On March 20, 2020, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced that during the COVID-19 pandemic it will “exercise discretion in its overall enforcement of . . . [natural gas] pipeline safety regulations.” Those regulations include provisions governing pipeline leak detection and repair.
In its “Notice of Enforcement Discretion to Operators Affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak,” PHMSA committed to providing “flexibility” to pipeline operators facing “compliance challenges” due to the pandemic. Methane emissions could rise if PHMSA allows operators to postpone or even skip required pipeline patrols and surveys, which could delay leak detection and repair. Read more >>