Pipeline Safety: Safety of Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities

Summary: This interim final rule (IFR) revises the Federal pipeline safety regulations to address critical safety issues related to downhole facilities, including wells, wellbore tubing, and casing, at underground natural gas storage facilities. This IFR responds to Section 12 of the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016, which was enacted following the serious natural gas leak at the Aliso Canyon facility in California on October 23, 2015. This IFR incorporates by reference two American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practices (RP): API RP 1170, ``Design and Operation of Solution-mined Salt Caverns used for Natural Gas Storage,'' issued in July 2015; and API RP 1171, ``Functional Integrity of Natural Gas Storage in Depleted Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Aquifer Reservoirs,'' issued in September 2015.