PHMSA's case for broader gas shutoff requirements includes a cost ledger, not simply a safety promise. Its October 14, 2016 final rule estimated annual-equivalent benefits of $5.5 million against $10.6 million in compliance costs over a 50-year analysis using a 7 percent discount rate. This October 15 account examines the prior week's rule, not a fresh weekend announcement. [2016-24817]

At a 3 percent discount rate, the agency estimated benefits of $10.5 million and costs of $12.0 million. These are modeled valuations of future effects, including avoided fatalities, injuries, lost gas and property damage, not observed savings. Changing the discount rate changes the weight placed on future effects. Neither comparison establishes a particular utility's bill or a customer's installation charge. [2016-24817]

Effective April 14, 2017, the rule expands excess flow valves to specified new or entirely replaced residential branches, multifamily services and small commercial services up to 1,000 standard cubic feet per hour. Above that threshold, new or replaced lines require manual shutoffs or suitable excess flow valves. Existing eligible customers get a request option; the operator's rate-setter determines who bears retrofit installation costs. [2016-24817]

A second PHMSA record concerns emergency-order procedures, effective October 14 with comments due December 13, 2016. The agency says that procedural rule adds no industry compliance costs because it implements enforcement authority for imminent hazards. That statement must not be transferred to the equipment rule's cost analysis. The documents are complementary agency records, not independent economic tests. For readers comparing regulatory burdens, separating their scopes is more useful than combining them into a single claim that pipeline safety is either free or uneconomic. [2016-24817][2016-24788]

Source documents

  1. Pipeline Safety: Expanding the Use of Excess Flow Valves in Gas Distribution Systems to Applications Other Than Single-Family Residenceshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-10-14/html/2016-24817.htm
  2. Pipeline Safety: Enhanced Emergency Order Procedureshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-10-14/html/2016-24788.htm