On October 1, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA or the Agency) issued three long awaited final rules.  This post addresses the Agency’s final rule on Emergency Orders, a significant new tool in PHMSA’s pipeline safety enforcement tool box that can be issued to the entire industry or portion of the industry.  Alerts on the other two rulemakings are forthcoming (i.e., the first of three final rules regarding natural gas…

Tomorrow’s Federal Register will include three final rules published by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) that have been years in the making:  (1) Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessment Requirements, and Other Related Amendments; (2) Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines; and (3) Enhanced Emergency Order Procedures.  All three rules have been lingering at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review…

Troutman Sanders Pipeline partners Catherine Little, Bob Hogfoss and Annie Cook authored an article published in Law360 on the Pipeline Safety Act reauthorization legislation currently in the U.S. House and Senate. The current authorization of federal pipeline safety laws and funding of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) expires at the end of September, and the statute is up for reauthorization this year. To read the entire article in Law360, click here.…

On August 12, 2019 the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) and National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (collectively, the “Services”) released pre-publication versions of three final rules that are expected to significantly affect the applicability and implementation of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).  These regulations relate to the process and standards for listing species and designating critical habitat, the scope of protections for threatened species, and the process for consultations with federal agencies under Section 7.…

On Friday, August 9, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) unveiled a pre-publication version of a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NOPR”) to clarify state water quality certification (“certification”) procedures under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) to allow for increased regulatory certainty in federal licensing and permitting activities, and particularly authorization of infrastructure projects.  EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced on Friday that the “proposal is intended to help ensure that states adhere to the…

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued new draft guidance at the end of June intended to further permit streamlining generally and greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis specifically.  The new guidance replaces previous CEQ guidance issued by the Obama Administration on how GHG effects should be estimated for projects during review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  Whether and how a federal Agency must consider GHG emissions during NEPA review continues to be a controversial issue…

The Department of Transportation (DOT) released a legislative proposal to Congress on June 3, 2019, to reauthorize the federal Pipeline Safety Act (PSA or the Act) and continue funding the federal agency charged with implementing it, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).  DOT’s press release states that the proposal, Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2019, will embrace innovation, clarify certain regulatory requirements to prevent incidents, “modernize” certain data collection, and…