topics covering the same for regulated gas transmission pipelines, and topics related to in-service Part 195 regulated hazardous liquid breakout tanks.

The ANPRM is available in the Federal Register, and a version has been posted on the PHMSA website under Docket No. PHMSA-2025-0019. Stakeholders will have until July 21 to file their comments.

Steptoe & Johnson’s Energy attorneys can help you navigate the complex world of PHMSA regulations and are available to provide you and your team with counsel on topics such as pipeline safety, emergency response, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and energy infrastructure. Please contact the authors of this alert as you prepare your comments for this ANPRM or with regard to any other energy infrastructure matters.