Data / Federal rules / 2026-00566

Pipeline Safety: Class Location Change Requirements

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration published this final rule in the Federal Register on January 14, 2026. It took effect on March 16, 2026. Comments closed on March 16, 2026.

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What the agency says

PHMSA is updating its regulations to allow operators to apply modern risk management principles in addressing the safety of gas pipelines affected by class location changes. Relying on an approach originally developed in the 1950s, PHMSA's regulations use class locations to provide an additional margin of safety in the design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance of gas pipelines based on population density. When the class location of a pipeline changes due to an increase in population density, an operator may need to take certain actions to confirm or to revise the maximum allowable operating pressure of a segment. Because the methods traditionally used for that purpose do not account for modern risk management principles, PHMSA has granted special permits for more than two decades allowing operators to use an integrity-management-based alternative. This final rule adopts that `IM alternative' by regulation to provide operators with an additional method for confirming or restoring the maximum allowable operating pressure of certain eligible segments that experience class location changes.

Key facts

Document number

2026-00566

Type

Final rule

Action

Final rule

Agency

Transportation Department; Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

Published

January 14, 2026

Takes effect

March 16, 2026

Comments due

March 16, 2026

Dates

This rule is effective March 16, 2026. The incorporation by reference of certain material listed in this rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of March 16, 2026. Comment related to the information collection may be submitted by March 16, 2026, as detailed in Section VII.H.

Docket

Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0151; Amdt. No. 192-155

Regulation ID (RIN)

2137-AF29

Code of Federal Regulations

49 CFR 192

Topics

Incorporation by reference; Natural gas; Pipeline safety; Pipelines

Significant

Yes, under Executive Order 12866

Pages

48

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

Other documents from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

Everything from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration · Rules on incorporation by reference · Rules on natural gas · Rules on pipeline safety · Published in January 2026

Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.