GAWDA, Other Groups Object to Feds' New Safety Guidelines

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) has issued new safety guidelines for local governments, developers, and community planners to use to establish better safety near transmission pipelines. The guidelines were developed by the Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance (PIPA), a group formed by DOT and the Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to develop land-use guidance for activities on and near pipeline rights-of-way.

However, the Gases and Welding Distributors Assn. (GAWDA) and 29 other trade associations jointly filed a petition with the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration seeking to establish the fitness criteria for evaluating special permits and approvals for shippers and carriers of hazardous materials through notice and comment rulemaking. The federal department’s position is that a rulemaking is not required by law, so the regulated industry has no input into the criteria to be used. GAWDA and the other petitioners contend that a notice and comment rulemaking is required by the Administrative Procedure Act.

Joining GAWDA in its petition are the American Coatings Assn. Inc.; American Trucking Assn.; the Assn. of American Railroads; the Chlorine Institute; the Council on the Safe Transport of Articles; the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council; the Industrial Packaging Alliance of NA; the Institute of Makers of Explosives; the National Propane Gas Assn., and the Radiopharmaceutical Shippers and Carriers Conference, among others.

The PIPA report, “Partnering to Further Enhance Pipeline Safety in Communities through Risk-Informed Land Use Planning,” recommends practices for local communities, developers and pipeline operators to use to help reduce the safety risks that result from growth of communities near pipelines. It claims recommendations offer options on how land-use planning and development decisions can help protect existing pipeline infrastructure and growing communities. The report also provides recommendations on how communities can gather information about local transmission pipelines and how local planners, developers and pipeline operators should communicate during all phases of new development to understand pipeline risks, and how to minimize pipeline excavation damages during site preparation and construction.

“PHMSA continues to look at ways to reduce risks and improve safety near pipelines,“ stated PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman. “These recommendations describe actions local governments can take to make full use of available resources and how they can communicate effectively with transmission pipeline operators to better understand all factors that can affect risks.”