Throughout the year much has been done to further improve the safety and reliability of the nation’s oil pipeline infrastructure. Below is a timeline highlighting major events from 2006.

March 16
Mike Mears, chairman of AOPL, testified on behalf of AOPL and API before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Highway, Transit and Pipelines. He said that the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 is widely recognized as a success, continues to improve safety performance, and it should be reauthorized for five more years.

April 3
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a direct final rule, with a corresponding proposed rule, that updated its gasoline and diesel fuel programs regulations on several test method issues. This rule ensures that certain fuel testing requirements are more up-to-date by having refiners and laboratories use the most current versions of American Society for Testing and Materials Committee D.02 analytical test methods. 

Together, these rules allow improvements in the test method procedure to ensure better operation and provide additional flexibility to the regulated community. The direct final rule became effective June 2.

April 27
Representing AOPL and the API, Explorer Pipeline President and CEO Tim Felt testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Clean Air. Felt said the pipeline industry and the Department of Transportation have cooperated to achieve significant improvement in pipeline safety over the last five years. He said this improvement is demonstrated by the industry’s record, as well as its investment in future safety initiatives.

May 11
Bill Shea of Buckeye Partners LP testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on gasoline prices, supply and specifications. Shea explained the problems of carrying ethanol by pipeline. No consensus emerged about the cause of escalating gasoline prices or about whether to reduce or expand ethanol subsidies or the number of boutique fuels.

May 26
The Senate unanimously confirmed retired Coast Guard Vice-Admiral Thomas J. Barrett to be administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The Senate also confirmed by unanimous consent the following Department of Transportation nominees previously reported by the Senate Commerce Committee: Tyler Duvall to be assistant secretary for Transportation Policy, and Roger Shane Karr to be assistant secretary for Governmental Affairs.

June 9
The House of Representatives passed HR. 5576 to provide fiscal year 2007 funding for the Department of Transportation. The Bush administration requested a funding level of $75.7 million for PHMSA to carry out its pipeline safety oversight mission, an increase of $3.5 million over fiscal year 2006. The House fully funded the administration’s request.

July 14
The Senate confirmed the three pending Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member nominations, ensuring a commission quorum for the rest of the year. Philip D. Moeller, Jon Wellinghoff and Marc Spitzer were confirmed to serve on the energy panel. Moeller, after serving as energy policy advisor to former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton of Washington, has most recently served as the Washington representative for Alliant Energy Corp. Wellinghoff, an attorney, was Nevada’s first Consumer Advocate and served as staff counsel to the Nevada Public Utilities Commission. Spitzer, an attorney specializing in tax law, was elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2000, and served in the Arizona Senate prior to that.

Aug. 7-11
During its wrap-up before the summer recess, the Senate cleared a large number of Presidential nominees. Included was Mark V. Rosenker of Maryland to be chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board for a term of two years. Chairman Rosenker has been a member of the NTSB since 2003. The Senate also confirmed Robert L. Sumwalt III of South Carolina as a new member of the NTSB for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2011. With this confirmation the NTSB now has four sitting members and one vacancy.

Aug. 6
BP Alaska shut down the Eastern Operating Area of the Prudhoe Bay oil field due to corrosion on one of its pipelines, cutting production in half. BP began testing its lines for corrosion damages and making repairs to the pipeline. Production has since been restored to normal levels.

While pipeline corrosion is a concern for all operators, five years of data from the 145,000 oil pipeline miles in the industry’s voluntary Pipeline Performance Tracking System (PPTS) show that spills caused by corrosion continue to decline, due to improved integrity management practices.

Oct. 6
Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski announced the creation of a new state agency to oversee oil and gas infrastructure in Alaska. The new agency, called the Lease Monitoring and Engineering Integrity Coordinating Office, will oversee oil-field operations to ensure that oil companies are complying with the safety requirements written into their state leases.

Dec. 7
Congress passed HR 5782, the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006. The bill effectively builds upon pipeline safety laws implemented in 2002 by improving state programs to reduce excavation damage of pipelines, strengthening federal enforcement of damage prevention laws, providing safety protection for low stress pipelines, and generating a better understanding of areas of the U.S. oil pipeline system that are critical to reliability and minimizing price disruptions.