[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