AGENCY:
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION:
Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM).
SUMMARY:
PHMSA is publishing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit stakeholder feedback on potential amendments to the pipeline safety regulations governing liquefied natural gas (LNG).
PHMSA is publishing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit stakeholder feedback on potential opportunities for amendment of its regulations governing the siting, design, installation, construction, inspection, testing, operation, and maintenance of LNG facilities at 49 CFR part 193. Those requirements have not been substantially revised for over two decades. In the years since, the U.S. LNG industry has become truly global in scale and geopolitical importance; the sophistication of technology and operating practices within LNG facilities regulated by PHMSA have similarly evolved at a breakneck pace. In recognition of these developments, Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and industry stakeholders have repeatedly called on PHMSA to update its part 193 regulations to better align with current technologies, operational best practices, and lessons learned. In response to these recommendations and mandates, PHMSA now solicits stakeholder feedback on potential amendments to its part 193 LNG facility requirements that will inform a forthcoming notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in this proceeding.
II. Background
PHMSA’s last significant amendments to its part 193 regulations governing LNG facilities date to 2004.[1] Current regulations rely heavily on the 2001 edition of a consensus industry standard—National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 59A, “Standard for the Production, Storage, and Handling of Liquefied Natural Gas” (NFPA 59A) [2] —that has since been updated multiple times.
In the interim, the U.S. LNG industry has emerged as a driver of the U.S. domestic economy, a lynchpin of international commerce, and a critical instrument for advancing U.S. strategic interests. A recent study predicts the U.S. LNG industry over the next 16 years will contribute around $1.3 trillion to U.S. Gross Domestic Product—including more than $2.5 trillion in total revenues for U.S. businesses, $165 billion in Federal and State tax revenues, more than $500 billion in labor income, and support an average of nearly a half-million U.S. jobs annually.[3]
Meanwhile, the United States is the largest international exporter of LNG, is the source of roughly 22% of worldwide LNG supply, and is a critical supplier to energy markets in Europe and Asia (the top destinations for U.S. LNG exports). U.S. LNG exports play an outsized role in advancing U.S. strategic interests, improving the nation’s trade balance, and supporting the energy needs of resource-constrained strategic allies.
U.S. LNG facility technologies and operations have evolved alongside the expansion and growing importance of the industry. When PHMSA issued its last major updates to the part 193 regulations in 2004, most LNG facilities regulated by PHMSA were relatively small facilities focused on the U.S. domestic market: LNG import facilities and “peak-shaving” facilities supporting local gas distribution companies. But even as those LNG facilities remain common, there is increasing interest within the U.S. domestic LNG market for small-scale or mobile or temporary LNG facilities supporting novel applications, including (but not limited to): marine bunkering for fueling maritime vessels; trucking fleet transportation fueling; alternative gas supply for pipeline testing activity; off-grid electric power and heat generation; and electric power continuity for data centers. At the same time, the re-orientation of the U.S. LNG industry toward international markets has resulted in the construction of a number of massive, capital-intensive, and increasingly sophisticated LNG export terminals. The LNG industry has compiled and memorialized the lessons learned and best practices in designing, constructing, and operating each of these types of LNG facilities over the last two decades in consensus industry standards—culminating in the latest edition of NFPA 59A that was published in 2023.
Recognizing that PHMSA regulations have not kept pace with technological innovation and best practices in the LNG industry, policymakers and other stakeholders have repeatedly called on PHMSA to update its part 193 regulations. GAO in 2020 criticized PHMSA for not having conducted a standards-specific review of its part 193 regulations for nearly two decades and recommended that PHMSA consider incorporating by reference more recent editions of consensus industry standards such as NFPA 59A.[4] Section 27 of the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (PIPES Act of 2016, Pub. L. 114-183) directed PHMSA to update its minimum safety standards for “permanent, small scale” LNG facilities.[5] Subsequently, section 110 of the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (PIPES Act of 2020, Pub. L. 116-2600) directed PHMSA to update the minimum safety standards by December 27, 2023, to impose a risk-based regulatory approach for large-scale LNG facilities, other than peak-shaving facilities.[6]
Meanwhile, President Trump in his first term issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13868 “Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth,” directing PHMSA to issue a final rule updating its part 193 regulations no later than May 2020.[7] President Trump has in the current term issued E.O. 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” requiring agencies to identify opportunities to alleviate unnecessary regulatory compliance burdens imposed on industry and the general public, E.O. 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” requiring agencies to reduce undue burdens on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources; and E.O. 14156, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” to ensure the integrity and expansion of U.S. energy infrastructure.[8]
PHMSA has also received petitions for rulemaking and other requests from industry trade groups calling on PHMSA to update its part 193 regulations to address various alleged shortcomings, including incorporating by reference more recent editions of NFPA 59A.
To develop an NPRM responding to the above recommendations and mandates, PHMSA is soliciting stakeholder feedback on, among other things: (1) the topics listed in section III below; (2) potential amendments to its part 193 LNG facility requirements, including any amendments identified by stakeholders; (3) the appropriateness of those amendments for different types of LNG facilities (including export terminals and peak-shaving facilities); (4) the incremental compliance costs and benefits (including benefits pertaining to avoided compliance costs, safety harms, and environmental harms) anticipated from those amendments; and (5) the technical feasibility, reasonableness, cost-effectiveness, and practicability of those potential amendments. PHMSA plans to hold a public meeting in the near future to supplement or to clarify the materials received in response to this ANPRM.
With respect to incremental cost and benefit information, PHMSA is seeking per-unit, aggregate, and programmatic (both one-time implementing and recurring) data. Explanation of the bases or methodologies employed in generating cost and benefit data, including data sources, assumptions ( e.g., calculations), is valuable so that PHMSA can explain the support for any estimates it is able to provide that accompany a proposed rule, and other commenters may weigh in on the validity and accuracy of the data. Please also identify the baseline ( e.g., a particular edition of a consensus industry standard such as NFPA 59A; widespread voluntary operator practice; or documentation of sample surveys and other operator level data or information) from which those incremental costs and benefits arise. When estimates are approximate or uncertain, consider using a range or specifying the distribution in other ways.
When responding to a specific question below please note the topic letter and question number in your comment. PHMSA will review and evaluate all comments received, as well as late-filed comments to the extent practicable.
DATES:
Comments on this ANPRM must be submitted by July 7, 2025.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit comments identified by the Docket Number PHMSA-2019-0091 using any of the following methods:
E-Gov Web: https://www.regulations.gov. This site allows the public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice issued by any agency. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
