PHMSA's CO2 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

PHMSA announced today that it will be publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking strengthening standards for hazardous liquid CO2 and, for the first time, establishing new standards for transporting CO2 in a gaseous state.

This NPRM comes from lessons learned from the 2020 CO2 release in Satartia, Mississippi and from anticipated need due to increased carbon capture and storage. The rule contains new requirements including:

• Establishing for the first-time design, installation, operation, maintenance, and reporting requirements for carbon dioxide gas pipelines.

• Establishing new requirements that pipeline operators must adhere to when converting existing pipelines to transport carbon dioxide in different phases.

• Requiring all carbon dioxide pipeline operators to provide training to emergency responders and ensure carbon dioxide detection and other equipment is available for local first responders to use and efficiently respond during an emergency.

• Implementing more robust requirements for communicating with the public during an emergency.

• Requiring more detailed vapor dispersion analyses to better protect the public and the environment in the case of pipeline failure.

We expect the NPRM to be published in the Federal Register in the coming days. Elemental will continue to review the available text, keep an eye out for a more detailed analysis. In the meantime, PHMSA has posted the document on its website located here: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/news/phmsa-notice-proposed-rulemaking-safety-carbon-dioxide-and-hazardous-liquid-pipelines

UPDATE: PHMSA has removed the NPRM language from its website. Contact Elemental for more information on the draft language.