Proposed Rule2026-08083
Pipeline Safety: Eliminating Limitations on Welders and Welding Operators
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
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Abstract
This NPRM proposes to remove the exclusion for welders or welding operators qualified by nondestructive testing from welding on compressor station pipe and components.
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)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22104-22107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08083]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 192
[Docket No. PHMSA-2026-1552]
RIN 2137-AG56
Pipeline Safety: Eliminating Limitations on Welders and Welding
Operators
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
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SUMMARY: This NPRM proposes to remove the exclusion for welders or
welding operators qualified by nondestructive testing from welding on
compressor station pipe and components.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 23, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the Docket Number
PHMSA-2026-1552 using any of the following methods:
E-Gov Web: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. This site allows the public
to enter comments on any Federal Register notice issued by any agency.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management System: U.S. Department of Transportation,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: U.S. DOT Docket Management System: West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
For commenting instructions and additional information about
commenting, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brooks Tate, Transportation
Specialist, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-281-
5413, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f6948499999d85d882978293b6929982d8919980"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c8aabaa7a7a3bbe6bca9bcad88aca7bce6afa7be">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Discussion
PHMSA is proposing to eliminate the current limitation on welding
of compressor station pipe and components to allow welders who have
been qualified through nondestructive testing to perform those tasks.
Section 192.229(a) currently states that ``[n]o welder or welding
operator whose qualification is based on nondestructive testing may
weld compressor station pipe and components.'' In response to DOT's
request for information (90 FR 14593 (Apr. 3, 2025)), Williams
Companies, Inc. (Williams) requested that PHMSA remove Sec.
192.229(a), stating that limitation ``is unnecessary for welders
working on compressor stations to have different qualification options
than pipelines and process facilities. Both API 1104 and ASME Section
IX address limitations on qualifications by nondestructive testing.''
\1\
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\1\ Williams Companies, Inc. ``Comments on Ensuring Lawful
Regulation; Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs''
(May 4, 2025), <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2025-0026-0852">https://www.regulations.gov/comment/DOT-OST-2025-0026-0852</a>.
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PHMSA agrees with Williams. The process of qualifying a welder
shows the welder has the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to
follow a welding procedure and produce a weld that does not contain
defects. Section 192.229(a) has not been changed since the enactment of
Part 192 (35 FR 13248, Aug. 19, 1970)). Advancements in radiographic
and ultrasonic technology have occurred over the past 55 years that
have made the restriction contained in Sec. 192.229(a) obsolete. In
the last 55 years, pipeline radiographic inspection has improved with
better film, automatic developers, and the advent of digital
radiography in the early 2000s. Ultrasonic weld inspection has advanced
from fixed-angle probes manipulated manually around a weld to phased
array, multi-beam probes completing a multi-angle inspection of a weld
in a single pass around. The visualization of ultrasonic weld defects
has also progressed from a graph on a cathode ray tube to a colorized
2D image of a weld cross section. In addition, time-of-flight
diffraction ultrasonic technology developed in the early 2000s has
become a fast and reliable method for crack detection and weld
inspection. Therefore, PHMSA now believes the nondestructive technology
in use today is equivalent to destructive testing for the qualification
of welders.
For these reasons, PHMSA is proposing to revise Sec. 192.229 by
removing that exclusion and allowing welders or welding operators whose
qualifications are based on nondestructive testing to weld on
compressor station pipe and components.
Commenting Instructions: Please include the docket number PHMSA-
2026-1552 at the beginning of your
[[Page 22105]]
comments. If you submit your comments by mail, submit two copies. If
you wish to receive confirmation that PHMSA received your comments,
include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Internet users may submit
comments at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Note: Comments are posted without changes or edits to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided.
There is a privacy statement published on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts
these comments, without edit, including any personal information the
commenter provides, to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
<a href="https://www.dot.gov/privacy">https://www.dot.gov/privacy</a>.
Confidential Business Information: Confidential Business
Information (CBI) is commercial or financial information that is both
customarily and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from
public disclosure. It is important that you clearly designate the
comments submitted as CBI if: your comments responsive to this document
contain commercial or financial information that is customarily treated
as private; you actually treat such information as private; and your
comment is relevant or responsive to this notice. Pursuant to 49 CFR
190.343, you may ask PHMSA to provide confidential treatment to
information you give to the agency by taking the following steps: (1)
mark each page of the original document submission containing CBI as
``Confidential;'' (2) send PHMSA, along with the original document, a
second copy of the original document with the CBI deleted; and (3)
explain why the information that you are submitting is CBI. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to Brooks Tate, Office of Pipeline Safety
Standards and Rulemaking Division, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA), 2nd Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590-0001, or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#06647469696d7528726772634662697228616970"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1476667b7b7f673a6075607154707b603a737b62">[email protected]</span></a>. Any
materials PHMSA receives that is not specifically designated as CBI
will be placed in the public docket.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online
instructions for accessing the docket. Alternatively, you may review
the documents in person at the street address listed above.
II. Regulatory Analysis and Notices
A. Legal Authority
This proposed 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.
B. Statutory Requirement and Executive Order 12866
The Federal Pipeline Safety Laws (49 U.S.C. 60102(b)) require that
PHMSA prepare a risk assessment that identifies the costs and benefits
associated with a proposed regulatory change. 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'' unless 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 NPRM
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,
as well as the requirements in 49 U.S.C. 60102(b), and preliminarily
determined that this proposed rule will result in cost savings by
reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty for gas pipeline
facility operators by removing an unnecessary and burdensome limitation
to welding qualifications. In their comment, Williams estimated a
perceived cost savings of $1 million from removing the Sec. 192.229(a)
limitation on welders and welding operators. PHMSA was not able to
verify this estimate due to lack of information about how welding
qualification practices might change following the proposed rule and
the cost savings associated with such changes. However, it expects any
potential cost savings may also result in reduced costs for the public
to whom pipeline operators generally transfer a portion of their
compliance costs. PHMSA also preliminarily determined that the proposed
rule will not have an adverse effect on safety because current non-
destructive testing practices are equivalent to destructive testing for
the qualification of welders, and industry standards already contain
limitations on qualifications by destructive testing.
C. Executive Orders 14192 and 14219
This proposed rule, if finalized as proposed, is expected to be a
deregulatory action pursuant to E.O. 14192, Unleashing Prosperity
Through Deregulation. PHMSA estimates that the total costs of the NPRM
on the regulated community will be less than zero. Nor does this
rulemaking 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,
[[Page 22106]]
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
preliminarily finds this proposed rule is consistent with each of E.O.
14156 and E.O. 14154. The proposed rule will give affected pipeline
operators relief from outdated, burdensome, and unnecessary
technological limitations. PHMSA therefore expects the regulatory
amendments in this proposed rule will in turn increase national
pipeline transportation capacity and improve pipeline operators'
ability to provide abundant, reliable, affordable natural gas in
response to residential, commercial, and industrial demand.
However, this proposed 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 proposed rule is not a significant action
under E.O. 12866, it will not have a significant adverse effect on
supply, distribution, or energy use; OIRA has therefore not designated
this proposed rule as a significant energy action.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
PHMSA analyzed this proposed 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 proposed rule may (when finalized) operate to preempt
some State requirements, it would not impose any regulation that has
substantial direct effects on the 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
proposed 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 (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires
Federal agencies to conduct an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(IRFA) for a proposed rule subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking
unless the agency head certifies that the proposed rule in the
rulemaking will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. E.O. 13272, Proper Consideration of Small
Entities in Agency Rulemaking, obliges agencies to establish procedures
promoting compliance with the RFA. DOT posts its implementing guidance
on a dedicated web page.\2\ This proposed rule was developed in
accordance with E.O. 13272 and DOT implementing guidance to ensure
compliance with the RFA. The proposed rule is expected to reduce
regulatory burdens by allowing welders and welding operators whose
qualifications are based on nondestructive testing to perform welds on
compressor station pipe and components. Further, the changes proposed
here are not expected to impose additional burdens on any operator.
Therefore, PHMSA certifies the proposed rule (if finalized) will not
have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
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\2\ DOT, Rulemaking Requirements Concerning Small Entities,
<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/rulemaking-requirements-concerning-small-entities">https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/rulemaking-requirements-concerning-small-entities</a>.
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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 dollars) 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 proposed rule does not impose unfunded mandates under UMRA.
PHMSA does not expect the proposed rule will 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
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) requires that Federal agencies assess and consider the impact of
major Federal actions on the human and natural environment.
PHMSA analyzed this proposed rule in accordance with NEPA and
issues this draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) because it
has preliminarily determined that the rulemaking will not adversely
affect safety and therefore will not significantly affect the quality
of the human and natural environment. The public is invited to comment
on the impact of the proposed action.
I. Executive Order 13175
PHMSA analyzed this proposed 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 proposed 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 proposed 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.
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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 to 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 proposed rule and has determined that its proposed
regulatory amendments will not cause unnecessary obstacles to foreign
trade.
L. Cybersecurity and Executive Order 14028
E.O. 14028, Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity, directs the
Federal Government to improve its efforts to identify, to deter, and to
respond to ``persistent and increasingly sophisticated malicious cyber
campaigns.'' PHMSA has considered the effects of the proposed rule and
has determined that its proposed regulatory amendments would not
materially affect the cybersecurity risk profile for pipeline
facilities.
List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 192
Pipeline Safety
For the reasons set forth above, PHMSA proposes to amend 49 CFR
part 192 as follows:
PART 192--TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL AND OTHER GAS BY PIPELINE:
MINIMUM FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS
0
1. The authority citation for part 192 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 30 U.S.C. 185(w)(3), 49 U.S.C. 5103, 60101 et seq.,
and 49 CFR 1.97.
Sec. 192.229 [Amended]
0
2. In Sec. 192.229, remove paragraph (a) and redesignate paragraphs
(b) through (d) as paragraphs (a) through (c).
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026, under the authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Paul J. Roberti,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2026-08083 Filed 4-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P
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