Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223-1350 www.dps.ny.gov

Public Service CommissionAudrey Zibelman

Chair

Patricia L. AcamporaGregg C. Sayre

Diane X. BurmanCommissioners

Kimberly A. HarrimanGeneral Counsel

Kathleen H. BurgessSecretary

 

              September 28, 2015

Honorable Christopher A. Hart Chairman National Transportation Safety Board Washington, DC 20594

Re: Recommendation Made to New York State Public Service Commission: Revise the New York State Department of Public Service Gas Utility Operator Program to Ensure All Elements of the Regulations are Included in the 5-year Audit Plan (P-15-38).

Sent Electronically and U.S. Mail

Dear Chairman Hart,

The New York State Department of Public Service (NYSDPS) appreciates the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) guidance and assistance offered during the investigation of the March 12, 2014 East Harlem, New York incident as well as the opportunity to contribute our expertise to the NTSB’s investigation. Ensuring gas safety is of highest priority for the NYSDPS and the Public Service Commission. We are committed to taking lessons learned from East Harlem to further assure gas safety in New York. The NYSDPS Pipeline Safety program is strong and we continue to look for strengthening opportunities to be sure that New York’s pipeline system remains safe and reliable.

The NYSDPS agrees with the NTSB that we must review all elements of the state regulations in our 5-year audit plans. In fact, since shortly after pipeline personnel were required to be qualified in compliance with the operator qualification (OQ) rule (49 CFR §192.809) in 2002, the NYSDPS has regularly conducted field evaluations of operator qualification program implementation during the field audit portion of NYSDPS operations and maintenance audits. Moreover, the NYSDPS Pipeline Safety section has conducted record and field audits of all operations and maintenance activities as part of our 5-year audit plan. This includes determining whether a utility’s internal procedures include all operations and maintenance activities mandated in existing safety regulations, whether the utility is following its procedures, and whether the utility performs at the level required by all operations and maintenance regulations, all of which mirror, and sometimes go beyond, the federal requirements. As part of these audits

Honorable Christopher A. Hart September 28, 2015

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and at site visits, NYSDPS Gas Safety Staff routinely check the qualifications of utility personnel and contractors to confirm compliance with the utility’s operator qualification program. However, going forward, the changes we are making in response to the NTSB recommendation will ensure that this review is more routinized and includes an evaluation of training (if applicable) and testing for the covered task.

Therefore, in light of the NTSB’s Recommendation P-15-38 in its June 19, 2015, East Harlem Report, and as part of our continuous improvement process, the NYSDPS has formally changed its 5-year audit procedures to clarify that evaluations of operator qualification programs (OQ), including audits of written operation qualification programs and procedures, covered task training, the manner in which operators qualify an individual for a covered task, and on-site OQ field evaluations (Protocol 9) will occur for each pipeline operator at intervals that do not exceed five years. This is consistent with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) “Guidelines for States Participating in the Pipeline Safety Program,” the details of which we have always adopted in our practices. To be clear, the NYSDPS will audit each of the items listed in the revised 5-year audit plan (including the OQ items listed above) in our 5-year audit cycle; when we audit those items, as we do with all items audited, we randomly select documents from each. We believe these changes address NTSB recommendation P-15-38.

Of note, over the last several years, the NYSDPS has revised NYSDPS forms to more thoroughly document compliance with operations and maintenance audits; we have added steps to the audit process to more clearly document that the Department reviewed the pipeline operator’s procedures during the audit process; and we have revised the process to review emergency plans so that Staff can determine compliance with emergency plan requirements and ensure that the plans incorporate PHMSA guidance (advisory bulletins, etc.) and industry best practices. Finally, the New York State Public Service Commission has adopted rate case performance metrics that hold local distribution companies accountable to performance levels in the areas of emergency response, damage prevention, leak management, and violation reduction. These metrics include negative rate adjustments if certain acceptable performance thresholds are not met or exceeded to align utility management focus with these important areas.

The NYSDPS is committed to continually improving gas safety in New York State, and we look forward to working with the NTSB on these very important issues. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Cynthia McCarran, Deputy Director of Gas and Water, at (518) 486-1645 or Cynthia.McCarran@dps.ny.gov.

Sincerely,

Audrey Zibelman Chair