Pipeline Safety: Performance Measures Needed to Assess Recent Changes to Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Regulations
Fast Facts
The U.S. hazardous liquid pipeline network runs for over 220,000 miles and is critical to the economy. Pipelines are considered a relatively safe way to transport crude oil and other hazardous liquids, but accidents can happen.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration amended safety regulations in 2019. Stakeholders told us the changes could improve safety without presenting significant challenges. However, several operators said they would need to modify or replace pipelines to accommodate certain inspection tools. The agency hasn't developed measures to assess whether the changes improve safety. We recommended doing so.
Construction of a Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
Highlights
What GAO Found
In 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final rule amending its hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations. Selected pipeline operators and officials from PHMSA and selected states' pipeline safety offices said that these changes would enhance pipeline safety and present no significant challenges. They said the most beneficial changes expanded the scope of inspections. For example, in addition to existing requirements for operators to use specialized tools to inspect pipelines in “high consequence areas”—defined by population and environmental factors—the 2019 Rule requires such inspections outside of those areas. While operators noted the rule's potential to improve safety, all 11 operators GAO interviewed identified specific amendments that could increase their costs. For example, several operators said they would need to modify or replace some of their pipeline to allow for certain inspection tools required by the changes. PHMSA and state pipeline safety officials said they did not anticipate oversight challenges or additional costs because the changes did not alter their inspection process.
Specialized In-Line Inspection Tool Being Placed in a Launch Point on a Pipeline
PHMSA held meetings with and provided guidance to operators and inspectors on the changes but has not developed measures to assess if the changes improve safety. Leading performance management practices call for agencies to track progress toward goals using measures that include targets for expected levels of performance and timeframes. While PHMSA has desired outcomes for the 2019 Rule, including safety improvements, PHMSA officials said they have not established performance measures for those outcomes because some of the changes have long-term compliance deadlines, and so data are not yet available to assess effectiveness. However, other changes have shorter-term deadlines for compliance and PHMSA could use data it already collects from operators for its assessment. Without performance measures, PHMSA cannot determine whether the changes made by the 2019 Rule are achieving their intended outcomes and contributing to PHMSA's safety goals.
Why GAO Did This Study
The U.S. hazardous liquid pipeline network runs for over 220,000 miles and is a critical component of the nation's economy. Pipelines are considered to be a relatively safe mode of transporting crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other hazardous liquids, but accidents can occur that result in loss of life and environmental damage. PHMSA, within the Department of Transportation (DOT), sets the federal minimum pipeline safety standards and generally ensures operator compliance.
In 2016, a pipeline safety statute included a provision for GAO to report on hazardous liquid pipeline safety after PHMSA issued a specific final rule amending its safety regulations, which it did in 2019. This report examines: (1) perspectives of selected pipeline stakeholders on the benefits and challenges of the amendments made by the 2019 Rule and (2) steps PHMSA has taken to inform stakeholders of these amendments and to measure their effects on pipeline safety. GAO reviewed relevant statutes and regulations; analyzed PHMSA accident data from calendar years 2011-2020; interviewed 11 pipeline operators—selected by pipeline type, miles, and product type—as well as pipeline industry and safety stakeholders, and PHMSA and pipeline safety officials from six states.
Recommendations
PHMSA should develop and use performance measures to assess whether the changes made by the 2019 Rule achieve desired outcomes and improve safety. DOT concurred with GAO's recommendation.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status Sort descending |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration | The PHMSA Administrator should develop and use performance measures to assess whether the amendments made by its 2019 Rule to its hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations are achieving their desired outcomes and contributing to PHMSA's safety goals for hazardous liquid pipelines. These measures should include targets for the expected levels of performance to be achieved and specific timeframes in which to achieve these results. (Recommendation 1) |
Closed – Implemented
The U.S. hazardous liquid pipeline network runs for over 220,000 miles and is a critical component of the nation's economy. Pipelines are considered to be a relatively safe mode of transporting crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other hazardous liquids, but accidents can occur that result in loss of life and environmental damage. The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) sets the federal minimum safety standards for pipelines, such as specifications for their design, construction, testing, inspection, operation, and maintenance. In 2019, PHMSA issued a final rule amending its hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations. The 2019 Rule generally expanded safety requirements for pipelines in certain locations and extended the reporting requirements for operators of certain hazardous liquid pipelines, known as gravity and gathering lines, among other changes. In 2021, we reported that while PHMSA has identified several desired outcomes for its 2019 Rule that support PHMSA's agency goals for the safety of hazardous liquid pipelines, it has not established performance measures with targets or timeframes to monitor progress in achieving its desired outcomes. Our prior work has found that agencies should use performance information to identify gaps between actual and expected performance, assess the effectiveness and efficiency of processes, and promote continuous improvement, to ensure that programs achieve their goals. We reported that because PHMSA has not developed performance measures for the amendments, it does not have a means to gauge whether these changes are helping it achieve the desired safety outcomes of its 2019 Rule or its broader safety goals for hazardous liquid pipelines. Thus, we recommended that PHMSA should develop and use performance measures to assess whether the amendments made by its 2019 Rule to its hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations are achieving their desired outcomes and contributing to PHMSA's safety goals for hazardous liquid pipelines. These measures should include targets for the expected levels of performance to be achieved and specific timeframes in which to achieve these results. In 2024, we confirmed that PHMSA had implemented actions that, taken together, address the intent of this recommendation. First, PHMSA established a goal to reduce the number of fatalities caused by the release of hazardous materials transported by pipeline or other surface transportation modes from 25 fatalities in FY 2019 to 21 fatalities by FY 2024. Second, PHMSA established a process to collect performance data submitted by pipeline operators that are subject to the 2019 Rule. This included the number of pipeline operators submitting required reports, and data on pipeline mileage, accidents, injuries, fatalities, and other measures for hazardous liquid gathering and gravity pipelines. Third, PHMSA established expected levels of performance for operators to comply with the 2019 Rule changes, with a target of 100 percent compliance, based on the effective dates of the various 2019 Rule changes. Fourth, PHMSA compiled performance information collected from operators, and made these data available to PHMSA inspectors and state pipeline safety inspectors to track trends through PHMSA's Pipeline Data Mart system. Finally, PHMSA officials determined that they will evaluate the performance of the 2019 Rule changes after collecting trend data for five years. The officials stated that this trend data will give them sufficient performance information on pipeline incidents to make informed decisions on whether further regulatory actions are needed for these pipelines. As a result of these actions, PHMSA is collecting and using information on the performance of hazardous liquid pipelines. Such information should allow PHMSA to identify gaps between actual and expected performance to assess the effectiveness of the 2019 Rule in relation to PHMSA's overall safety goals.
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