United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States National Archives and Records Administration Office of the Federal Register author aut Government Organization text government publication eng FR Regulatory Information 2026_register executive 2026-01-14 article Part II Rules and Regulations D09002ee1dcecfed1 D09002ee1dcecff9f United States Department of Transportation originator org United States Government Agency or Subagency United States Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration originator org United States Government Agency or Subagency PHMSA is updating its regulations to allow operators to apply modern risk management principles in addressing the safety of gas pipelines affected by class location changes. Relying on an approach originally developed in the 1950s, PHMSA's regulations use class locations to provide an additional margin of safety in the design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance of gas pipelines based on population density. When the class location of a pipeline changes due to an increase in population density, an operator may need to take certain actions to confirm or to revise the maximum allowable operating pressure of a segment. Because the methods traditionally used for that purpose do not account for modern risk management principles, PHMSA has granted special permits for more than two decades allowing operators to use an integrity-management-based alternative. This final rule adopts that `IM alternative' by regulation to provide operators with an additional method for confirming or restoring the maximum allowable operating pressure of certain eligible segments that experience class location changes. 91 FR 1608 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-01-14/2026-00566 2026-00566 fr14ja26-13 RIN 2137-AF29 4910-60-P Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0151 Amdt. No. 192-155 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-01-14/2026-00566 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/html/2026-00566.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/pdf/2026-00566.pdf Incorporation by Reference Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Pipelines 48 p. 1608 1655 91 FR 1608 Title 49 Part 192 49 CFR Part 192 RIN 2137-AF29 Pipeline Safety: Class Location Change Requirements; Federal Register Vol. 91, Issue RULE 2026-00566 II DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 2026-03-16 2026-03-16 Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0151 Amdt. No. 192-155 4910-60-P 2026-00566 Final rule.

PHMSA is updating its regulations to allow operators to apply modern risk management principles in addressing the safety of gas pipelines affected by class location changes. Relying on an approach originally developed in the 1950s, PHMSA's regulations use class locations to provide an additional margin of safety in the design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance of gas pipelines based on population density. When the class location of a pipeline changes due to an increase in population density, an operator may need to take certain actions to confirm or to revise the maximum allowable operating pressure of a segment. Because the methods traditionally used for that purpose do not account for modern risk management principles, PHMSA has granted special permits for more than two decades allowing operators to use an integrity-management-based alternative. This final rule adopts that `IM alternative' by regulation to provide operators with an additional method for confirming or restoring the maximum allowable operating pressure of certain eligible segments that experience class location changes.

This rule is effective March 16, 2026. The incorporation by reference of certain material listed in this rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of March 16, 2026. Comment related to the information collection may be submitted by March 16, 2026, as detailed in Section VII.H. Robert Jagger, Senior Transportation Specialist, at 202-557-6765 or robert.jagger@dot.gov. 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Table of Contents: AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: KF70.A2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-01-14 P0b002ee1dcecf100 0097-6326 0042-1219 0364-1406 769-004-00000-9 000582072 f:fr14ja26 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-01-14 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/pdf/FR-2026-01-14.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-14/xml/FR-2026-01-14.xml fdlp 1381 1668 DGPO 2026-01-14 2026-01-14 FR-2026-01-14 machine generated eng FR FR-2026-01-14 91 9