About Pipelines
Policy Development/Setting Minimum Safety Standards
- PHMSA issued an Ethanol Federal Register Notice (August 2007) outlining biofuel pipelines regulatory jurisdiction - 49 CFR Part 195 - and critical role of pipelines in biofuels transportation; requested technical papers and R&D proposals on implementation challenges; and described PHMSA’s cooperative activities with emergency responders. Feedback was supportive of our collaborative strategy.
- PHMSA is participating on many panels and boards to coordinate Federal strategy, including most notably the Biomass Research and Development Board, a multi-federal agency effort.
- PHMSA participated in the National Commission on Energy Policy effort to develop possible future scenarios in ethanol production and distribution that can inform a set of strategic policymakers. This work focused on the distribution implications of a large increase in ethanol production, the technical, economic, and social issues associated with these volumes, and the policy and regulatory measures that might facilitate an efficient ethanol distribution network.
- PHMSA issued a Federal Register Notice (June 2008) requesting that any hazardous liquid pipeline operator intending to transport ethanol, ethanol-gasoline blends, or other biofuels by pipeline voluntarily provide us with advance notice of their intent to transport these fuels to facilitate cooperation in achieving safety.