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5 Takeaways from Regulation Navigation on the PHMSA Regulatory Flurry

September 4, 2025

5 Takeaways from Regulation Navigation on the PHMSA Regulatory Flurry

PHMSA sent out a flurry of regulatory announcements on July 1st that included 28 related to pipeline safety in the Federal Register. During the latest Regulation Navigation webinar, Chris Taylor, ITS VP of Learning and Product, hosted Erin Kurilla, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Operations at the American Public Gas Association, to discuss the expected changes and their timelines.

Erin works closely with public-owned natural gas utilities member systems to continuously improve the safety and reliability of our nation’s distribution pipeline infrastructure. She also often collaborates with other industry stakeholder groups such as the American Gas Association on joint-industry public comments to rulemaking.

Regulatory Announcements

During the webinar, Chris and Erin broke down PHMSA’s notices into different groups:

20 Direct Final Rules

16 Updates to Incorporations by Reference
4 direct final rules

2 Technical Amendments/Corrections

1 Technical Correction that has since been updated as an NPRM.

1 Technical Amendment

6 Notices of Proposed Rulemaking

The following chart helps break down where each announcement falls into the rulemaking process.

Here are the 5 Takeaways from our Webinar:

Review and understand the IBR updates and when they go into effect (1/1/2026) as they could affect your O&M procedures.
Understand your reporting process. Check with your state regulator to see when your state deadline for annual reporting is set compared to the changing federal process.
Some of the recent notices were commonsense administrative changes that may simplify operations.
The recent Technical Corrections and Amendments may impact O&M and recordkeeping procedures.
Remember to engage with your trade associations and participate in the public commenting process.

Reading Room Resources

In order to keep on top of the latest changes to regulations that are Incorporated by Reference, a number of reading rooms and online documents are available for review: