Carbon Dioxide Pipeline

On May 26, 2022, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced to implement new measures to strengthen its safety oversight of carbon dioxide pipelines around the country and protect communities from dangerous pipeline failures. To strengthen the carbon dioxide pipeline safety, PHMSA initiated a new rulemaking to update standards for carbon dioxide pipelines, including requirements related to emergency preparedness, and response. 

On June 2, 2022, the PHMSA issued an Advisory Bulletin (ADB)-2022-0063 to clarify the regulatory requirements on the potential for damage to those pipeline facilities caused by earth movement and changing weather patterns due to climate change. According to the ADB-2022-0063, these phenomena can pose a threat to the integrity of pipeline facilities if those threats are not identified and mitigated.

On September 16, 2022, Governor Newsom signed the Senate Bill 905 (SB-905) into the law. The SB-905 directs the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to create a carbon capture and storage program in California aimed at accelerating the deployment of carbon management technologies.

At the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), the Pipeline Safety Division (PSD) regulates the supercritical and hazardous liquid pipelines by 49 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR), Part 195 and the Elder California Pipeline Safety of 1981. Additional guidance for identifying risk factors and mitigating natural force hazards on pipeline segments is available in the ADB-2022-063, 49 CFR Part 195, and the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981.

The OSFM received multiple inquiries about the regulatory and reporting requirements of the carbon dioxide pipeline. Also, multiple parties express interest to construct pipelines and/or convert pipelines to transport the carbon dioxide in supercritical or liquid phase. Hence, the OSFM prepared the Frequently Asked Questions to clarify our policy. If you have additional question(s), please submit your questions to Andy Chau at Andy.Chau@fire.ca.gov.