NTSB issues safety recommendations for gas pipelines.
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Press Release Summary:
NTSB issued 28 safety recommendations in safety study "Integrity Management of Gas Transmission Pipeline in High Consequence Areas". For example, board recommends that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration assess need for additional inspection protocol guidance for state inspectors, and modify overall state program evaluation, training, and qualification requirements for state inspectors to include federal-to-state coordination in integrity management inspections.
Original Press Release:
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
NTSB Issues 28 Safety Recommendations in Safety Study "Integrity Management of Gas Transmission Pipelines in High Consequence Areas"
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issues the following safety recommendations:
To the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration:
Assess (1) the need for additional inspection protocol guidance for state inspectors, (2) the adequacy of your existing mentorship program for these inspectors, and (3) the availability of your subject matter experts for consultation with them, and implement the necessary improvements. (P-15-1)
Modify the overall state program evaluation, training, and qualification requirements for state inspectors to include federal-to-state coordination in integrity management inspections. (P-15-2)
Work with the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives to develop and implement a program to formalize, publicize, and facilitate increased state-to-state coordination in integrity management inspections. (P-15-3)
Increase the positional accuracy of pipeline centerlines and pipeline attribute details relevant to safety in the National Pipeline Mapping System. (P-15-4)
Revise the submission requirement to include high consequence area identification as an attribute data element to the National Pipeline Mapping System. (P-15-5)
Assess the limitations associated with the current process for identifying high consequence areas, and disseminate the results of your assessment to the pipeline industry, inspectors, and the public. (P-15-6)
Work with the Federal Geographic Data Committee to identify and publish standards and specifications for geospatial data commonly used by gas transmission pipeline operators, and disseminate the standards and specifications to these operators and inspectors. (P-15-7)
Work with the appropriate federal, state, and local agencies to develop a national repository of geospatial data resources for the process for high consequence area identification, and publicize the availability of the repository. (P-15-8)
Establish minimum criteria for eliminating threats, and provide guidance to gas transmission pipeline operators for documenting their rationale for all eliminated threats. (P-15-9)
Update guidance for gas transmission pipeline operators and inspectors on the evaluation of interactive threats. This guidance should list all threat interactions that must be evaluated and acceptable methods to be used. (P-15-10)
Develop and implement specific risk assessment training for inspectors in verifying the technical validity of risk assessments that operators use. (P-15-11)
Evaluate the safety benefits of the four risk assessment approaches currently allowed by the gas integrity management regulations; determine whether they produce a comparable safety benefit; and disseminate the results of your evaluation to the pipeline industry, inspectors, and the public. (P-15-12)
Update guidance for gas transmission pipeline operators and inspectors on critical components of risk assessment approaches. Include (1) methods for setting weighting factors, (2) factors that should be included in consequence of failure calculations, and (3) appropriate risk metrics and methods for aggregating risk along a pipeline. (P-15-13)
Revise 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 192.915 to require all personnel involved in integrity management programs to meet minimum professional qualification criteria. (P-15-14)
Revise Form F7100.1, Annual Report Form, to collect information about which methods of high consequence area identification and risk assessment approaches were used. (P-15-15)
Revise Form F7100.2, Incident Report Form, (1) to collect information about both the results of previous assessments and previously identified threats for each pipeline segment involved in an incident and (2) to allow for the inclusion of multiple root causes when multiple threats interacted. (P-15-16)
Develop a program to use the data collected in response to Safety Recommendations P-15-15 and P-15-16 to evaluate the relationship between incident occurrences and (1) inappropriate elimination of threats, (2) interactive threats, and (3) risk assessment approaches used by the gas transmission pipeline operators. Disseminate the results of your evaluation to the pipeline industry, inspectors, and the public annually. (P-15-17)
Require that all natural gas transmission pipelines be capable of being in-line inspected by either reconfiguring the pipeline to accommodate in line inspection tools or by the use of new technology that permits the inspection of previously uninspectable pipelines; priority should be given to the highest risk transmission pipelines that considers age, internal pressure, pipe diameter, and class location. (Supersedes Safety Recommendation P-11-17, which is now classified “Closed—Superseded.”) (P-15-18)
Revise Form F7100.1, Annual Report Form, to collect information on the mileage of both HCA and non-HCA pipeline that can accommodate in-line inspection tools. (P-15-19)
Identify all operational complications that limit the use of in-line inspection tools in piggable pipelines, develop methods to eliminate the operational complications, and require operators to use these methods to increase the use of in-line inspection tools. (P-15-20)
Develop and implement a plan for eliminating the use of direct assessment as the sole integrity assessment method for gas transmission pipelines. (P-15-21)
Develop and implement a plan for all segments of the pipeline industry to improve data integration for integrity management through the use of geographic information systems. (P-15-22)
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P-15-001-022.pdf
To the American Gas Association:
Work with the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America to collect data that will support the development of probabilistic risk assessment models, and share these data with gas transmission pipeline operators. (P-15-23)
Work with the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America to develop and implement a strategy for increasing the use of in-line inspection tools as appropriate, with an emphasis on intrastate pipelines. (P-15-24)
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P-15-023-024.pdf
To the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America:
Work with the American Gas Association to collect data that will support the development of probabilistic risk assessment models, and share these data with gas transmission pipeline operators. (P-15-25)
Work with the American Gas Association to develop and implement a strategy for increasing the use of in-line inspection tools as appropriate, with an emphasis on intrastate pipelines. (P-15-26)
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P-15-025-026.pdf
To the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives:
Work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to develop and implement a program to formalize, publicize, and facilitate increased state-to-state coordination in integrity management inspections. (P-15-27)
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P-15-027.pdf
To the Federal Geographic Data Committee:
Work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to identify and publish standards and specifications for geospatial data commonly used by gas transmission pipeline operators, and disseminate the standards and specifications to these operators and to inspectors. (P-15-28)
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P-15-028.pdf
The NTSB reiterated the following safety recommendation to the United States Department of Transportation:
Ensure that PHMSA amends the certification program, as appropriate, to comply with the findings of the audit recommended in Safety Recommendation P-11-6. (P-11-7)
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P-15-001-022.pdf
The NTSB reclassified the following safety recommendation to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration "Closed--Superseded":
Require that all natural gas transmission pipelines be configured so as to accommodate in-line inspection tools, with priority given to older pipelines. (P-11-17) (Superseded by safety recommendation P-15-18)
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P-15-001-022.pdf
The letter is in the Portable Document Format (PDF) and can be read using the Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later from Adobe (http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html).
