[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 178 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 47800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22815]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. P-93-2W; Notice 3]
Grant of Waiver: Repair of Gas Transmission Lines
The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) waived
certain maintenance regulations (49 CFR 192.713(a) and 192.485) to
permit 28 pipeline operators and their subsidiaries to repair steel gas
transmission lines with Clock Spring wrap (Notice 2; 60 FR
10630; February 27, 1995). The waiver, which was based on a petition
submitted by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA)
and a notice inviting public comment (Notice 1; 59 FR 49739; September
29, 1994), applies to lines operating at 40 percent or more of
specified minimum yield strength.
As stated in Notice 2, the waiver is subject to the following
conditions:
(1) Clock Spring wrap must be installed using procedures
recommended by the manufacturer;
(2) Clock Spring wrap must be installed consistent with
the program, GRI WRAP;
(3) Clock Spring wrap must be installed consistent with a
Gas Research Institute plan, including, at 2-year intervals, excavating
and evaluating a statistical sample of sites, recording the results,
and sending the results to RSPA;
(4) To allow inspection by RSPA and state agencies serving as
interstate enforcement agents, scheduled non-emergency installations of
Clock Spring wrap must be reported (by phone, fax, or mail) a
reasonable time before installation to the RSPA pipeline regional
office and state agent with authority over the repair; and
(5) Persons installing Clock Spring wrap must have been
trained and certified in installation procedures either by the Clock
Spring Company or by persons the Clock Spring Company has trained and
certified.
By letter of June 30, 1995, INGAA petitioned RSPA to add additional
operators to the list of operators who are authorized to use the wrap
under the waiver. These additional operators include interstate natural
gas pipeline companies as well as intrastate pipeline companies.
Because the safety of Clock Spring wrap installations on
high-stress gas transmission lines is governed by the terms and
conditions of the waiver, expanding the list of operators to include
additional interstate companies would not be inconsistent with pipeline
safety. However, under the federal statutory provision that governs
waivers of the pipeline safety regulations (49 U.S.C. 60118), matters
involving intrastate pipeline facilities under the authority of
participating state agencies are handled initially by those agencies.
Therefore, we are adding to the list of operators authorized to use the
wrap only those interstate natural gas pipeline companies named in
INGAA's petition. These companies are Consumers Power and Michigan Gas
Storage Company, Iroquois Gas Transmission System, National Fuel Gas
Supply Corporation with National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation,
Sabine Pipe Line Company, Valero Energy Corporation, and Viking Gas
Transmission Company.
The remaining companies named in INGAA's petition should either
obtain a waiver of 49 CFR 192.713(a) and 192.485 from the applicable
state agency participating in the federal/state pipeline safety
regulatory program or notify RSPA that the gas transmission lines
involved are intrastate pipeline facilities that are not subject to the
authority of such an agency. As provided by the above statutory
provision, state waiver actions are subject to review by RSPA. We will
not object to any state waiver that is consistent with the terms and
conditions of the waiver published in Notice 2 of this proceeding.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 60118(c))
Issued in Washington, DC on September 8, 1995.
Richard B. Felder,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 95-22815 Filed 9-13-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P
