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PHMSA Suggests Operators Should Be Prepared to Operate Sophisticated Pipelines Manually

PHMSA Suggests Operators Should Be Prepared to Operate Sophisticated Pipelines Manually

Full Title: PHMSA Suggests Operators Should Be Prepared to Operate Sophisticated Pipelines Manually
Author(s): Vinson & Elkins LLP
Publisher(s): Vinson & Elkins LLP
Publication Date: May 13, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

Should hazardous liquids pipelines be prepared to operate “manually” in the event of a future cyberattack? An almost million dollar fine proposed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) on Colonial Pipeline Company (“Colonial”) for, among other things, not having a communications plan in place for “manual operation” of the pipeline at all stations between Louisiana and New Jersey would suggest the answer is “yes…maybe.” PHMSA justifies this interpretation of its pipeline safety rules because, according to PHMSA, Colonial’s failure to have this communication plan in place exacerbated the supply issues and societal impact of the 2021 ransomware attack on the company. But this remarkable penalty action does not make clear whether PHSMA really thinks that forcing an operator to undertake manual operations meets the safety objectives of Part 195 when the operator’s preference is to evaluate a particular situation before determining which if any operations it might undertake manually. The penalty action might simply be seen as a distortion of PHMSA’s mandate to regulate the safe operation of pipelines to achieve political outcomes unrelated to safety.

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