Authority of the NTSB in Pipeline Investigations

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), American Gas Association, and American Public Gas Association (the Associations) (jointly, "the Associations") respectfully submits these comments in response to the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). The Associations support the NTSB and its efforts to improve pipelines safety. The NTSB's current regulations and practices have served the agency, pipeline industry, and the public well. The NTSB serves a critical purpose by investigating and providing findings and recommendations after significant pipeline incidents or accidents. In its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the NTSB seeks comments on the terms "significant injury to the environment" and "substantial property damage." These terms have existed undefined for decades in both the NTSB's statute and regulations. It is the Associations opinion that defining these terms will unnecessarily limit the NTSB's discretion to determine which pipeline incidents and accidents truly require a NTSB investigation. The adoption of bright-line definitions could be both over- and underinclusive, requiring the NTSB to invest time and resources in unnecessary investigations, while also excluding other incidents from investigation leaving their important lessons undiscovered.