On July 30, 2026, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) convened a joint meeting of the Gas Pipeline and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees. The committees discussed a pending rulemaking (the Notice) that would narrow PHMSA’s authority to condition special permits. Having handled special permits as a PHMSA regulator, as in-house counsel, and in private practice, I believe PHMSA should adopt the broader of the two interpretations discussed at the meeting. Conditions should be tied to the safety purpose underlying the regulation being waived, not merely the specific regulatory provision identified in the application.
PHMSA may condition a special permit for safety, for environmental protection, or in the public interest. 49 C.F.R. § 190.341(d)(2). The public interest basis has given PHMSA discretion to attach conditions unrelated to the relief requested. As a result, applications have become increasingly complex, with processing now taking 37 to 45 months according to the advisory committees. One operator’s application shows the disconnect clearly. A simple application for a waiver from PHMSA’s odorization requirements resulted in a 30 month-long process that included unrelated conditions such as extensive hydrotesting, additional cathodic protection stations, inline inspection, and integrity management obligations.
Delays and unreasonable conditions are not the only reforms needed for the special permit process. PHMSA has long treated special permits as a proving ground for innovative technology, letting an operator test new approaches under agency oversight before broader adoption by rule. PHMSA repeated that framing at the July meeting. Unpredictable, sweeping conditions have frustrated that purpose.
The Notice proposes a new standard for special permit conditions, one limited to only those “directly and substantially related to the relevant standard or regulation being waived in the order granting the application.” The committees focused much of their discussion on what the phrase “directly and substantially related” should mean in practice. One reading would confine PHMSA to the regulations explicitly named in the application. A second would allow conditions related to safety issues the waiver itself creates, regardless of whether identified in the application. The committees approved the proposed text without amendment, leaving PHMSA to resolve that question in the final rule.
A narrow interpretation, however, could overcorrect in a way that undermines safety. An application lists the sections for which relief is sought, not every provision the waiver might touch Pipeline safety regulations are interconnected, and a waiver from one requirement often has implications for others. PHMSA’s discretion should have meaningful limits, nor should the new standard frustrate the agency’s mission “to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives.”
PHMSA should retain authority to impose conditions addressing the safety implications created by the requested waiver. This authority should not, however, mean that the agency can seize the opportunity to impose any and all conditions above the regulations. Conditions must be reasonable and predictable. They must have a direct link to the request related to the safety of the public or the environment.
PHMSA’s proposal represents the first meaningful effort in years to redefine the scope of special permit conditions. Operators are not submitting applications with the intent to decrease their safety obligations. Applications are replete with thoughtful proposals that recognize that waivers are not automatic and must ensure safety levels.
The Notice is an opportunity to provide clarity and certainty to the special permit process. Understanding its proposed standard will streamline the process while maintaining safety. A standard tied to the purpose of the waived regulation also preserves PHMSA’s longstanding use of special permits to evaluate new technologies. Operators can better assess the regulatory consequences of pursuing a special permit while PHMSA retains authority to address the safety issues created by the requested relief.
A transcript of the July 30, 2026 meeting will be made available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/PHMSA-2026-1156/document.
If you would like to discuss how this Notice could affect your operations or special permits generally, please contact Ahuva Battams or another member of Beatty & Wozniak’s team.