Pipeliners Podcast

In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, Brianne Kurdock and Lee Banse of Babst Calland provide a fall 2026 pipeline safety regulatory update. They explain how PHMSA rulemaking works, including the role of the Gas and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees, and review the 13 proposed rules considered at the July 30 joint committee meeting. The conversation also covers the pending repair criteria, LNG, and breakout tank rulemakings and how operators can monitor and participate in the process.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, Russel Treat talks with Tiffany Ziemer about how PHMSA approaches pipeline incident investigations. Tiffany is Director of Pipeline Safety and Regulatory Excellence at the SGA Natural Gas Association and a former PHMSA chief investigator. The conversation covers how PHMSA and the NTSB work alongside each other, why investigation reports take time, and how the industry might better learn from past incidents and standardize what it measures. Tiffany also shares her path from military police to federal service and what she plans to build for SGA members.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

In this episode, Russel Treat speaks with Mark Gunsalus of NYSEARCH about how a member-driven research consortium moves gas industry technology from raw idea to field deployment. The conversation covers how projects are born, funded, and shared across utilities, highlights several active projects in robotics, plastic pipe inspection, pipe location, and paving, and looks at where AI may realistically fit in utility operations.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, Russel Treat welcomes Mike Cloward of ExxonMobil, co-chair of the committee behind API RP 1192, the new recommended practice for the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline. The conversation covers why the industry developed the standard, what makes CO2 unique as a pipeline fluid, and how the recommended practice addresses integrity, fracture control, and emergency response. Mike also shares where the standard may go from here and advice for operators new to CO2 service.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

Jerad Stack of Flowstate returns to the Pipeliners Podcast to discuss what changes when computational leak detection moves from liquids to compressible fluids such as natural gas, CO2, and ethylene. Russel Treat and Jerad talk through why changes in line inventory make these systems harder to monitor, how physics and machine learning work together in the models, and what an operator should consider before piloting leak detection on a compressible system.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

In this episode, Russel Treat talks with Kathleen Smits of Southern Methodist University about how natural gas moves underground after a pipeline leak begins and why that matters for detection, quantification, and repair. The conversation covers how soil moisture, surface conditions, pressure, and gas composition shape what operators measure at the surface. Kathleen also discusses her research on evidence-based guidance for leak management and where that work is headed.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, host Russell Treat talks with Nick Dresang, Director of Cybersecurity at Flow State, about how leak detection systems get their data and what that means for pipeline cybersecurity. They cover OT/IT integration across the Purdue Model, cloud deployment options, and the security tradeoffs operators face as more pipeline data moves off premises.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

This week's episode of the Pipeliners Podcast looks at electric transmission reconductoring, the practice of upgrading power lines with higher-capacity conductors, and its growing impact on pipeline corrosion. Host Russel Treat is joined by Ashlin Bollacker, Director of Pipeline Safety at INGAA, and returning guest Frank Onesto, Pipeline Corrosion Engineer at Burns & McDonnell, to discuss how rising AC interference from grid upgrades threatens pipeline integrity and what operators can do to get ahead of it.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

Keith Coyle, chief counsel at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, returns to the Pipeliners Podcast to walk through the agency's rulemaking priorities under the current administration. He and host Russell Treat cover changes to how PHMSA drafts and reviews rules, a faster format for Pipeline Advisory Committee meetings, and the status of several active rulemakings, including class location changes, LNG facility regulations, and breakout tank inspections.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.

This episode of the Pipeliners Podcast looks at why leak alarms are considered the most difficult alarm a pipeline controller can face. Host Russell Treat is joined by Angie Schrader, co-founder and COO of Flowstate, to unpack what drives alarm sensitivity and false alarms, and how operators can build stronger leak alarm response and restart procedures. The conversation also touches on API RP 1130 and PHMSA's Rupture Mitigation Valve Rule.

Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.