Rule2026-10782
Pipeline Safety: Class Location Change Requirements; Correction
Primary source
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Published
May 29, 2026
Effective
May 29, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Abstract
PHMSA is making a technical correction to a January 14, 2026 final rule that amended the class location change requirements. The final rule allows an operator to confirm or to restore the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of an eligible gas transmission pipeline segment that experiences a class location change by implementing an integrity management (IM) alternative. For MAOP restorations, PHMSA is clarifying in this correction notice that the 24-month deadline for implementing the initial programmatic requirements of the IM alternative runs from the effective date of the final rule or the date that an operator decides to initiate an MAOP restoration, whichever is later. This clarification is consistent with the requirements in the final rule, including the deadline in the IM alternative that applies to MAOP confirmations, which runs from the effective date of the final rule or the date of the class location change, whichever is later.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 103 (Friday, May 29, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 103 (Friday, May 29, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31979-31981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10782]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 192
[Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0151]
RIN 2137-AF29
Pipeline Safety: Class Location Change Requirements; Correction
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Correcting amendment.
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SUMMARY: PHMSA is making a technical correction to a January 14, 2026
final rule that amended the class location change requirements. The
final rule allows an operator to confirm or to restore the maximum
allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of an eligible gas transmission
pipeline segment that experiences a class location change by
implementing an integrity management (IM) alternative. For MAOP
restorations, PHMSA is clarifying in this correction notice that the
24-month deadline for implementing the initial programmatic
requirements of the IM alternative runs from the effective date of the
final rule or the date that an operator decides to initiate an MAOP
restoration, whichever is later. This clarification is consistent with
the requirements in the final rule, including the deadline in the IM
alternative that applies to MAOP confirmations, which runs from the
effective date of the final rule or the date of the class location
change, whichever is later.
DATES: This rule is effective May 29, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Bottini, Inspection
Development and Support Division, at 816-663-1361 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8de0ecf9f9e5e8faa3efe2f9f9e4e3e4cde9e2f9a3eae2fb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="14797560607c71633a767b60607d7a7d54707b603a737b62">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
On January 14, 2026, PHMSA issued a final rule amending the class
location change requirements in 49 CFR 192.611.\1\ The final rule
allows operators to confirm the maximum allowable operating pressure
(MAOP) of an eligible gas transmission segment that experiences a class
location change by implementing an integrity management (IM)
alternative. The final rule prescribes a 24-month deadline for
completing the compliance activities necessary to use the IM
alternative. That 24-month deadline runs from the date of the class
location change or an initial compliance window from the effective date
of the final rule, i.e., March 16, 2026, whichever is later. The 24-
month deadline is also referenced in other provisions in the IM
alternative that determine the extent of an operator's compliance
obligations.
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\1\ Pipeline Safety: Class Location Change Requirements, 91 FR
1608 (Jan. 14, 2026).
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As relevant here, the final rule also allows operators to use the
IM alternative to restore the MAOP of eligible segments that previously
experienced class location changes. Before implementing an MAOP
restoration, an operator must comply with the uprating requirements in
subpart K and the integrity management requirements in subpart O, and
complete initial programmatic activities required by the IM
alternative. See Sec. 192.611(d)(1)-(3). As with MAOP confirmations,
an operator must also implement certain ongoing compliance activities
to use the IM alternative to maintain a restored MAOP.
The final rule did not prescribe a specific deadline for satisfying
the initial programmatic requirements in the IM alternative under Sec.
192.611(a)(4)(i) for MAOP restorations; however, PHMSA made clear in
the preamble and final regulatory impact analysis that the same
deadlines apply to all uses of the IM alternative.\2\ In other words,
PHMSA intended the 24-month deadline in the IM alternative to run from
either of the following dates, whichever is later: (1) the effective
date of the final rule or (2) the date of the action that requires the
operator to confirm or to restore the MAOP of an eligible segment under
Sec. 192.611.
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\2\ See PHMSA, Class Location Change Requirements: Regulatory
Impact Analysis, Docket ID No. PHMSA-2017-0151-0083, at 46 (Jan.
2026) (``This [rule] enables eligible Class 3 segments that have
first employed the pressure reduction confirmation option to select
the IM alternative and restore their pressure using procedures in
amended Sec. 192.611(d) . . . and some portion may restore and use
the IM alternative later in the [20-year] analysis period.''); 91 FR
at 1635 (``[T]he methods traditionally authorized for confirming or
revising the MAOP of class change segments--MAOP reductions,
pressure testing, and pipe replacement--do not account for modern
risk management principles and impose unnecessary burdens on the
regulated community and consumers. The MAOP restoration requirements
in the final rule provide a safe, efficient, and practicable
approach for eliminating those burdens and increasing pipeline
capacity.'').
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To avoid any potential ambiguity in applying the IM alternative to
restorations, PHMSA is amending Sec. 192.611(d) to clarify that the
24-month deadline to complete the initial programmatic requirements in
Sec. 192.611(a)(4)(i) and begin the ongoing programmatic requirements
in Sec. 192.611(a)(4)(ii) runs from the date that an operator decides
to initiate an MAOP restoration. Because that action can occur any time
after an MAOP reduction under Sec. 192.611(a)(1)-(2), the date of the
decision to initiate an MAOP restoration functions as the date of the
class location change for purposes of the IM alternative, providing an
operator with a 24-month window to complete initial programmatic
requirements of Sec. 192.611(a)(4)(i). This ensures that the (a)(4)(i)
requirements are completed close in time to the actual restoration and
are thus not out-of-date. Accordingly, PHMSA is amending Sec.
192.611(d) to clarify that an operator must use that date in
implementing the requirements in the IM alternative.
II. Regulatory Analysis
A. Legal Authority
PHMSA is authorized to administer the Federal Pipeline Safety Laws
(49 U.S.C. 60101 et seq.) pursuant to a delegation of authority from
the Secretary of Transportation. 49 CFR 1.97. Section 60102 authorizes
PHMSA to prescribe minimum safety standards for the design,
installation, inspection, emergency plans and procedures, testing,
construction, extension, operation, replacement, and maintenance of gas
transmission pipeline facilities. PHMSA has good cause to issue this
correction without notice and comment pursuant to Section 553(b)(B) of
the Administrative Procedure Act because this technical correction
aligns the regulatory text with the intent of the final rule, notice
and public comment are unnecessary.
[[Page 31980]]
Further delaying this clarification would hinder the public interest in
clear regulations.
The Administrative Procedure Act also generally requires that an
agency publish a rule in the Federal Register 30 days before it becomes
effective, 5 U.S.C. 553(d), a requirement that does not apply if the
agency finds good cause for making the rule effective sooner. For the
same reasons, PHMSA finds good cause to make the rules effective on May
29, 2026.
B. Regulatory Planning and Review: Executive Order 12866 and DOT Order
2100.6B
This technical correction has been evaluated in accordance with
existing policies and procedures and is considered not significant
under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review; 58
FR 51735 (Oct. 4, 1993)) and 49 CFR part 5, subpart B. While the
January 2026 final rule was reviewed as a significant rule under E.O.
12866, this technical correction is consistent with the final rule and
does not impose additional incremental compliance costs or adversely
affect safety.
C. Energy-Related Executive Orders 13211, 14154, and 14156
PHMSA has prepared this technical correction consistent with E.O.
14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency; 90 FR 8353 (Jan. 29,
2025)) and E.O. 14154 (Unleashing American Energy; 90 FR 8353 (Jan. 29,
2025)). PHMSA determined that the January 2026 final rule was not a
``significant energy action'' under E.O. 13211 (Actions Concerning
Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or
Use; 66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)), and neither is this technical
correction that is consistent with it.
D. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires
Federal agencies to consider the impact of their rules on small
entities, to analyze alternatives that minimize those impacts, and to
make their analyses available for public comment. PHMSA completed an
interim and final regulatory flexibility analysis in the January 2026
final rule, analysis that this technical correction does not alter. As
a regulatory flexibility analysis is required of a rulemaking subject
to notice-and comment, 5 U.S.C. 604(a), and, as PHMSA has ``good
cause'' under the Administrative Procedure Act to issue this technical
correction without prior notice-and-comment, no additional regulatory
flexibility analysis is necessary.\3\
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\3\ Small Business Administration, A Guide for Government
Agencies: How to Comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 55
(2017) (``If an NPRM is not required, the RFA does not apply.'').
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E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA)
PHMSA analyzed the UMRA (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) in the January 2026
final rule and this technical correction has no substantial effect on
that analysis, as it will not impose any additional incremental
compliance cost. This technical correction will not impose any
enforceable duty on State, local, or Tribal governments, nor on the
private sector of $100 million or more, adjusted for inflation, in any
given year.
F. Paperwork Reduction Act
This technical correction imposes no new or revised information
collection requirements beyond those discussed in the January 2026
final rule.
G. National Environmental Policy Act
The technical correction has no effect on PHMSA's analysis under
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) of
the January 2026 final rule that is contained in the environmental
analysis available in the rulemaking docket.
H. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
PHMSA analyzed this notice in accordance with the principles and
criteria in E.O. 13132 (Federalism; 64 FR 43255 (Aug. 10, 1999)) and
the Presidential Memorandum (Preemption; 74 FR 24693 (May 22, 2009)).
PHMSA determined that the January 2026 final rule did not impose any
substantial direct effect 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, and nor does
this technical correction that is consistent with that final rule.
Therefore, the consultation and funding requirements of E.O. 13132 do
not apply.
I. Executive Order 13175
PHMSA analyzed this notice according to the principles and criteria
in E.O. 13175 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments; 65 FR 67249 (Nov. 9, 2000)) and DOT Order 5301.1A
(Department of Transportation Tribal Consultation Policies and
Procedures). Because nothing in this technical correction has Tribal
implications or imposes substantial direct compliance costs on Indian
Tribal governments, the funding and consultation requirements of E.O.
13175 and DOT Order 5301.1A do not apply.
J. Executive Order 13609 and International Trade Analysis
The technical correction does not impact international trade,
though PHMSA evaluated E.O. 13609 (Promoting International Regulatory
Cooperation; 77 FR 26413 (May 4, 2012)), which requires agencies to
consider whether significant variations between domestic and
international regulatory approaches are unnecessary or may impair the
ability of American business to export and compete internationally, and
the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (Pub. L. 96-39, as amended by Pub. L.
103-465), which prohibits Federal agencies from establishing any
standards or engaging in related activities that create unnecessary
obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States.
K. Cybersecurity and Executive Order 14028
E.O. 14028 (Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity; 86 FR 26633 (May
17, 2021)) directs the Federal Government to improve its efforts to
identify, deter, and respond to ``persistent and increasingly
sophisticated malicious cyber campaigns.'' PHMSA considered the
cybersecurity effects of the January 2026 final rule, and this
technical correction has no effect on that analysis.
List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 192
Natural gas, Pipeline safety, Pipelines.
In consideration of the foregoing, PHMSA amends 49 CFR part 192 by
making the following correcting amendment:
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.
0
2. Amend Sec. 192.611 by revising the introductory text of paragraph
(d) to read as follows:
Sec. 192.611 Change in class location: Confirmation or revision of
maximum allowable operating pressure.
* * * * *
(d) Confirmation or revision of maximum allowable operating
pressure required as a result of a study under Sec. 192.609 must be
completed within 24 months of the change in class location. Pressure
reduction under paragraph
[[Page 31981]]
(a)(1) or (2) of this section within the 24-month period does not
preclude establishing the maximum allowable operating pressure of a
segment under paragraph (a)(3) of this section or restoring the maximum
allowable operating pressure of a segment under paragraph (a)(4) of
this section at a later date, provided the date of the decision to
restore the maximum allowable operating pressure is treated as the date
of the class location change. Before restoring the maximum allowable
operating pressure of an eligible Class 3 segment pursuant to paragraph
(a)(4) of this section, an operator must:
* * * * *
Issued in Washington, DC on May 27, 2026, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Linda Daugherty,
Acting Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2026-10782 Filed 5-28-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 29, 2026.
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