Rule2026-08059
Pipeline Safety: Removing Obsolete Provision in Safety-Related Condition Reporting Requirements
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 24, 2026
Effective
August 3, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Abstract
This final rule removes an obsolete provision from the safety- related condition reporting requirements in 49 CFR 191.25.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 79 (Friday, April 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 79 (Friday, April 24, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21981-21984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08059]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 191
[Docket No. PHMSA-2026-1542; Amdt. No. 191-39]
RIN 2137-AG46
Pipeline Safety: Removing Obsolete Provision in Safety-Related
Condition Reporting Requirements
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule removes an obsolete provision from the safety-
related condition reporting requirements in 49 CFR 191.25.
DATES: Effective on August 3, 2026.
[[Page 21982]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Hill, Transportation
Specialist, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-680-
2034, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#56373831333a37783e3f3a3a1632392278313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="51303f36343d307f39383d3d11353e257f363e27">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In this final rule, PHMSA is removing an
obsolete provision from the safety-related condition reporting
requirements in Sec. 191.25. Specifically, Sec. 191.25(c) gives
operators the option to file a safety-related condition report by email
or by facsimile. PHMSA no longer allows operators to file a safety-
related condition report by facsimile. PHMSA is therefore revising
Sec. 191.25(c) to remove all references to filing a safety-related
condition report by facsimile. Safety-related condition reports must be
filed by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#145d7a727b667975607d7b7a4671677b616677716759757a7573716654707b603a737b62"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cc85a2aaa3bea1adb8a5a3a29ea9bfa3b9beafa9bf81ada2adaba9be8ca8a3b8e2aba3ba">[email protected]</span></a>. This correction
will remove unnecessary delays in the process of operators filing a
safety-related condition report.
Regulatory Analyses and Notices:
A. Legal Authority
This final rule is published under the authority of the Secretary
of Transportation set forth in the Federal Pipeline Safety Laws (49
U.S.C. 60101 et seq.) and delegated to the PHMSA Administrator pursuant
to 49 CFR 1.97. PHMSA has good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to issue
this final rule without prior notice and comment. PHMSA no longer
accepts safety-related condition reports by facsimile and is simply
revising the safety-related condition reporting requirements in Sec.
191.25(c) to account for that fact. PHMSA finds that notice and comment
is unnecessary because the facsimile number in Sec. 191.25(c) is
obsolete and serves no useful purpose.
B. Executive Order 12866
E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, as implemented by DOT
Order 2100.6B (``Policies and Procedures for Rulemaking'') and DOT
Order 2100.7 (``Ensuring Reliance upon Sound Economic Analysis in
Department of Transportation Policies, Programs, and Activities''),
requires agencies to regulate in the ``most cost-effective manner,'' to
make a ``reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended
regulation justify its costs,'' and to develop regulations that
``impose the least burden on society.'' In arriving at those
conclusions, E.O. 12866 requires that agencies should consider ``both
quantifiable measures . . . and qualitative measures of costs and
benefits that are difficult to quantify'' and ``maximize net benefits .
. . unless a statute requires another regulatory approach.'' E.O. 12866
also requires that ``agencies should assess all costs and benefits of
available regulatory alternatives, including the alternative of not
regulating.'' DOT Order 2100.6B directs that PHMSA and other Operating
Administrations must generally choose the ``least costly regulatory
alternative that achieves the relevant objectives'' unless required by
law or compelling safety need. DOT Order 2100.6B also specifies that
regulations should generally ``not be issued unless their benefits are
expected to exceed their costs'' except where required by law or
compelling safety need. DOT Order 2100.7 requires that ``all rulemaking
activities shall be based on sound economic principles and analysis
supported by rigorous cost-benefit requirement.''
E.O. 12866 and DOT Order 2100.6B also require that PHMSA submit
``significant regulatory actions'' to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Executive Office of the
President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. This
final rule is a not significant regulatory action pursuant to E.O.
12866; OMB also has not designated this rule as a ``major rule'' as
defined by the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.).
PHMSA has complied with the procedural and analytical requirements
in E.O. 12866 as implemented by DOT Order 2100.6B and DOT Order 2100.7.
This final rule does not impose new burdens, as the changes made
therein are non-substantive and do not impose new requirements in the
Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations. Similarly, the final rule does not
have any adverse effects on safety.
C. Executive Orders 14192 and 14219
This final rule is considered a deregulatory action pursuant to
E.O. 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation. PHMSA estimates
that the total costs of the rule on the regulated community will be de
minimis. This final rule requires operators to file a safety-related
condition exclusively by email. The non-substantive changes of this
rulemaking do not impose any new requirements on pipeline operators and
should improve the clarity and compliance with the Federal Pipeline
Safety Regulations. Nor does this rule implicate any of the factors
identified in section 2(a) of E.O. 14219, Ensuring Lawful Governance
and Implementing the President's ``Department of Government
Efficiency'' Deregulatory Initiative, indicative that a regulation is
``unlawful . . . [or] that undermine[s] the national interest.''
D. Energy-Related Executive Orders 13211, 14154, and 14156
The President has declared in E.O. 14156, Declaring a National
Energy Emergency, a National emergency to address America's inadequate
energy development production, transportation, refining, and generation
capacity. Similarly, E.O. 14154, Unleashing American Energy, asserts a
Federal policy to unleash American energy by ensuing access to abundant
supplies of reliable, affordable energy from (inter alia) the removal
of ``undue burden[s]'' on the identification, development, or use of
domestic energy resources such as PHMSA-jurisdictional gases and
hazardous liquids. PHMSA finds this final rule is consistent with each
of E.O. 14156 and E.O. 14154. The final rule will clarify how to file a
safety-related condition report in accordance with Sec. 191.25 by
removing language pertaining to filing safety-related condition reports
by facsimile. The provisions of this final rule are non-substantive and
will not impose new requirements on pipeline operators; they are
intended to promote the ease of operators complying with the existing
regulations.
This final rule is not a ``significant energy action'' under E.O.
13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use, which requires Federal agencies to
prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for any ``significant energy
action.'' Because this final rule is not a significant action under
E.O. 12866, it will not have a significant adverse effect on supply,
distribution, or energy use.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
PHMSA analyzed this final rule in accordance with the principles
and criteria contained in E.O. 13132, Federalism, and the Presidential
Memorandum (``Preemption'') published in the Federal Register on May
22, 2009. E.O. 13132 requires agencies to assure meaningful and timely
input by State and local officials in the development of regulatory
policies that may have ``substantial direct effects on the States, on
the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels
of government.''
While the final rule may operate to preempt some State
requirements, it would not impose any regulation that has substantial
direct effects on the
[[Page 21983]]
States, the relationship between the National Government and the
States, or the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government. Section 60104(c) of the Federal Pipeline
Safety Laws prohibits certain State safety regulation of interstate
pipelines. Under the Federal Pipeline Safety Laws, States that have
submitted a current certification under section 60105(a) can augment
Federal pipeline safety requirements for intrastate pipelines regulated
by PHMSA but may not approve safety requirements less stringent than
those required by Federal law. A State may also regulate an intrastate
pipeline facility that PHMSA does not regulate. The preemptive effect
of the regulatory amendments in this final rule is limited to the
minimum level necessary to achieve the objectives of the Federal
Pipeline Safety Laws. Therefore, the consultation and funding
requirements of E.O. 13132 do not apply.
F. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires
Federal agencies to conduct a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(FRFA) for a final rule subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking,
unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The RFA
applies only to rules for which an agency is required to first publish
a proposed rule (see 5 U.S.C. 603(a) and 604(a)). PHMSA is not required
to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking for this final rule, so the
RFA does not apply. However, PHMSA expects the regulatory amendments
introduced here will reduce burdens and provide regulatory certainty
for operators by clarifying that PHMSA does not accept facsimiles for
safety-related condition reporting, consistent with its experience
operators prefer to submit such reporting by email. Further, these
changes are not expected to impose additional burdens on any operator.
G. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.)
requires agencies to assess the effects of Federal regulatory actions
on State, local, and Tribal governments, and the private sector. For
any proposed or final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may
result in the expenditure by State, local, and Tribal governments, in
the aggregate of $100 million or more in 1996 dollars ($203 million in
2024) in any given year, the agency must prepare, amongst other things,
a written statement that qualitatively and quantitatively assesses the
costs and benefits of the Federal mandate.
This final rule does not impose unfunded mandates under UMRA
because it does not result in costs of $100 million or more (in 1996
dollars) per year for either State, local, or Tribal governments, or to
the private sector.
H. National Environmental Policy Act
PHMSA has analyzed this rule pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and has determined it is
categorically excluded under 23 CFR 771.117(c)(20), which applies to
the promulgation of rules, regulations, and directives. Under section 9
of DOT Order 5610.1D, PHMSA may apply a categorical exclusion
established in another Operating Administration's procedures. PHMSA
followed the requirements outlined in DOT Order 5610.1D to apply a
categorical exclusion issued by the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) to this deregulatory action. PHMSA does not anticipate any
adverse environmental impacts from this rule, and PHMSA has determined
no unusual circumstances are present under 23 CFR 771.117(b). PHMSA's
Categorical Exclusion Determination memo for this action is available
on PHMSA's website.\1\
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\1\ PHMSA, Implementing Procedures, <a href="https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/planning-and-analytics/environmental-analysis-and-compliance/implementing-procedures">https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/planning-and-analytics/environmental-analysis-and-compliance/implementing-procedures</a>.
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I. Executive Order 13175
PHMSA analyzed this final rule according to the principles and
criteria in E.O. 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian
Tribal Governments, and DOT Order 5301.1A (``Department of
Transportation Tribal Consultation Policies and Procedures''). E.O.
13175 requires agencies to assure meaningful and timely input from
Tribal government representatives in the development of rules that
significantly or uniquely affect Tribal communities by imposing
``substantial direct compliance costs'' or ``substantial direct
effects'' on such communities or the relationship or distribution of
power between the Federal Government and Tribes.
PHMSA assessed the impact of the final rule and determined that it
will not significantly or uniquely affect Tribal communities or Indian
Tribal governments. The rulemaking's regulatory amendments have a
broad, national scope; therefore, this final rule will not
significantly or uniquely affect Tribal communities, much less impose
substantial compliance costs on Native American Tribal governments or
mandate Tribal action. For these reasons, PHMSA has concluded that the
funding and consultation requirements of E.O. 13175 and DOT Order
5301.1A do not apply.
J. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d) requires that PHMSA provide
interested members of the public and affected agencies with an
opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping
requests. This rulemaking will not create, amend, or rescind any
existing information collections.
K. Executive Order 13609 and International Trade Analysis
E.O. 13609, Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation,
requires agencies consider whether the impacts associated with
significant variations between domestic and international regulatory
approaches are unnecessary or may impair the ability of American
business to export and compete internationally. In meeting shared
challenges involving health, safety, labor, security, environmental,
and other issues, international regulatory cooperation can identify
approaches that are at least as protective as those that are or would
be adopted in the absence of such cooperation. International regulatory
cooperation can also reduce, eliminate, or prevent unnecessary
differences in regulatory requirements.
Similarly, the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (Pub. L. 96-39), as
amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Pub. L. 103-465),
prohibits Federal agencies from establishing any standards or engaging
in related activities that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign
commerce of the United States. For purposes of these requirements,
Federal agencies may participate in the establishment of international
standards, so long as the standards have a legitimate domestic
objective, such as providing for safety, and do not operate to exclude
imports that meet this objective. The statute also requires
consideration of international standards and, where appropriate, that
they be the basis for U.S. standards.
PHMSA engages with international standards setting bodies to
protect the safety of the American public. PHMSA has assessed the
effects of the final rule and has determined that its regulatory
amendments will not cause unnecessary obstacles to foreign trade.
[[Page 21984]]
L. Cybersecurity and Executive Order 14028
E.O. 14028, Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity, directs the
Federal Government to improve its efforts to identify, deter, and
respond to ``persistent and increasingly sophisticated malicious cyber
campaigns.'' PHMSA has considered the effects of the final rule and has
determined that its regulatory amendments will not materially affect
the cybersecurity risk profile for pipeline facilities.
List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 191
Natural gas, Pipeline safety.
In consideration of the foregoing, PHMSA amends 49 CFR part 191 as
follows:
PART 191--TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL AND OTHER GAS BY PIPELINE;
ANNUAL, INCIDENT, AND OTHER REPORTING
0
1. The authority citation for 49 CFR part 191 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 30 U.S.C. 185(w)(3), 49 U.S.C. 5121, 60101 et seq.,
and 49 CFR 1.97.
0
2. In Sec. 191.25, revise paragraph (c) introductory text to read as
follows:
Sec. 191.25 Filing safety-related condition reports.
* * * * *
(c) Reports must be filed by email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3871565e574a55594c5157566a5d4b574d4a5b5d4b755956595f5d4a785c574c165f574e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="baf3d4dcd5c8d7dbced3d5d4e8dfc9d5cfc8d9dfc9f7dbd4dbdddfc8faded5ce94ddd5cc">[email protected]</span></a>. For a report made pursuant to
Sec. 191.23(a)(1) through (9), the report must be headed ``Safety-
Related Condition Report.'' For a report made pursuant to Sec.
191.23(a)(10), the report must be headed ``Maximum Allowable Operating
Pressure Exceedances.'' All reports must provide the following
information:
* * * * *
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026, under the authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Paul J. Roberti,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2026-08059 Filed 4-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P
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