On 17 January 2025, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a 2020 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) rule—the “Hazardous Materials: Liquefied Natural Gas by Rail Rule” (the LNG-by-Rail...more
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (“PHMSA”) addressed in an October 9th interpretive letter the application of federal Hazardous Materials Regulations (“HMR”) to limited quantities of compressed gas and how...more
In a unanimous opinion, a panel of judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the “D.C. Circuit”) vacated four key aspects from a 2022 rulemaking by the Pipeline and Hazardous...more
A 25-state coalition of AGs, led by Louisiana AG Jeff Landry, has written a letter to Tristan Brown, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration,...more
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) published in the November 4th Federal Register a set of draft Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) addressing federal oversight of midstream processing...more
On February 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) issued its long-awaited Final Rule establishing safety regulations applicable to underground...more
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will hold a two-day public meeting on February 26–27, 2020, to discuss with pipeline safety stakeholders the implementation of two final rules published in...more
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA’s) long-awaited final rule on the minimum safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities (UNGSFs) was published in the February 12 Federal...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to authorize the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by...more
On October 1, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) published three final rules relating to the transportation of hazardous liquids and gas along regulated sectors of the nation’s...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced December 8, 2017 that during calendar year 2018, the minimum random drug testing rate will be increased to 50%. ...more
This Client Alert notes two recent updates in the area of natural gas pipeline and underground natural gas storage safety. Latham & Watkins will continue to provide updates as additional events unfold in this area of rapid...more
On December 14, 2016, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a division of the Department of Transportation (DOT), issued an Interim Final Rule (the “IFR”) to implement safety standards for the...more
On June 22, 2016, the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (PIPES Act) was signed into law. The new law reauthorizes the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials...more
On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed a bill reauthorizing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) oil and gas pipeline programs through 2019. Obama’s final stamp on the Protecting our...more
The newly enacted legislation further bolsters PHMSA’s growing oversight of storage and pipeline transport facilities. On June 22, US President Barack Obama signed the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and...more
The federal agency responsible for regulating the safety of natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines has been in the spotlight recently as both chambers of Congress focused on reauthorizing the Department of...more