Pipeline Firms Ordered to Keep Safety Records

Energy companies will need to keep up-to-date records to prove they are running the nation’s aging pipelines at safe pressures under a new set of federal guidelines, the Associated Press reported.

If pipeline operators cannot ensure their oil and gas lines are running at safe pressures by next year, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration underscored they could face penalties or some other type of sanction, AP reported.

The advisory bulletin the administration issued mentioned a September 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif., that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.

Federal and state officials will be responsible for enforcing the new guidelines, and companies will be required to keep traceable, verifiable and complete records about pipelines that ferry hazardous fuels through the nation’s most populated areas.

In a later phase, PHMSA also will direct energy companies on what to do if they can’t find records for all their pipelines, AP reported, citing an agency spokeswoman.