Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) was created under the Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act (P.L. 108-426) of 2004. United States president George Bush signed the legislation into law on November 30, 2004. The purpose of the Act was to provide the Department a more focused research organization and establish a separate operating administration for pipeline safety and hazardous materials transportation safety operations. In addition, the Act presented the Department an opportunity to establish model practices in the area of government budget and information practices in support of the President's Management Agenda initiatives. PHMSA is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation.

PHMSA is the federal agency charged with the safe and secure movement of almost 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation. The agency also oversees the nation's pipeline infrastructure which accounts for 64 percent of the energy commodities consumed in the United States.

Cynthia L. Quarterman, an attorney and former government official, was nominated to head the agency by President Barack Obama in August of 2009.

Programs

Hazardous Materials Safety

The Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS) is the federal safety authority for the transportation of hazardous materials by air, rail, highway, and water. This website includes OHM guidance documents, hazmat carriers' special permits and approvals information, reports and incidents summaries, penalty action reports, registration information and forms, the Emergency Response Guidebook for First Responders, Freedom of Information Act requests, and the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program.

Pipeline Safety

The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is the federal safety authority for the nation's 2.3 million miles of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. OPS has the mission to ensure the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operation of the nation's pipeline transportation system.

Integrity Management Program (IMP)

Pipeline Risk Management Information System (PRIMIS) Integrity Management Program's have lead to a reduced amount of pipeline accidents. These were originally created for transmission pipelines.

2001 Liquid Integrity Management Program came into law. (LIMP) 2003 Transmission Integrity Management Program came into law (TIMP) 2008 The final rule is expected for Distribution Integrity Management Program (DIMP)

National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS)

The U.S. DOT Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) administers the national regulatory program to assure the safe and environmentally sound transportation of natural gas, liquefied natural gas and hazardous liquids by pipeline. The Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996 requires that OPS adopt rules requiring interstate gas pipeline operators to provide maps of their facilities to the governing body of each municipality in which the pipeline is located.

After September 11th for security concerns the NPMS was no longer was made available to the public. National Pipeline Maps can still be bought from pennwell.

External links

• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
• PHMSA Public Map Viewer - Application enables the user to view the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) data one county at a time. The user may zoom in to a map scale of 1:24,000.
• Williams' Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management Program
• Buckeye's Liquid Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management Program
• PennWell maps

See also

• List of North American natural gas pipelines

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