Notice2026-17890
Pipeline Safety: Joint Meeting of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees
Primary source
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Published
September 1, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Abstract
On July 17, 2026, PHMSA published a Federal Register notice titled: "Pipeline Safety: Joint Meeting of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees," which provided an opportunity for public comment by August 31, 2026, on the proceedings of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees meeting related to 13 notices of proposed rulemakings (NPRM). These proposed rules covered topics such as special permit conditions, in-plant piping, incidental gathering lines, coating damage assessments, atmospheric corrosion, class change pressure tests, maximum allowable operating pressure reconfirmation, operator identification notifications, limitations on welding, remote valves, the property damage definition, right-of-way patrols, and reporting deadlines. PHMSA received requests from stakeholders to extend the comment period. Based on those requests, PHMSA is reopening the comment period for the joint Pipeline Advisory Committee (PAC) proceedings related to the 13 regulatory modernizing NPRMs to September 4, 2026.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 168 (Tuesday, September 1, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 168 (Tuesday, September 1, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56282-56283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17890]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2026-1156]
Pipeline Safety: Joint Meeting of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline
Advisory Committees
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of advisory committee meeting; reopening of comment
period.
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SUMMARY: On July 17, 2026, PHMSA published a Federal Register notice
titled: ``Pipeline Safety: Joint Meeting of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline
Advisory Committees,'' which provided an opportunity for public comment
by August 31, 2026, on the proceedings of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline
Advisory Committees meeting related to 13 notices of proposed
rulemakings (NPRM). These proposed rules covered topics such as special
permit conditions, in-plant piping, incidental gathering lines, coating
damage assessments, atmospheric corrosion, class change pressure tests,
maximum allowable operating pressure reconfirmation, operator
identification notifications, limitations on welding, remote valves,
the property damage definition, right-of-way patrols, and reporting
deadlines. PHMSA received requests from stakeholders to extend the
comment period. Based on those requests, PHMSA is reopening the comment
period for the joint Pipeline Advisory Committee (PAC) proceedings
related to the 13 regulatory modernizing NPRMs to September 4, 2026.
DATES: The comment period for the document published July 17, 2026 at
91 FR 44965 is reopened. The closing date for filing comments on the
joint PAC meetings is September 4, 2026. Consistent with 49 CFR
190.323, the agency will consider late-filed comments to the extent
practicable.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by the docket number PHMSA-2026-
1156 and the docket number corresponding to the relevant proposal
listed below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section by any of the
following methods:
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> Mail or Hand Delivery: 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 is
available between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. Submit two copies if you submit your comment
by mail, and, include a self-addressed stamped postcard if you wish to
receive confirmation of receipt.
<bullet> Fax: 202-493-2251.
For commenting instructions and additional information about
commenting, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Berry by phone at 720-601-3577 or
by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#afc5c0dccadfc781cdcaddddd69eefcbc0db81c8c0d9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6802071b0d1800460a0d1a1a1159280c071c460f071e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 17, 2026, PHMSA published a Federal
Register notice (91 FR 44965) announcing a joint public meeting of the
Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, also known as the Gas
Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC), and the Technical Hazardous Liquid
Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, also known as the Liquid Pipeline
Advisory Committee (LPAC), to discuss 13 NPRMs related to regulatory
modernization. In the notice, PHMSA announced that the public meeting
would be held on July 30, 2026, and specified that comments on the
proceedings of the Committees must be submitted by August 31, 2026.
Following the conclusion of the meeting, PHMSA received comment
extension requests from the Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) and the
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). PST and EDF requested an additional
30 days to provide comment on the proceedings of the Committees, which
would bring the comment deadline to October 1, 2026.
Based off these requests, PHMSA will reopen the comment submission
deadline for the joint proceedings of the GPAC and the LPAC on the 13
NPRMs from August 31, 2026, to September 4, 2026. Consistent with 49
CFR 190.323, PHMSA will consider late-filed comments to the extent
practicable.
Instructions: Identify the docket number PHMSA-2026-1156 and the
docket number corresponding to the relevant proposal at the beginning
of your comments. The rulemakings and their dockets are as follows:
(1) Pipeline Safety: Rationalize Special Permit Conditions, Docket
Number PHMSA-2025-0135. PHMSA proposed amendments to ensure that
special permit conditions are connected directly to the provision being
waived.
(2) Pipeline Safety: Integration of Innovative Remote Sensing
Technologies for Right-of-Way Patrols on Gas and Hazardous Liquid
Pipelines, Docket Number PHMSA-2025-0118. PHMSA proposed to clarify
that right-of-way patrol requirements for gas, hazardous liquid, and
carbon dioxide pipelines are technology neutral, and that operators can
use remote sensing technologies, such as unmanned aerial systems and
satellites, to satisfy those requirements.
(3) Pipeline Safety: Property Damage Definition for Reporting
Incidents on Gas Pipelines and Accidents on Hazardous Liquid and Carbon
Dioxide Pipelines, Docket Number PHMSA-2025-0109. PHMSA proposed to
revise the definition of property damage for determining when a release
from a gas, hazardous liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline facility meets
the definition of a reportable incident or accident, including for
immediate notifications to the National Response Center.
(4) Pipeline Safety: Adjustment to OPID Notifications for
Construction, Docket Number PHMSA-2026-1551. PHMSA proposed to increase
the monetary threshold for Operator Identification Number (OPID)
notifications for certain construction and maintenance tasks on gas,
hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide pipeline facilities. PHMSA also
proposed to providea mechanism in 49 CFR part 191, appendix A for
annual updates to these thresholds.
(5) Pipeline Safety: Timeframe to Make RMVs Operational, Docket
Number PHMSA-2026-1553. PHMS Aproposed to amend the required timeframes
for making rupture-mitigation valves and alternative equivalent
technology operational on gas transmission, hazardous liquid, and
carbon dioxide pipelines.
(6) Pipeline Safety: Exception for In-Plant Piping Systems, Docket
Number PHMSA-2025-0112. PHMSA proposed amendments to codify an
exception in the gas pipeline safety regulations for in-plant piping
systems.
(7) Pipeline Safety: Adjust Annual Report Deadlines, Docket Number
PHMSA-2025-0108. PHMSA proposed to extend from March 15 to June 15 the
annual report data submission deadline
[[Page 56283]]
for operators of gas pipelines, specifically gas distribution
pipelines, gas transmission pipelines, regulated gas gathering
pipelines, Type R gas gathering lines, underground natural gas storage
facilities, and liquefied natural gas facilities. PHMSA also proposed
to extend the National Pipeline Mapping System information submission
deadline for operators of gas transmission and liquefied natural gas
facilities.
(8) Pipeline Safety: Eliminating Limitations on Welders and Welding
Operators, Docket Number PHMSA-2026-1552. PHMSA proposed to remove the
exclusion from welding on compressor station pipe and components for
welders or welding operators qualified by nondestructive testing.
(9) Pipeline Safety: Harmonize Class Change Pressure Test
Requirements with Subpart J Pressure Test Requirements, Docket Number
PHMSA-2025-0116. PHMSA proposed amendments to align the minimum
pressure testing duration for certain short segments affected by class
location changes with the longstanding pressure test duration
requirements for other short segments.
(10) Pipeline Safety: Removing Unnecessary Provision for Material
Properties Verification During MAOP Reconfirmation, Docket Number
PHMSA-2026-1549. PHMSA proposed to remove an unnecessary provision from
the MAOP reconfirmation requirements for testing pipe materials cut out
from test manifold sites.
(11) Pipeline Safety: Codify Enforcement Discretion on Incidental
Gathering Lines, Docket Number PHMSA-2025-0113. PHMSA proposed to
codify a 2022 exercise of limited enforcement discretion applicable to
certain incidental gathering lines.
(12) Pipeline Safety: Eliminating Burdensome and Duplicative
Deadlines for Gas Pipeline Coating Damage Assessments and Remedial
Actions, Docket Number PHMSA-2025-0114. PHMSA proposed to eliminate
unnecessarily prescriptive and burdensome deadlines on gas transmission
and certain gas gathering lines for completing coating damage
assessments following trench backfilling of newly installed pipe and
remedial actions following failed coating assessments.This proposal
would replace those existing requirements with a general requirement to
complete, prior to the in-service date of the pipeline, any coating
damage assessments for newly installed pipe, as well as remedial
actions undertaken in response to a failed coating damage assessment.
(13) Pipeline Safety: Atmospheric Corrosion Reassessment for
Pipeline Replacements, Docket Number PHMSA-2025-0115. PHMSA proposed to
eliminate an existing requirement for a 3-year atmospheric corrosion
reassessment interval for gas distribution service lines following
replacement of pipeline segments or components undertaken in response
to a previous identification of atmospheric corrosion. Operators
replacing a pipeline facility would instead be able to employ on that
replacement facility the default 5-year reassessment interval provided
for elsewhere in the Federal pipeline safety regulations.
Note: All comments received are posted without edits to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided.
<bullet> Privacy Act Statement: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c),
DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking
process. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal
information the commenter provides, to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, as
described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can
be reviewed at <a href="http://www.dot.gov/privacy">http://www.dot.gov/privacy</a>.
<bullet> 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 (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public
disclosure. If your comments in response to this notice contain
commercial or financial information that is customarily treated as
private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or
responsive to this notice, it is important that you clearly designate
the submitted comments as CBI. 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 a copy of the original document with the CBI deleted along
with the original, unaltered document; and (3) explain why the
information you are submitting is CBI. Unless you are notified
otherwise, PHMSA will treat such marked submissions as confidential
under the Freedom of Information Act and they will not be placed in the
public docket of this notice. Submissions containing CBI should be sent
to Joseph Berry at the email address listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. Any material PHMSA receives that is not specifically
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket.
<bullet> Docket: Access the dockets of each rulemaking at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. The dockets contain background documents and
comments received. Alternatively, you may review the documents in
person at the street address listed above.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2026, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Thomas Correll,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2026-17890 Filed 8-31-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P
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