U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Spill Response Plans – Why Are They
Developed?
Alan K. Mayberry
Deputy Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Plans required by PHMSA Regulations
– Operations, Maintenance and Emergency Manuals
• Natural Gas Regulations 49 CFR 192.605 &192.615
• Hazardous Liquid Regulations 49 CFR 195.402
• Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities 49 CFR 193.2503 & 193.2509
– Response Plans for Onshore Oil Pipelines
49 CFR 194.101
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
PHMSA Information Sharing
Requirements
• Pipeline operators must provide information to the public:
– Landowners and Rights of Way residents
• Public Awareness;
• Indications of leaks;
• Emergency reporting procedures
– Excavators
• Damage Prevention and One-Call Information
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
PHMSA Information Sharing
Requirements
• Pipeline operators must provide information to the public:
– Public assemblies, municipalities, school districts,
businesses and residents of pipeline facility locations
– Emergency officials
• Emergency Plans, Briefings, and Continuing Liaison
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
PHMSA Information Sharing
Requirements
• Certain procedures in Emergency manuals may be
“Business Confidential or Proprietary.”
• Could disclose or illustrate sensitive business processes or
practices the operator has developed as a competitive
advantage
• Business Confidential ≠ Best Practice
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
What’s in “Emergency Plans?”
• Each operator shall establish and maintain liaison with
appropriate fire, police, and other public officials to:
– Learn the responsibility and resources of each
governmental organization that may respond to a gas
pipeline emergency
– Acquaint the officials with the operator’s ability in
responding to a gas pipeline emergency
49CFR.192.615(c) (1),(2)
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
What’s in “Emergency Plans?”
• Each operator shall establish and maintain liaison with
appropriate fire, police, and other public officials to:
– Identify the types of gas pipeline emergencies of which
the operator notifies the officials; and
– Plan how the operator and officials can engage in mutual
assistance to minimize hazards to life or property
49CFR.192.615(c) (3), (4)
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
PHMSA Enforces Plan Sharing
• In a 2008 case, PHMSA proposed a civil penalty, PHMSA
fined a pipeline operator $310,000 for violation of 49 C.F.R.
§ 195.402(c)(12).
• The operator failed to maintain liaison with fire, police, and
other appropriate public officials to learn the responsibility
and resources of each government organization that might
respond to a hazardous liquid pipeline emergency and to
acquaint local officials with the operator’s ability in
responding to a hazardous liquid pipeline emergency and its
means of communication.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
PHMSA Enforces Plan Sharing
• Our final order states,
• “Failure to maintain effective liaison can result in
misunderstandings, erroneous expectations, and delayed
communications and responses on the part of both the
responding local officials and the pipeline operator.”
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
PHMSA Advisory Bulletin
• Published Nov. 3, 2010
• “PHMSA reminds operators of gas and hazardous liquid
pipeline facilities that they must make their pipeline
emergency response plans available to local emergency
response officials.”
• “PHMSA recommends that operators provide their
emergency response plans to officials through their
required liaison and public awareness activities.”
• “PHMSA intends to evaluate the extent to which operators
have provided their emergency plans to local emergency
officials when PHMSA performs future inspections…”
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Onshore Oil Pipeline Facility Response
Plans (FRPs)
• Required by the Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990
• Need to address response organization and resources
required to respond to a worst case discharge to the
maximum extent practicable.
• Submitted to PHMSA for review and approval
• States may require submission of plans under their own
regulations – OPA did not preempt State oil spill laws
– State approval process is independent of PHMSA review
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Facility Response Plans
• Used during spill incidents to guide response, recovery, and
removal actions
• Can direct operator to share with Federal On-Scene
Coordinators
• Almost all content is publicly available through Freedom of
Information Act requests
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Facility Response Plans
• FRP must include:
– Corporate information and Qualified Individual
– Immediate notification procedures
– System description or diagrams
– Computed worst case discharge on pipeline or at tank
facilities
– Spill response resources owned by operator or available
through contract Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO)
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Facility Response Plans
• PHMSA reviews and approves FPRs for 5-year period
– Must be updated when significant changes occur
– Deepwater Horizon response caused PHMSA to publish
an Advisory Bulletin in June 2010
• Most operators’ OSROs were not affected.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Comparison of PHMSA-Required Plans
Emergency Plans
Facility Response
Plans
• Required for all pipeline
operators
• Required for Onshore Oil
Pipeline Operators
• PHMSA reviews at operator
facility during inspections
• Operators submit to
PHMSA for review and
approval
• Not collected or maintained
by PHMSA
• Library of FRPs maintained
by PHMSA
• Operator must share with
local emergency officials
• Shared, when requested
Federal On Scene
Coordinators
• Not publicly available
through FOIA
• Publicly available* through
FOIA
*Portions may be redacted
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Facility Response Plans
• Certain FRP information could provide information to an
adversary.
– Reveal system vulnerabilities and aid target selection
– Reveal choke points or non-redundant systems
– Maximize damage and interfere / interdict response
activities
– Some content considered sensitive
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Thank you
Alan K. Mayberry
alan.mayberry@dot.gov
202-366-5124