The NPMS program began in 1999 and was populated with data that was voluntarily
submitted by pipeline facility operators.
Effective October 1, 2015 the
Pipeline Safety Miscellaneous Changes to Pipeline Safety Regulations required
operators of certain pipeline facilities to submit geospatial, metadata, and attribute
data to the NPMS. Section
191.29
of Title 49 in the code of federal regulations pertains to gas transmission pipeline
and LNG plant operators and Section
195.61 pertains to hazardous liquid pipeline
and breakout tank operators.
This rule replaces the
Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 as the NPMS requirement to submit.
This information collection has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and is referenced under OMB Control Number 2137-0596. Full details about the
submission requirements are documented in the NPMS Operator Submission Standards.
PHMSA issued an advisory
bulletin in February 2003 that explained operators’ responsibility to submit
data and gave instructions on how to submit data. Several points in the advisory
bulletin have changed and are summarized below:
- Submit all pipeline facility data in accordance with the guidelines set forth in
the
NPMS Operator
Standards
document. Use the Operator Submission and Validation Environment OSAVE
to upload submissions and perform other submission related activities. OSAVE is
accessible to
pipeline operators using their NPMS Account.
-
- For all hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipeline systems, a complete
data submission includes geospatial data, attribute data, metadata, a cover letter,
and public contact information. OSAVE collects the
cover letter, metadata and public contact information through a single workflow.
- For all liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants or breakout tanks, a complete data submission
includes geospatial data, attribute data, and a cover letter (with metadata).
- On an annual basis, operators are required to fulfill the NPMS submission requirement
by reviewing their previously submitted NPMS data and confirming it is accurate,
or submitting updates, to reflect operations as of 12/31 of the previous year. NPMS
submissions are required from gas transmission and LNG plant operators every year
by March 15th, and from hazardous liquid and breakout tank operators every year
by June 15th.
- Operators can review their NPMS data via the OSAVE application. Additionally,
hazardous liquid and gas transmission operators can also review their public contact information
in OSAVE.
For additional details regarding the NPMS submission process and required components
for a specific type of asset/facility (i.e. pipelines, LNG, or breakout tanks),
operators should refer to the corresponding webpages page under the
Pipeline Operator section of the NPMS website.
