[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 3 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 342-344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-107]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

49 CFR Part 195

[Docket PS-140(b), Notice 4]
RIN 2137-AC34


Areas Unusually Sensitive to Environmental Damage

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Public workshop.

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SUMMARY: RSPA invites industry, government representatives, and the 
public to a third workshop on unusually sensitive areas (USAs). The 
workshop's purpose is to openly discuss the guiding principles for 
determining areas unusually sensitive to environmental damage from a 
hazardous liquid pipeline release. This workshop is a continuation of 
the June 15-16, 1995 and October 17, 1995 workshops on USAs.

DATES: The workshop will be held on January 18, 1996 from 8:30 a.m. to 
4 p.m. Persons who are unable to attend may submit written comments in 
duplicate by February 5, 1996. However, persons submitting guiding 
principles to be considered at the January 18 workshop must do so by 
January 12, 1996. Interested persons should submit as part of their 
written comments all material that is relevant to a statement of fact 
or argument. Late filed comments will be considered so far as 
practicable.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 6200-04, 
Washington, DC. Non-federal employee visitors are admitted into the DOT 
headquarters building through the southwest entrance at Seventh and E 
Streets, SW. Persons who want to participate in the workshop should 
call (202) 366-2392 or e-mail their name, affiliation, and phone number 
to [email protected] before close of business January 12, 1996. The 

[[Page 343]]
workshop is open to all interested persons but RSPA may limit 
participation because of space considerations and the need to obtain a 
spectrum of views. Callers will be notified if participation is not 
open.
    Send written comments in duplicate to the Dockets Unit, Room 8421, 
Research and Special Programs Administration, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590-0001. 
Identify the docket and notice numbers stated in the heading of this 
notice.
    All comments and docketed materials will be available for 
inspection and copying in Room 8421 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. 
each business day. A summary of the workshop will be available from the 
Dockets Unit about three weeks after the workshop.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina Sames, (202) 366-4561, about 
this document, or the Dockets Unit, (202) 366-5046, for copies of this 
document or other material in the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 49 U.S.C. 60109 requires the Secretary of 
Transportation to:
     Consult with the Environmental Protection Agency and 
describe areas that are unusually sensitive to environmental damage if 
there is a hazardous liquid pipeline accident, and
     Establish criteria for identifying each hazardous liquid 
pipeline facility and gathering line, whether otherwise subject to 
regulation, located in an area unusually sensitive to environmental 
damage in the event of a pipeline accident.
    Consistent with the President's regulatory policy (E.O. 12866), 
RSPA wants to accomplish this congressional mandate at the least cost 
to society. Toward this end, RSPA is seeking early public participation 
in the rulemaking process by holding public workshops at which 
participants, including RSPA staff, may exchange views on relevant 
issues. RSPA hopes these workshops will enable government and industry 
to reach a better understanding of the problem and the potential 
solutions before proposed rules are issued.
    On June 15 and 16, 1995, RSPA held a public workshop to openly 
discuss the criteria being considered to determine USAs (60 FR 27948; 
May 26, 1995). Participants included representatives from the hazardous 
liquid pipeline industry; the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, 
Transportation, and Commerce; the Environmental Protection Agency; non-
government agencies; and the public. Participants at the workshop 
requested that additional workshops be held to further discuss this 
complex topic.
    On October 17, 1995, RSPA held a second public workshop on USAs (60 
FR 44824; August 29, 1995). The second workshop focused on developing a 
process that can be used to determine if an area is unusually sensitive 
to environmental damage. The American Petroleum Institute (API) 
provided information on their current research on USAs and recommended 
that the final definition consider the resource to be protected, the 
likelihood of a given pipeline to impact that resource, and what can be 
done to reduce the risk to the resource. Other participants recommended 
integrating factors concerning the likelihood of a rupture occurring 
and the severity of the consequence into the USA definition.
    Participants at the workshop brainstormed guiding principles that 
could be used when determining if a given area is a USA and possible 
topics for additional USA workshops. API volunteered to conduct mini-
workshops to discuss some of the technical issues and to bring their 
findings into larger forums.
    The following is a summary of the guiding principles that were 
discussed at the October 17 workshop or submitted after the workshop by 
members of the pipeline industry or other Federal agencies. The guiding 
principles are separated into two categories: Substance and Process. 
Guiding principles on substance relate to the criteria that should be 
included in the USA definition. Guiding principles on process relate to 
how to evaluate the criteria to be included in the USA definition, the 
process to create the USA definition, and how to apply the USA 
definition. The lists are not prioritized or final. The lists sometimes 
include more than one recommendation which may conflict with one 
another. Conflicting views are labeled a. and b. under a common number 
for comparison. RSPA invites comments on these recommended guiding 
principles and invites submissions of additional guiding principles. 
This list and any additional guiding principles that are submitted to 
the docket before January 12 will be considered at the January 18 
workshop:

Substance

    1. Human health and safety are primary concerns.
    2. Areas where there is serious threat of contamination to a 
drinking water ``zone of influence'' should be considered USAs.
    3a. A resource must be subject to or threatened by irretrievable 
loss or injury before it can be considered a USA. or
    3b. Areas where there is serious threat of contamination to a 
significant environmental or cultural resource should be considered a 
USA.
    4a. USAs are biological or ecological in nature and should not 
include cultural, economic, or recreational resources. Cultural, 
economic, or recreational resources should be designated as separate 
categories and viewed as distinct entities. or
    4b. Consider cultural resources and Indian tribal concerns when 
defining USAs.
    5. Only areas in the trajectory of a potential spill, e.g. down 
gradient, should be considered when determining USAs.
    6. It is expected that no pipeline operator is required to collect 
natural resources field data to determine USAs.
    7. Highly volatile liquid (HVL) pipelines should not be included.

Process

    1. The standards and criteria for resource sensitivity should be 
uniform on a national basis such that equivalent resources receive 
equivalent sensitivity assessments regardless of regionally based 
priorities.
    2. The government agencies should describe and identify USAs so 
that the data will not be subject to various interpretations and will 
be applied consistently.
    3. USAs should be subject to a systematic review process since USAs 
may change through time as species migrate, change location, or for 
other reasons. The USA definition should be explicit and practical in 
application.
    4. The USA definition should be pilot tested, complete, and fully 
defined before OPS uses the definition in rulemaking. Each part of the 
USA definition should be pilot tested for validity, practicability, and 
workability.
    5. Sources of USA data should be readily available to the public 
and uniform in criteria and standards.
    6. Data quality objectives should include consistency, accuracy, 
and extent of coverage.
    7. The extent of how much additional geographic area a criterion 
adds should be considered.
    8. Risk elements mandated in 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60109 to NOAA's 
Guidance for Facility and Vessel Response Plans (59 FR 14714; March 29, 
1994) should be applied when determining USAs.
    9. OPS should exempt operators that take proactive measures to 
minimize the potential for spills from additional requirements to 
protect USAs. 

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    10. Consultation with land or resource managers may be necessary 
when operators consider a range of preventative measures in significant 
environmental resource areas.
    11. The process should clarify how sensitive areas are protected 
under the Pipeline Safety Act of 1992 separate and apart from 
protection under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
    Several recommendations were made that RSPA has determined are 
acceptable but are not guiding principles. These are:
    1. Workshops for each phase of developing a USA definition should 
include appropriate technical experts, representatives, and field 
personnel with appropriate experience from agencies as well as 
industry.
    2. Public workshops should be used to gather information on the 
criteria that will determine USAs. The USA definition should be 
complete before its use in a rulemaking. The implementation of resource 
assessment and protection under the USA definition could be phased.
    3. All terms used in the USA definition should be defined.
    4. National consistency in interpreting all definitions should be 
the goal.
    The following are the additional workshops that were recommended 
during the October 17 workshop:
    1. Guiding Principles Workshop.
    2. Definitions of Terms Workshop.
    3. Source Water Supply Workshop (Surface and Subsurface).
    4. Biological Resources Workshop.
    5. Cultural Resources and Indian Tribal Concerns Workshop.
    6. Pilot Testing Process Workshop.
    Persons interested in receiving a transcript of the first workshop 
or the summary of the second workshop, material presented at the first 
or second workshop, or comments submitted on the material presented in 
the first or second public workshop notice should contact the Dockets 
Unit at (202) 366-5046 and reference docket PS-140(b).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 28, 1995.
Cesar DeLeon,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 96-107 Filed 1-3-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P