The Transportation Department proposed Monday to give companies an extra decade to perform an initial inspection of storage tanks tied to their hazardous material pipelines, a move it says will save money.
The proposal by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, an agency within DOT, would double how much time companies have to perform an initial internal inspection of the tanks — proposing a maximum timeline of 20 years for performing an initial inspection and 25 years for subsequent inspections. The move comes as the Trump administration is loosening safety and environmental regulations for energy infrastructure overall.
“Due to the high cost of performing internal inspections, this change will result in cost savings and increased uptime for breakout tanks,” said the proposed rule set to be published Tuesday in the Federal Register, referring to tanks used to relieve “surges” on pipelines or receive and store different types of fuel. “Doubling the time window for performing the initial inspection from the current 10-year limit will be particularly impactful.”
The proposed changes would result in cost savings of between $24.5 million to $150 million per year, PHMSA’s rule said.
