MEGA Rule
PHMSA’s Mega Rule is finally here, and with it comes enhanced protection for our environment and our communities. Although the additional requirements will increase the SAFETY of our national infrastructure, and ultimately represent a necessary step forward, they will result in more work for corrosion professionals managing asset-protection programs. The corrosion industry has had over ten years to prepare for PHMSA’s three-phased implementation of the rule. But this delayed deployment has – in some ways – made compliance even more difficult! It’s hard to know where to start, and it’s been easy to ignore the burden of many new requirements – until now. At a minimum, gas pipeline operators should expect:
- More pipelines will be regulated and monitored going forward.
- Pipelines must be evaluated for risk, factoring in their proximity to people.
- Additional SAFETY requirements will apply, such as the requirement to inspect gas pipelines after extreme weather events.
- Your asset protection program (made up of pipeline integrity analysis, AC mitigation analysis, cathodic protection installations, and routine CP testing) will expand
Asset owners have their work cut out for them when it comes to identifying, mapping, assessing, and protecting their pipelines. (See our breakdown for Mega Rule Part 1 HERE.) Let us take the legwork out of it by providing a full-scale solution for Mega Rule compliance.
