Pipeline Safety Alert
On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the “Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016” (PIPES Act, S.2276). The PIPES Act reauthorizes the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) federal pipeline safety program through fiscal year 2019, provides PHMSA with significant new authority, and requires the agency to prioritize the completion of outstanding mandates from the previous reauthorization in 2011. Of note, the PIPES Act requires PHMSA to develop underground gas storage standards, provides PHMSA with significant new authority to issue industry-wide emergency orders, and requires PHMSA to update its regulations for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities. Babst Calland’s Pipeline and HazMat Safety team provides the following observations on these key provisions.
