"New safety rules for gas transmission pipelines will go into effect next July, nearly 10 years after the fiery tragedy that prompted them.
Eight people were killed Sept. 9, 2010, when a gas transmission line exploded in San Bruno, Calif. Federal investigators found line owner Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) had failed to detect and repair a defective pipe section.
The rules were scheduled to be published today in the Federal Register. The wording of the regulation was released yesterday in a pre-publication notice. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration officials had announced last week that the rules had cleared the White House Office of Management and Budget and would soon be published (Energywire, Sept. 25).
The rule is intended to bring more pipeline inspections to less-populated areas, require checking pressures on previously unregulated pipelines and remove exemptions for testing gas lines built before 1970. The 307-page document to be published today has numerous other changes, including extending federal integrity management rules into areas not previously covered."
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