The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration on Jan. 15 released a proposed rule to implement new safety requirements for carbon dioxide (CO2) and hazardous liquid pipelines. Stakeholder concerns regarding the need for updated CO2 pipeline safety regulations has been one issue stalling development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, include those that aim to ship CO2 sourced from ethanol plants.&nbsp;The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) aims to strengthen existing standards for hazardous liquid and CO2 pipelines, including CO2 that is transported in a supercritical fluid state, and for the first time aims to establish new standards for transporting CO2 in a gaseous state via pipeline.&nbsp;Requirements included in the NPRM include new design, installation, operation, maintenance, and reporting requirements for CO2 pipelines; new requirements that pipeline operators must adhere to when converting existing pipelines to transport CO2 in different phases; a requirement that all CO2 pipeline operators provide training to emergency resolders and ensure CO2 detection and other equipment is available for local responders to use and efficiently respond during an emergency; more robust requirements for communicating with the public during an emergency; and the requirement of more detailed vapor dispersion analyses to better protect the public and environment in the case of a pipeline failure.&nbsp;PHMSA has been working to develop new CO2 pipeline safety regulations for several years. The agency initially <a href="https://ethanolproducer.com/articles/phmsa-announces-new-safety-measures-for-co2-pipelines-19302">announced</a> plans to initiate the rulemaking process in 2022. The resulting NPRM <a href="https://ethanolproducer.com/articles/phmsa-delivers-proposed-rule-on-carbon-pipeline-safety-to-white-house-omb">was delivered</a> to the White House Office of Management and Budget in February 2024 and spent nearly a year undergoing an interagency review process. According to the agency, the NPRM specifically addresses lessons learned from PHMSA’s multi-year investigation into a CO2 pipeline failure in Sataria, Mississippi, in 2020 as well as input from the public in what has been the agency’s largest public outreach campaign on record.&nbsp;The NPRM will be subject to a 60-day public comment period. The public comment period will begin following publication of the proposal in the Federal Register. Additional information is available on the DOT <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/usdot-proposes-new-rule-strengthen-safety-requirements-carbon-dioxide-pipelines">website</a>.

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The PHMSA on Jan. 15 released a proposed rule to implement new safety requirements for CO2 pipelines. Stakeholder concerns regarding the need for updated CO2 pipeline safety regulations has been one issue stalling development of CCS projects.

PHMSA releases long-awaited proposal to update CO2 pipeline safety regulations

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