RegulusPipeline researchPHMSA Guidance, Statement of Policy for Transporting Hazardous Liquid or Carbon Dioxide in Non-Steel Pipelines
Portal detail 1Statement of Policy for Transporting Hazardous Liquid or Carbon Dioxide in Non-Steel Pipelines Statement of Policy for Transporting Hazardous Liquid and Carbon Dioxide in Non-Steel Materials.pdf (253.52 KB) Issued Date: Monday, May 18, 2026#
Attachment 1, passage 1May 18, 2026 STATEMENT OF POLICY FOR TRANSPORTING HAZARDOUS LIQUID OR CARBON DIOXIDE IN NON-STEEL PIPELINES The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is issuing this statement of policy to provide interested parties with additional guidance for transporting hazardous liquid1 or carbon dioxide2 in non-steel pipelines under 49 CFR Part 195. The Federal safety standards in 49 CFR Part 195 generally apply to hazardous liquid and carbon dioxide in steel pipelines. To transport hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in a non-steel pipeline, an operator must comply with the requirements in section 195.8. As originally adopted and amended in subsequent rulemaking proceedings,3 section 195.8 requires an operator seeking to transport hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in a non-steel pipeline to “notif[y] the Administrator in writing at least 90 days before the transportation is to begin. The notice must state whether carbon dioxide or a hazardous liquid is to be transported and the chemical name, common name, properties and characteristics of the hazardous liquid to be transported and the material used in construction of the pipeline.”4 Section 195.8 further provides that “[i]f the Administrator determines that the transportation of the hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in the manner proposed would be unduly hazardous, he will, within 90 days after receipt of the notice, order the person that gave the notice, in writing, not to transport the hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in the proposed manner until further notice.”5 1 49 CFR § 195.2 (defining “hazardous liquid” for purposes of 49 CFR Part 195 as “petroleum, petroleum products, anhydrous ammonia, and ethanol or other non-petroleum fuel, including biofuel, which is flammable, toxic, or would be harmful to the environment if released in significant quantities”). 2 Id. (defining “carbon dioxide” for purposes of 49 CFR Part 195 as “a fluid consisting of more than 90 percent carbon dioxide molecules compressed to a supercritical state”). 3 34 Fed. Reg. 15,473, 15,474, 15,477 (1969); 35 Fed. Reg. 5332, 5333 (1970); 35 Fed. Reg. 17,183, 17,184 (1970); 46 Fed. Reg. 38,357, 36,363 (1981); 56 Fed. Reg. 26,922, 26,925 (1991); 59 Fed. Reg. 17,275, 17,281 (1994). 4 49 CFR § 195.8. 5 Id.#
Attachment 1, passage 22 PHMSA has laid out certain important principles in evaluating notices submitted under section 195.8. First and foremost, PHMSA has acknowledged that an operator does not need to obtain a special permit to use a non-steel pipeline to transport hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide.6 An operator need only provide the notice required by section 195.8;7 if the Administrator does not issue an order objecting to the proposal described in the notice within 90 days, the operator is authorized to use the non-steel pipeline without any further action. In addition, PHMSA has applied certain general criteria in evaluating whether transporting hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in a non-steel pipeline would be unduly hazardous. The general criteria include whether pipelines constructed with that material have a history of operating safely in other environments, 8 whether the material is authorized for use in transporting gas under 49 CFR Part 192, and, if so, whether the operator will comply with Part 192 in designing, constructing, testing, operating, and maintaining the proposed pipeline. 9 PHMSA has also applied certain specific criteria in evaluating whether transporting hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in a pipeline constructed with a corrosion-resistant, non-steel material would be unduly hazardous. The specific criteria include, among other things, whether the material is “manufactured in conformance with a published specification and documented quality assurance program.”10 PHMSA is aware of industry standards that apply to pipelines constructed with non-steel materials. For example, the American Petroleum Institute and ASTM International have published several such standards for transporting hazardous liquid in non-steel pipelines, including: 6 Interpretation Response #PI-83-0100, available at https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/interp/pi-83-0100 (“The Part 195 safety standards for hazardous liquid pipelines do not prohibit the use of pipe made of materials other than steel. Thus, a special approval or waiver is not required for the use of such materials. However, as more fully stated in §195.8, the use of any material other than steel in a proposed pipeline is conditioned upon the operator of the proposed pipeline giving prior notice to this agency so that a determination can be made about the safety of the pipeline before transportation begins.”). 7 Operators interested in submitting a notice through section 195.8 can use the same process for integrity assurance notifications and send by electronic mail to InformationResourcesManager@dot.gov. 8 Interpretation Response #195.8-1984 Sohio, available at https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/standards- rulemaking/pipeline/interpretations/1958-1984-sohio (“This is in response to your letter dated August 10, 1984, submitting a notification under §195.8 of the proposed use of a 1000’ section and a 420’ section of ‘Pag-O-Flex’ pipe in an offshore pipeline. We understand that this type of flexible pipe has been used successfully offshore in situations similar to those you propose. Further, the proposed test pressure exceeds that required by §195.302(b)(2). Consequently, we find that your proposal is not unduly hazardous.”). 9 Interpretation Response #PI-89-020, available at https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/interp/pi-89-020. 10 Interpretation Response #PI-92-0106, available at https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/interp/pi-92- 0106.#
Attachment 1, passage 33 • API Specification 15S (Spoolable Reinforced Plastic Line Pipe), which covers the requirements for manufacturing and qualifying spoolable reinforced plastic pipe, including materials, pipe, and fittings (e.g., steel or nonmetallic reinforced) • API Specification 15HR (High-pressure Fiberglass Line Pipe), which specifies requirements for high-pressure fiberglass line pipe, generally covering pipes with pressure ratings from 500 psi to 5,000 psi • API Specification 15LR (Low Pressure Fiberglass Line Pipe), which focuses on low- pressure applications, covering design and manufacturing for fiberglass piping in oil, gas, and water applications, for the construction of pipelines with non-steel materials, covering sizes up to 24-inches and pressures up to 1,000 psig • ASTM F2619 (High-Density Polyethylene Line Pipe), which focuses on high density polyethylene pipelines for oil and gas production, including transportation of liquids, such as oil, dry or wet gas, multiphase fluids, and non-potable oilfield water • ASTM F2896 (Reinforced Polyethylene Composite Pipe), which focuses on on-site manufactured multilayer reinforced polyethylene composite pipe for “transport of crude oil, natural gas and hazardous liquids in the rehabilitation of existing pipelines and for new pipelines” PHMSA is also aware of other industry standards that focus more on the transportation of carbon dioxide in non-steel pipelines, including: • DNV-RP-F104 (Design and Operation of Carbon Dioxide Pipelines), which addresses non-metallic materials for carbon dioxide pipelines • API Recommended Practice 1192 (Transportation of Carbon Dioxide by Pipeline), which focuses on transportation of carbon dioxide by steel pipeline but contains some information on non-metallics and non-metallic components Other organizations have published comparable standards for the transportation of hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in non-steel pipelines as well.11 While not currently incorporated by reference into Part 195, PHMSA understands that pipelines designed, constructed, tested, operated, and maintained in accordance with the above- referenced industry standards can be safely used in hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide service. PHMSA also understands that transporting hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in a non-steel pipeline may be more appropriate than using a steel pipeline in certain circumstances. To facilitate the appropriate use of non-steel pipelines, PHMSA is issuing a new policy for evaluating notices submitted under section 195.8. Specifically, the Administrator will generally refrain from exercising his discretion to issue an order prohibiting the transportation of 11 See e.g., CSA Z662 (Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems).#
Attachment 1, passage 44 hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in a non-steel pipeline, so long as the 90-day prior written notice submitted by the operator provides the information necessary to demonstrate that the pipeline will be designed, constructed, tested, operated, and maintained in accordance with recognized and generally accepted industry codes and standards. PHMSA would generally find the following information, to the extent not otherwise required by regulation, to be useful when making its necessary determination on a 90-day prior notice submitted under section 195.8: • A list of the industry codes and standards that the operator intends to follow in designing, constructing, testing, operating, and maintaining the pipeline • A description of the hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide that the operator intends to transport, including the chemical name, common name, properties, and characteristics of the product • Information showing that the non-steel material is compatible with the product being transported, including chemical compatibility, permeation, delamination, effects on elastomers, decompression behavior, fracture behavior, etc. • Information regarding the long-term performance of the non-steel material in the proposed service, including any testing results validating performance at applicable pressures and temperatures for the product being transported • The written procedures that the operator intends to follow to ensure compliance with the listed industry codes and standards, as well as any manufacturer specifications and instructions and other generally accepted and recognized engineering practices • The written integrity management plan that the operator intends to implement to protect high consequence areas This statement of policy does not relieve the owner or operator of a non-steel pipeline of its obligation to comply with the requirements in the Pipeline Safety Act (PSA), 49 U.S.C. § 60101 et seq., or Pipeline Safety Regulations (PSR), 49 CFR Parts 190 to 199, where applicable. That includes the obligation to develop and implement a plan for inspecting and maintaining the non-steel pipeline and, if necessary, to submit that plan to PHMSA for approval under 49 U.S.C. § 60108. It also includes the obligation to ensure that any steel pipeline facilities in a non-steel pipeline system comply with the applicable requirements in the PSA or PSR. Nor does this statement of policy prohibit PHMSA from exercising any of the powers or authorities granted in the PSA or PSR, including by conducting inspections and investigations and initiating enforcement actions or other administrative or judicial proceedings against owners or operators of non-steel pipelines used to transport hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide, either before or after submitting the notice required by section 195.8. Finally, this statement of policy does not have the force and effect of law and is not meant to bind the public in any way, and is intended only to provide clarity to the public#
Attachment 1, passage 5regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies, and compliance may be achieved in more than one way. _________________________ Linda Daugherty Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline Safety Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 5#
This material provides agency context. It does not replace binding regulatory text, and its legal effect depends on the underlying authority and facts.