Energy and utility workforces mix two federal regimes with company policy. Anyone performing an operations, maintenance, or emergency-response function on a pipeline or LNG facility is covered by PHMSA rules at 49 CFR Part 199, and that includes contractor and subcontractor personnel as well as the operator's own employees (49 CFR 199.3). PHMSA requires a written anti-drug plan and an alcohol misuse plan (199.101, 199.202), sets its own random drug-testing rate, 50 percent for 2026 (199.105), has no Clearinghouse, and has no pre-employment alcohol test. Fleet drivers are under FMCSA at Part 382, with the Clearinghouse and the pre-employment rules that come with it. The field crews, plant operators, and office staff outside both are covered by whatever the company's policy says. PSI administers the whole picture: the federally required pools, the policy-based pools, on-site collections at plants and yards, and supervisor training for the people who oversee safety-sensitive work.
What this looks like in practice
- PHMSA-covered pipeline roles, including contractor personnel, that need their own compliant random pool
- Fleet drivers under FMCSA rules within a larger utility workforce
- Plant and yard collections scheduled around continuous operations
- Written PHMSA anti-drug and alcohol misuse plans that need to exist before an inspection asks for them
How PSI runs it
- One administrator across PHMSA, FMCSA, and policy-covered groups, each pool selected and documented to its own regulator's standard
- On-site crews for facilities that keep workers on site
- Supervisor training matched to safety-sensitive oversight
Common questions
We have pipeline, fleet, and field roles under different rules. Can one provider handle all of it?
Yes. PHMSA-covered pipeline roles, FMCSA fleet drivers, and non-DOT field crews each get a compliant pool, selected and documented to its own regulator's standard, under one administrator with one set of records. The differences matter: PHMSA covers contractor personnel and has no Clearinghouse or pre-employment alcohol test, and FMCSA has both.
Our sites run continuously. How do collections fit?
On-site crews schedule around continuous operations, so plant and yard collections happen without shutting anything down.