Workshop on Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe

PHMSA is holding a Workshop on the newly developed Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe. The workshop focus will be for the public, pipeline operators, trade associations, and others to address ideas and concerns with successfully using External Corrosion Direct Assessment integrity evaluation methods and use of other technologies to assess pipelines in casings located within High Consequence Areas. The workshop is intended to discuss the PHMSA guidance "Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe in Gas Transmission Pipelines" and related FAQs. The latest guidelines and FAQs are available online at: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/documents.htm

Under the 2002 Pipeline Safety and Improvement Act, all gas transmission pipelines located in High Consequence Areas (HCAs) must have an integrity management program (IMP). One aspect of an integrity management program specifically mandated by Congress is that each gas transmission pipeline located in an HCA must have an integrity assessment by an approved method no later than December 17, 2012, and must be periodically reassessed at least every seven years thereafter.

In response to congressional mandates, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) promulgated integrity management regulations to implement this and other IMP requirements now contained in 49 CFR 192, Subpart O. These guidelines for integrity assessment of cased pipe are intended to assist pipeline operators in complying with 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 192, Subpart O for cased pipe in HCAs.

Because of the difficulties being encountered while conducting ECDA on cased pipe for completion of baseline assessments, industry identified the need for more detailed guidance. In its response, PHMSA committed to hold a workshop to address the issues and to follow up with stakeholders to "identify and craft a consensus path forward to resolve challenges cased crossing pose." That workshop was held in July 2008 (http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=54).

Subsequent to the workshop, PHMSA worked with a group of state regulators, representatives from industry, trade associations, and other stakeholders to develop guidelines for performing ECDA of gas transmission pipe inside casings (http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/ccCASQAT.htm). The guidelines incorporate some of the input developed by this work group, but have been updated in some areas to conform to the integrity management regulations and statutory requirements.

The guidelines and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are largely based on the work of this group and state regulators, and provide guidelines for pipeline operators to consider when implementing integrity management requirements for cased pipe. The casing guidelines are for operator usage in cases where other integrity methods are not viable due to the pipeline being unpiggable due to lateral location and customer outage requirements.

• Welcome and Background (Alan Mayberry, PHMSA)
• Casing Guidance Overview (Steve Nanney, PHMSA)
• Break
• Review of FAQs (Steve Nanney, PHMSA)(FAQ Presentation together with Guidance Overview presentation above)
• Stakeholder Comments
• AGA (Christina Sames, AGA)
• INGAA (Terry Boss, INGAA)
• NAPSR (David Chislea, Michigan PSC)
• Recent Developments in R & D Related to ECDA for Cased Pipe (Max Kieba, PHMSA)
• Lunch (on your own)
• Open Forum Question and Answer with panel (Questions/comments received either verbally on the microphone or through hand-written comments on index cards. Most were answered during the workshop, but some others we either ran out of time for, or that needed to be taken back to PHMSA for further vetting before we could provide a response.)
• Moderator: Alan Mayberry (PHMSA)
• Panelists: David Chislea (NAPSR - MI PSC), Harry Bryant (NAPSR - NC UC), Max Kieba (PHMSA), Steve Nanney (PHMSA)
• Break
• Strawman Best Practice for Uncased RR/Hwy Crossing (Joe Mataich, PHMSA)
• Closing (Alan Mayberry, PHMSA) (No presentation, verbal comments only)

• Relevant PHMSA Website Links(PDF of the links below)
• Casing Assessment Workshop —Meeting website: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64
• Casing Assessment Guidelines and FAQ: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/documents.htm
• Pipeline Safety Guidance —Advisory Bulletins, Low Strength Pipe Guidelines, MAOP Rule FAQs: http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/pipeline/guidance
• Construction Workshop: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/construction/index.htm
• MAOP Rule —FAQs : http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/maop/index.htm
• Special Permits —FAQs: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/classloc/faqs.htm

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