On January 19, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved changes to the instructions for PHMSA Form F 7100.2, Incident Report—Gas Transmission, Gas Gathering, and Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities (OMB Control No. 2137-0635). While there are no changes to the form itself, PHMSA has updated the instructions to clarify when gas releases are classified as “intentional” or “unintentional.” 

Incident reports are required if an unintentional release results in a loss of 3 million cubic feet or more.  PHMSA is updating the instructions to clarify that when gas is released by a relief valve or an emergency shutdown system operating as intended by the manufacturer, the release of gas is considered intentional.  PHMSA does not intend to collect incident reports on events that are not associated with equipment failure or malfunctions as those events do not represent safety risks to the public. The elimination of this data will provide a more accurate representation of the safety of gas transmission pipelines, allowing both operators and regulators to better identify and address safety concerns.

The Federal Register Notice is in Docket PHMSA-2025-0021.  The revised incident report instructions are available on the PHMSA website.