A US appeals court tossed out several natural gas pipeline safety standards adopted by President Joe Biden's administration following industry criticism about the massive costs on pipeline operators.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the US Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) failed to adequately explain why the revised standards' benefits outweigh their costs.
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, a trade group, had largely supported the revisions but sued last year to challenge five that PHMSA adopted over its objections.
Those highly technical standards, finalized in 2022, included new requirements for operators to carry out repairs to address pipeline walls thinning or corroding or developing cracks and dents.
The trade group welcomed the ruling. The agency did not respond to a request for comment.