Ask the Regulator: What the New PHMSA Means for Operators & How to Use It

Event Summary

PHMSA is changing — and the pace of that change is faster right now than most operators realize.

Leadership at the agency has shifted significantly. Regulations are actively being removed from the Federal Register. The enforcement posture is moving from prescriptive compliance toward performance-based standards. And most operators are navigating all of it from the outside, trying to interpret what these shifts mean for their systems, their documentation, and their people.

Tiffany Ziemer spent more than a decade inside that system — leading PHMSA enforcement programs across 11 states, managing national accident investigation teams, and working alongside agency leadership as enforcement priorities were set and regulatory decisions were made. She knows how inspectors think, what documentation gaps consistently drive findings, and where the regulatory environment is actually heading.

In the first session of SGA’s Ask the Regulator series, Tiffany will translate that experience into practical intelligence your teams can act on — covering the three dimensions of the current PHMSA environment that operators need to understand right now.

“I want to help demystify PHMSA and give operators a practical advantage —
not just theory.”

— Tiffany Ziemer, Director, Pipeline Safety & Regulatory Excellence,
SGA Natural Gas Association

What This Session Covers

1. The PHMSA Leadership Transition — and What It Means for Enforcement Posture

• Who is now steering PHMSA and how that shapes enforcement priorities
• How changes in agency leadership influence the day-to-day reality of inspections and enforcement actions
• What operators should understand about the current regulatory posture and how to adjust accordingly

2. Active Deregulation — What Is Changing and How Operators Can Engage the Process

• What active deregulation actually means — regulations are being removed from the Federal Register right now
• How the process works and how operators can engage it — including what a justification looks like and when it applies
• Which types of requirements are most likely to change and what that means for your current compliance approach
• How to stay ahead of regulatory changes rather than react to them after the fact

3. Performance-Based Compliance — What Your Organization Needs to Do Differently

• What the shift from prescriptive to performance-based standards actually requires of operators in practice
• How to document and demonstrate compliance in an environment where outcomes matter more than checkbox activities
• What inspectors look for when evaluating performance-based compliance — and how that differs from prescriptive review
• How to build the internal systems and practices that position your organization for confidence in this new environment

What You Will Walk Away With

• A clear understanding of the current PHMSA leadership environment and how it is affecting enforcement activity in the field
• Practical knowledge of the deregulation process — what is changing, how to track it, and how your organization can engage it
• A working framework for what performance-based compliance requires of your documentation, training, and operational practices
• Specific actions your team can take now to strengthen preparedness as the regulatory environment continues to shift
• A foundation for Session 2 — aligning your safety systems and compliance programs with the evolving expectations this session introduces

Who Should Attend

This session is designed for the full range of professionals responsible for safety, compliance, and operational performance across your organization:

• Safety and compliance managers and directors
• Operations leads and field supervisors
• Pipeline integrity and engineering staff
• Regulatory and government affairs professionals
• Executive leaders accountable for safety and regulatory performance
• New and developing professionals building foundational regulatory knowledge

Tiffany will address both the strategic and operational dimensions of the current PHMSA environment — making this session relevant from the C-suite to the field.