ITS hosted a conversation with Amy Livingston, Training Manager at Kinder Morgan and a committee member with ASME B31Q, for the latest Regulation Navigation webinar. Livingston and Chris Taylor, the ITS VP of Learning and Product, discussed the importance of the ASME B31Q standard for the pipeline industry and the most recent updates released in 2025.
The webinar included 5 key takeaways about the latest updates to ASME B31Q:
5 Takeaways
- Span of Control (SOC) guidance has been clarified regarding the role of a qualified observer who must be present for the entire task and able to respond to an Abnormal Operating Condition. The guidance also defines the roles of helpers who do not count toward Span of Control and conditions under which Span of Control may be reduced.
- A new task has been added: Task 0637: Vacuum Box Inspection of Tank Welds (NDT). This task reflects industry evolution and the need for formal qualification in leak testing
- Seven tasks have been revised with “pipeline” changed to “pipe”.
- The language in the new edition has shifted from “may” to “should” or “shall” to clarify what is permissive and what is mandatory.
- Look out for a new Non-Mandatory Appendix J ASME “Code Case” that explains the rationale SMEs used to determine Span of Control for tasks. The Appendix will include a Risk and Observability scale to help classify the tasks and the difficulty of observing them.
Links to Regulatory and Industry News
We covered a significant amount of regulatory news during the webinar and have all of the relevant links to share with you below.
- PHMSA Announces 2 Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). Comments on both ANPRMs must be submitted by August 4, 2025.
- PHMSA’s office of Chief Counsel issued a pair of policy memos revising procedures for Pipeline Safety Enforcement Proceedings
- ANPRM on Repair Criteria for Hazardous Liquid and Gas Transmission Pipelines. Comments are due by July 21, 2025.
- NPRM concerning the modernization of the 193 regulations related to Liquid Natural Gas. Comments are due by July 7, 2025.
- PHMSA is amending its regulation language to change the name of the body of water known as the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.” It was published in the Federal Register on May 20th with an effective date within 30 days, putting it at next Thursday, June 19th.
- NTSB Investigation – Missouri: An investigation is ongoing after a line locate failed to mark a gas main that was later drilled by a cable subcontractor. A gas explosion destroyed one home, damaged two others, and left one person dead and two injured.
- NTSB Report – Pennsylvania: A final report on a PA chocolate factory explosion that left seven dead advises all regulated natural gas distribution pipeline operators to address the risk associated with Aldyl A service tees with Delrin inserts and recommends the use of natural gas alarms.
- PSMS – Voluntary Implementation Encouraged: On March 25, PHMSA issued an Advisory Bulletin on Pipeline Management Systems (PSMS).
- In Massachusetts, effective October 11, 2025, all operator qualification (OQ) programs have made a number of changes, including the elimination of Span of Control and AOCs must be task-specific.
If you would like to learn more about the latest edition of B31Q, you can view the entire Regulation Navigation webinar any time on the ITS YouTube channel.
