The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently struck down several safety standards for natural gas pipelines adopted by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) under the Biden administration.
These standards, introduced in 2022, were intended to enhance the safety of gas transmission infrastructure by imposing mandatory repairs for pipelines showing signs of corrosion, cracks, or other degradation.
However, the Court ruled that PHMSA had not sufficiently justified the economic benefits of these measures against the high costs imposed on operators.
This decision is the direct result of an appeal filed by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), which found that these regulations imposed disproportionate financial burdens on the industry.
Reactions and implications for the industry
The natural gas industry, represented by INGAA, welcomed this decision.
The main argument put forward was that the new standards, although justified by a desire to improve safety, imposed costly obligations without an adequate assessment of their actual effectiveness.
The Court supported this argument, considering the PHMSA’s cost-benefit analysis to be insufficient, if not inconsistent.
However, one contested standard was upheld by the Court.
This concerns the monitoring of anomalies linked to high-pressure corrosion, a critical issue for pipeline safety.
Although restrictive, this provision was deemed essential to prevent serious incidents, and will therefore remain in force.
Implications for future regulations
This partial cancellation could influence the way in which future regulations are drawn up, particularly with regard to the balance between safety and costs for operators.
PHMSA may have to review its evaluation method and work more closely with industry players to develop standards that meet safety requirements while taking economic constraints into account.
The next steps in the regulation of energy infrastructures in the United States could include a reassessment of current and future standards, with particular attention to economic viability for operators while ensuring public safety.
