Distribution Construction Workshop
April 20, 2010
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration hosted a Distribution Construction Workshop (Docket ID PHMSA-2010-0084) in April 2010 at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, St. Louis Missouri. The workshop was co-sponsored by the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives. The purpose of the construction workshop was to allow stakeholders in the pipeline safety community to learn about and discuss construction issues and current practices in natural gas distribution pipeline construction management and quality control. A record of the information discussed at the workshop is available. PHMSA also provides an industry forum in which to ask questions of and share additional information about pipeline construction concerns with PHMSA.
Agenda
Presentation Files
- CenterPoint Energy New Construction - Plastic Materials: Jerry V Gann
- Distribution Polyethylene Pipelines Managing Construction Quality: Ed Newton
- Qualification of Personnel Performing New Construction Tasks & the Quality of Installation: Danny McGriff
- Ensuring Company and Contractor Qualifications: New Construction: Michael Gruenberg
- Ensuring the Quality of Installation: Charles Rayot
- Welcome/Opening Remarks: Alan Mayberry
- NAPSR Perspective on Distribution Pipeline Facility Construction: Michael Thompson
- Steel Pipe Issues: Jim Gorman
- Industry Perspectives on Installation of Steel Materials: Scott Meierotto
- Issues Specific to Plastic Materials & Personnel Qualification: Richard Sanders
- Inspection findings related to Plastic Materials: Don Ledversis
Meeting Reports
New Pipeline Construction Workshop
April 23, 2009
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration hosted a workshop in April 2009 titled, "Pipeline Safety: New Pipeline Construction Workshop" (Docket ID PHMSA-2009-0060) at the OMNI Fort Worth Hotel, Fort Worth, Texas. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Canadian National Energy Board, and the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives. There were over 300 people in attendance and the workshop was webcast live to interested individuals that were unable to attend. The purpose of having the construction workshop was to inform the public, alert the industry, review lessons learned from inspections, and to improve new pipeline construction practices and pipeline safety.
The pipeline industry is responding to significant increase in energy demand to bring new sources of supply to the market. Regulatory resources have been shifted to inspect projects as a result of surge in natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline construction. In 2008, during PHMSA inspections of many new pipeline construction projects, inspectors identified a number of construction issues requiring operator remediation prior to placing a pipeline into service to assure long term pipeline integrity.
The majority of issues covered during the workshop and identified through regulatory enforcement involve practices, procedures, quality control, and inadequate pipeline operator inspections within the following areas of construction:
- application of exterior pipe coatings
- mechanized and manual welding
- installing pipe in excavations and pipe cover
- nondestructive testing
- bending of pipe
- line pipe low and variable yield strength
- backfill and lowering of pipe in the ditch
- miscellaneous
A record of the information discussed at the workshop is available. PHMSA also provides an industry forum in which to ask questions of and share additional information about pipeline construction concerns with PHMSA.
Agenda
Reports and Studies
Presentation Files: Follow this link to the Regulations.gov website to see the presentations from the meeting.
For information on other PHMSA meetings, see https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/Home.mtg