Transporting hazardous liquids by pipeline: PHMSA 195 emergency preparation - Revisited

(This article was written without AI tools, i.e., ChatGPT.)

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If you are in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) world, the requirements for emergency response planning are front and center. If you are a pipeline operator that transports oil (by any definition), you must develop an Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP) under the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) 49 CFR 194 rule. This is a clearly stated, cut and dry requirement.

However, if you transport gas or hazardous liquids, the requirements are not so obvious. They are buried in the applicable regulations. It is not uncommon for companies to own all three types of pipelines (oil, gas, hazardous liquid), or a combination of two. As such, internal compliance consultants can be tested on their CFR know-how.

The first part of this two-part series addresses the transportation of hazardous liquids by pipeline. Next week, it will focus on the transportation of gases by pipeline.

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If you are a pipeline operator and you transport hazardous liquids (as defined by 49 CFR 195.1), you must comply with the applicable parts of 49 CFR 195. 49 CFR 195 is a very large regulation with eight primary subparts, labeled A-H. Under each of these subparts, there is a plethora of compliance requirements for reporting, engineering/design/construction, testing, training, safety systems, and other various documented programs. If you are new to pipelines or new to non-oil pipelines, this can be very confusing. In typical bureaucratic style, under 49 CFR 195, PHMSA buried the emergency planning requirements down in Subpart F, under §195.402. Applicable training is found under §195.403.?

And just to make the process more fun, under §195.402, the emergency planning requirements are further buried down in section (e). Section (e) states:

(e) Emergencies. The manual required by paragraph (a) of this section must include procedures for the following to provide safety when an emergency condition occurs:

(1) Receiving, identifying, and classifying notices of events which need immediate response by the operator or notice to fire, police, or other appropriate public officials and communicating this information to appropriate operator personnel for corrective action.

(2) Prompt and effective response to a notice of each type of emergency, including fire or explosion occurring near or directly involving a pipeline facility, accidental release of hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide from a pipeline facility, operational failure causing a hazardous condition, and natural disaster affecting pipeline facilities.

(3) Having personnel, equipment, instruments, tools, and material available as needed at the scene of an emergency.

(4) Taking necessary action, such as emergency shutdown or pressure reduction, to minimize the volume of hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide that is released from any section of a pipeline system in the event of a failure.

(5) Control of released hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide at an accident scene to minimize the hazards, including possible intentional ignition in the cases of flammable highly volatile liquid.

(6) Minimization of public exposure to injury and probability of accidental ignition by assisting with evacuation of residents and assisting with halting traffic on roads and railroads in the affected area, or taking other appropriate action.

(7) Notifying fire, police, and other appropriate public officials of hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide pipeline emergencies and coordinating with them preplanned and actual responses during an emergency, including additional precautions necessary for an emergency involving a pipeline system transporting a highly volatile liquid.

?(8) In the case of failure of a pipeline system transporting a highly volatile liquid, use of appropriate instruments to assess the extent and coverage of the vapor cloud and determine the hazardous areas.

(9) Providing for a post-accident review of employee activities to determine whether the procedures were effective in each emergency and taking corrective action where deficiencies are found.

(10) Actions required to be taken by a controller during an emergency, in accordance with §195.446.

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Sections a-d, and the last section f?include planning requirements for operations and maintenance.

How does section (e) come into play with all of this?

More often than not, section (e) ?is glanced over or not adequately addressed. Pivoting a little, if you are from the OPA90 world, do you notice something different? There are significantly fewer planning requirements in section (e), and they are less complicated. There is no worst-case planning, no spill contractor contract requirements, no National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) requirements, etc. When implemented by companies, section (e) is generally part of the overreaching Operations & Maintenance Manual or just the O&M Manual. Sometimes, section (e) is haphazardly put in a 49 CFR 194 OSRP (assuming they’re identical all around) or, in more infrequent cases, done as a standalone document.

There is no right or wrong way to develop these plan elements. As with most compliance rules, there is no set format. You need to fully address all the necessary planning requirements in the rule only. This is best done by developing a cross-reference and using it as a self-policing tool. Note: A cross-reference is vital when combining the planning requirements with another document. A common misstep is assuming that how one rule speaks to planning requirements will fully align with the second rule. Sometimes, there is additional “meat” needed. The cross-reference helps identify these areas.?

It is not difficult to comply with section (e). However, it is essential to remember that you are not just checking off a regulatory box. The purpose is to keep your people and the public safe. The planning requirement of section (e) serves to expedite the resolution of an incident, which minimizes risks and enhances brand reputation. A generic plan makes achieving success more complex in the long run. Below are six guidelines for developing a tailored plan that will work effectively and keep you compliant:

• Know your products (hazardous – Safety Data Sheets), safety equipment, response equipment, and tactics needed to respond to an incident quickly. Remember, you are developing a plan to ensure the safety of your people and the public, so the information here should be relevant to the materials being transported, not just a dumping ground for anything and everything.
• Develop concise contact lists to prepare you to escalate events. Make proper notifications, and keep everyone who needs to know "in the know.“ Do not fall into the trap of just putting everything under the rainbow here. Think it through. Who really needs to be called, whether internal or external? Putting contacts in order of relevance and indicating the purpose they are to be called is always helpful. Too often, plan writers will just put large lists in plans with no guidance as to why people are listed. This serves no good in the “heat of the moment.”
• Develop actual procedures – not generic fluff statements. Specific procedures will help you control the outcome more efficiently; and, more importantly, keep people safe. Take time to tailor your procedures to each environment and scenario. Often companies will use the same generic list in all their plans. This is not necessarily wrong, but products, locations, resources, etc., for a pipeline require individual considerations.
• Fully appreciate the locations of the assets to document pre-plans accordingly. You should develop tactical response plans unique to the response area, identifying critical areas of concern, specific tactics, and available resources. Yes, these take time and money, but in the long run, they will pay for themselves very quickly if there is an event.
• Develop clear and concise reporting and training requirements. This ensures that what is required is well documented. This has twofold benefits: liability protection in the long run and ensuring everyone walking in the door knows what to do.
• Lastly, as with any good program, develop an actual response structure and a way to “hot wash” post-incident to capture lessons learned. Ensure your programs align with federal mandates, Incident Command System, and industry norms. You do not want to have an incident and discover that your response structure doesn’t work with the governments and other response organizations.

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For a complete listing of archived articles and compliance insights, click here. Past articles cover training requirements, clarification of additional unclear elements within the above rules, and more.

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We are here to help solve your compliance questions and challenges. If you need compliance assistance or have questions, please email John K. Carroll III ([email protected]), Associate Managing Director – Compliance Services, or call +1 954-625-9373.

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• To learn more about Witt O’Brien’s breadth of regulatory compliance and emergency management services, please visit our website.
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