Integrity-Management Records

PHMSA’s September 29^th consent order assessed a $29,700 civil penalty involving missing records supporting high consequence area “could affect” determinations and integrity-assessment intervals. The operators maintained that the analyses had been performed, but could not locate the supporting records.

Verify that your integrity-management decisions have retrievable supporting analyses, particularly after acquisitions, personnel changes, and software migrations. Review the consent order 

Portable Gas Supply Systems Under Review

PHMSA posted interpretation request PI-26-0007 on September 29. It asks the agency to clarify regulator standards, compliance responsibilities, and overpressure protection for temporary compressed natural gas systems. Comments are due October 29.

For systems used during outages or repairs, review pressure-control arrangements, operator qualification, emergency shutdown authority, and management-of-change documentation. Review the interpretation request 

State Pipeline Safety Funding

PHMSA’s September 30 grant announcement included $97.3 million for pipeline safety within a $128.2 million safety package. Funding supports state inspection and enforcement capability. Keep your procedures, qualification records, and corrective-action documentation ready for review. Read the grant announcement 

Texas Winter Readiness

The Railroad Commission of Texas issued its Winter Weather Outlook on October 2, highlighting the potential for cooler, wetter conditions. Use the notice to check exposed equipment, backup power, and access to critical facilities.

Include controller relief coverage, fatigue controls, and transportation or lodging contingencies in your winter-readiness review. Review the winter-weather notice 

Construction Equipment Near Exposed Pipe

Before work begins near exposed pipe, check parking locations, wheel chocks, equipment securement, and excavation setbacks. Review these controls with crews and subcontractors, and make field verification part of contractor oversight.

A Wisconsin incident in which a parked subcontractor truck rolled into an excavation and struck an operating pipeline reinforces why these checks matter. Include parked vehicles and idle equipment in your review of hazards around exposed pipe. Read the incident update 

LPAC Comments Due October 7

October 7 is the deadline for written statements intended for consideration at the October 21 Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee meeting. The agenda covers proposed changes to breakout tank inspections, remote rectifier monitoring, and hazardous-liquid valve maintenance schedules. Submit technical or operational concerns to the relevant rulemaking docket. Review the meeting notice 

A fence marks a property boundary. It does not, by itself, mark the end of federal pipeline safety jurisdiction.

PHMSA’s April 23, 2026 interpretation, PI-25-0001, illustrates why operators should look beyond the fence and the first valve when evaluating gas piping at an industrial facility.

Why It Matters

The interpretation involved a customer-owned lateral serving an industrial facility that consumed gas and sold a portion to another facility on the same property. PHMSA determined that the piping connecting the facilities’ meters continued transporting gas and was subject to Part 192 as a distribution line.

PHMSA distinguished that…