[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 57 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-6927]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 24, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 

Customer-Owned Service Lines

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) 
invites representatives of industry, state and local government, and 
the public to an open meeting on the safety of customer-owned service 
lines. The purpose of this meeting is to gather information on the 
extent to which lack of maintenance of customer-owned service lines 
raises safety concerns, and on how to address these concerns, including 
the need for any legislative changes or regulatory action.

DATES: The meeting will be held on May 17, 1994 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will held at the Transportation Safety 
Institute, 715 South Metropolitan, North Campus, Room 204, Oklahoma 
City, Oklahoma. The transcript of the meeting will be available for 
inspection and copying in room 8421, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20590 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each 
working day.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marvin Fell, (202) 366-6205, regarding 
the subject matter of this notice, or the Dockets Unit (202) 366-5046, 
regarding copies of this notice or other material referenced in this 
notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 115(b) of the Pipeline Safety Act of 
1992 (the Act, Pub. L. 102-508; October 24, 1992), requires the 
Department of Transportation to conduct a review of Federal, State and 
local rules, policies, procedures and other measures with respect to 
the safety of customer-owned natural gas service lines to determine 
their effectiveness. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 
published February 3, 1994 (59 FR 5168), RSPA defined a customer-owned 
service line as a pipeline that transports gas from a service line to 
an exterior wall of a building or end use equipment. These lines are 
commonly called ``yard lines'' of ``fuel lines.'' Similarly, ``farm 
taps'' are customer-owned service lines that begin at a customer meter, 
usually adjacent to a gas transmission line, and run to a single 
consumer.
    In performing this review, the Department is to consider the extent 
to which lack of maintenance of customer-owned service lines raises 
safety concerns. Additional factors to be considered are State and 
local law, including law governing private property and rights, and 
State pipeline safety regulation of distribution operators; the views 
of State and local regulatory authorities; available accident 
information; costs; and civil liability implications of distribution 
operators taking responsibility for customer-owned service lines.
    The Department is also to consider whether the customer-owned 
service line maintenance information regulations it is required to 
issue pursuant to section 115(a) of the Act sufficiently address safety 
risks and concerns involving such lines. RSPA published the proposed 
maintenance information regulations in an NPRM on February 3, 1994 (59 
FR 5168). The NPRM proposes to require operators of natural gas or 
petroleum gas pipelines that do not maintain their customer-owned 
service lines up to building walls to advise their customers of the 
requirements for maintenance of those lines, any resources known to the 
operator that could aid customers, and the potential hazards of not 
maintaining service lines.
    To begin its review, RSPA sent out a survey to the directors of 
state pipeline safety offices asking for information on the above-
described matters. After careful review of the responses, RSPA 
determined additional information is needed to determine if lack of 
maintenance of customer-owned service lines raises safety concerns and 
how any concerns should be addressed, including need for legislative 
and regulatory changes. Accordingly, a public meeting will be held to 
collect this information. RSPA will provide preliminary results from 
its survey at this meeting.
    RSPA is seeking comment on any of the above-described matters and, 
in particular, is requesting comment on the following questions:
    (1) Are distribution and transmission operators in favor of 
assuming responsibility over customer-owned service lines? If not, why 
not?
    (2) What will be the costs of requiring operators to maintain all 
customer-owned service lines?
    (3) What are the civil liability implications of operators being 
required to maintain these lines? If operators were required to 
maintain customer-owned service lines, would this requirement conflict 
with state and local laws?
    (4) What is the accident history of customer-owned lines in terms 
of incidents, injuries, fatalities, and property damage?
    What alternatives are there to regulations requiring operators to 
maintain customer-owned lines?
    (5) What methods are being used, and to what extent, to inform 
customers of how to maintain customer-owned service lines, and the 
hazards of not maintaining these lines? Are these methods effective in 
addressing the safety risks of these lines?
    (6) What are the safety concerns raised by lack of maintenance on 
customer-owned lines?
    Interested persons are invited to attend the meeting and present 
oral or written statements on the matters set for the meeting. Any 
person who wishes to speak should notify Marvin Fell at the above 
address. Please estimate the time that will be needed to speak. RSPA 
requests the right to limit the time of each speaker, if necessary, to 
ensure that everyone who requests an opportunity to speak is given one. 
Interested parties that are not scheduled to comment will have an 
opportunity to comment only after approval of the meeting officer.

    Issued in Washington, DC., on March 18, 1994.
George W. Tenley, Jr.,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 94-6927 Filed 3-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-M