The third and final safety rule from the PHMSA was instituted on August 4th, 2022, containing updated safety provisions for pipeline operators in the United States. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what this means for pipeline operators going forward.
Expansion of PHMSA Regulations to Gas Gathering Pipelines
With the Mega Rule Part III, safety regulations were applied to tens of thousands of previously unregulated gas gathering pipelines as a result of recommendations from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and a Congressional mandate. Over time, a growing number of gas gathering lines have been designed similarly to natural gas transmission lines, yet had remained unregulated until recently. Over 400,000 miles of pipelines are now subject to these new regulations, requiring safety information to be reported for the first time. With this announcement, pipeline operators have scrambled to stay within compliance with the Mega Rule’s reporting requirements as they must be in full compliance by July 2035, with 50% of their work needing to be complete by July 2028.
A Multifaceted Approach to Staying in Compliance with the Mega-Rule
Using a multifaceted approach to document management, our Data OnDemand™ solution can help any business remain in compliance with the reporting requirements of the Mega Rule. Our capture solutions can successfully digitize millions of crucial documents, while our cloud-based document management system Virtual FileRoom™ can provide instant access to these documents along with powerful auditing capabilities. With the use of AI, compliance gaps across millions of documents can be found with pattern recognition technology, allowing these issues to be promptly rectified well before pipeline operators are saddled with millions of dollars of additional expenses for excavation and re-verification tests.
Contact us for more information on how our Data onDemand™ solution can help your organization stay in compliance with the Mega Rule.