Written pipeline safety programs are the cornerstone of any operator’s compliance mission. It is the framework around which all other compliance activities and the first step toward a satisfactory audit.

Elemental can guide you on developing and maintaining programs, procedures, and documentation systems that enable compliance with Federal and State regulations. Whether you are developing programs for the first time or just need a review. We have considerable experience with both gas and hazardous liquid operators of all sizes in Operations and Maintenance, Integrity Management of facilities, pipelines and underground storage, Public Awareness, Operator Qualification, Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Misuse Prevention, Emergency Response, and Control Room Management.

Regulatory compliance begins with understanding what assets you have and who regulates those assets. Our experts can determine the beginning and ending points of where pipelines, facilities, or underground storage are regulated by either PHMSA or State agencies. From there, we can determine which pipeline safety programs apply and must be developed to meet your particular set of applicable regulations.

These documented determinations are a great compliance demonstration in any audit and can save hours of headache and internal discussion about which assets are and are not regulated.

Inquire today about some of the most challenging jurisdictional determination areas, including, Flowlines, gathering lines, and transmission lines, low stress lines, Integrity Management applicability, and Control Room Management applicability.

We know that audits are stressful. Our team can relieve the ever-increasing burden by helping you in all stages of preparation for, administration of, and response to Federal and State regulatory audits. We can bring peace of mind by ensuring that you have done all you can to prepare for your upcoming inspection.

Tasks might include:

• Preparation – We can review written programs, organize and review documentation, and coach personnel in inspection management skills

• Administration – We can be on-call or in-person during the actual audit

• Follow Up – If you find yourself with corrective actions our experts can assist with responses to findings or creating a roadmap to correct the issue and prevent reoccurrence.

Do you need a third party audit as a health checkup on your written programs, an internal best practice, or to meet requirements for written manual review? Our clients can become inspection-ready by performing a third party audit to locate and correct potential issues before they become major concerns.

We are trained to mimic a realistic regulatory audit experience and can simulate the environment you would expect to encounter. After this mock audit is complete our experts can guide you in reviewing potential issues, developing a corrective plan, and implementing changes. This exercise is extremely beneficial to operators of any size at any stage in their compliance journey and can be customized to fit your exact needs.

Operators with DOT facilities have undoubtedly noticed PHMSA’s increased expectations concerning Facility Integrity Management and risk analysis. This new inspection and enforcement trend has created a need for a straightforward risk approach and, in some cases, standalone facility IMP Manuals.

Our Facility Integrity Risk Assessment (FIRA) tool is designed to satisfy PHMSA’s risk expectation and is customizable to meet each operator’s unique asset configuration. We can also assist in written program development, implementation, inspection, and revision. Allow us to guide you through this developing branch of regulatory expectations.

Are you brand new to PHMSA regulations? Did your company recently build or acquire a DOT jurisdictional asset? Allow our experts to serve as your one-stop compliance shop. We get you completely up to speed by preparing the necessary documents, assisting in records generation, audit preparation, and performing recurring tasks. Our experts serve as an extension of your team turning each step into a training opportunity to equip you with the skills to successfully implement your own right-sized program.

Both new and seasoned pipeline compliance personnel are well aware that regulatory burdens can be demanding and time consuming. Many operators do not have sufficient personnel to administer compliance programs to the level they would wish. Elemental can fill this gap by acting as a temporary or contract labor team member either part time, full time, onsite, offsite, or any combination thereof. Our personnel become an extension of your existing team with the added benefit of having access to years of pipeline expertise.

With new regulations, new personnel, and new industry best practices, there is a continual need for training. We develop custom and recurring courses of all kinds over a variety of subjects. Some operators simply need to comply with CRM Team Training, and others need a full pipeline orientation course. Our experts can develop materials specific to your assets and your audience and get everyone up to speed in a short space of time.

Many operators both large and small, seasoned and new, find themselves in need of an occasional expert. Our team can serve as an extra asset to call on. We often provide support when clients run into uncharted regulatory territory. Our experts can save you hours of time by reviewing interpretations and regulatory history, researching best practices for unique problems, and issuing blind enquiries to regulatory agencies. When you’re unsure about next steps, overwhelmed with other work, or need a tricky question answered our team is a phone call away.

Underground Natural Gas Storage (UNGS) is a relatively newer area under pipeline safety regulations, including design and construction, operation and maintenance, and integrity management requirements. Our team has experience working through all phases of UNGS projects, having developed programs, performed risk analysis, assisted with implementation, and supported clients through audits. We have navigated the relationships between state and federal regulators and been on the front line as the UNGS regulatory picture evolves, a benefit we pass on to our UNGS clients.

Our team has experience in developing, reviewing, and revising LNG operators’ 193 plans. We can review the full scope of 49 CFR 193 including design and construction, siting requirements, operations & maintenance, training and qualification, and security. As LNG becomes an increasingly scrutinized commodity, our experts can help operators stay up to date on the latest changes in regulations, enforcement trends, and administrative policy.