Pipeline Safety: Eliminating Limitations on Welders and Welding Operators
PHMSA Proposed Rule — Published April 24, 2026 | Comments Due June 23, 2026
Docket No. PHMSA-2026-1552 | Federal Register, Volume 91, Number 79, Pages 22104-22107
This NPRM proposes to remove the exclusion for welders or welding operators qualified by nondestructive testing from welding on compressor station pipe and components.
What's Changing
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is proposing to eliminate a 55-year-old regulatory limitation that has prevented welders qualified through nondestructive testing (NDT) from welding on compressor station pipe and components. Section 192.229(a) of 49 CFR Part 192 currently states that "[n]o welder or welding operator whose qualification is based on nondestructive testing may weld compressor station pipe and components." This language has remained unchanged since the enactment of Part 192 on August 19, 1970.
Why Now
The rule change was prompted by a comment from Williams Companies, Inc., submitted in response to DOT's Request for Information published April 3, 2025. Williams argued that the limitation "is unnecessary for welders working on compressor stations to have different qualification options than pipelines and process facilities," noting that both API 1104 and ASME Section IX already address limitations on qualifications by nondestructive testing.
Technological Progress
PHMSA agrees that advancements in radiographic and ultrasonic technology over the past 55 years have made the restriction obsolete:
- Radiographic inspection: Improved from basic film methods to better film, automatic developers, and digital radiography (introduced in the early 2000s)
- Ultrasonic weld inspection: Advanced from fixed-angle probes manipulated manually to phased array, multi-beam probes completing multi-angle inspection in a single pass
- Defect visualization: Progressed from cathode ray tube graphs to colorized 2D images of weld cross sections
- Time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD): Developed in the early 2000s, now a fast and reliable method for crack detection and weld inspection
Based on these advances, PHMSA now considers modern NDT technology equivalent to destructive testing for welder qualification purposes.
Economic Impact
The proposed rule is classified as a deregulatory action under Executive Order 14192. Williams Companies estimated cost savings of approximately $1 million from removing the limitation. While PHMSA could not independently verify this figure, the agency expects cost savings from reduced regulatory burden and decreased compliance uncertainty for gas pipeline facility operators, with potential downstream cost benefits for the public. PHMSA has preliminarily determined the rule will not adversely affect safety, as industry standards already contain appropriate limitations on destructive testing qualifications.
Energy Policy Alignment
The proposed rule is consistent with Executive Order 14154 (Unleashing American Energy) and Executive Order 14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency). PHMSA expects the amendment will increase national pipeline transportation capacity and improve pipeline operators' ability to provide abundant, reliable, affordable natural gas in response to residential, commercial, and industrial demand.
How to Comment
Interested parties may submit comments identified by Docket Number PHMSA-2026-1552 through:
- Online: www.regulations.gov
- Mail: Docket Management System, U.S. DOT, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001
- Fax: 1-202-493-2251
Deadline: June 23, 2026
Source: Federal Register, April 24, 2026 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-04-24/html/2026-08083.htm