[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 115 (Monday, June 16, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35574-35575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15084]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

49 CFR Parts 192 and 195


Pipeline Safety: Alternative Mitigation Measures for Required 
Repairs Delayed by a Need To Obtain Permits

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

ACTION: Interpretation.

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SUMMARY: Congress directed the Research and Special Programs 
Administration's (RSPA) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) to revise its 
pipeline safety regulations, if necessary, to allow operators to take 
alternative mitigation measures while they seek governmental permits 
required for repairs. As RSPA/OPS interprets the pipeline safety 
regulations, they already allow such measures. Revising the regulations 
is not necessary.

DATES: Effective June 16, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Israni by phone at (202) 366-
4571, by fax at (202) 366-4566, or by e-mail at 
[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 
amended the Federal pipeline safety laws to require that the Secretary 
of Transportation revise pipeline safety regulations, as needed, to 
allow operators to implement alternative mitigation measures if repairs 
to pipelines cannot be completed within specified time frames. 
Specifically, 49 U.S.C. section 60133 provides, in part:

    (d) INTERIM OPERATIONAL ALTERNATIVES.
    (1) IN GENERAL * * * subject to the limitations in paragraph 
(2), the Secretary of Transportation shall revise the regulations of 
the Department, to the extent necessary, to permit a pipeline 
operator subject to time periods for repair specified by rule by the 
Secretary to implement alternative mitigation measures until all 
applicable permits have been granted.
    (2) LIMITATIONS.''The regulations issued by the Secretary 
pursuant to this subsection shall not allow an operator to implement 
alternative mitigation measures pursuant to paragraph (1) unless--
    (A) Allowing the operator to implement such measures would be 
consistent with the protection of human health, public safety, and 
the environment;
    (B) The operator, with respect to a particular repair project, 
has applied for and is pursuing diligently and in good faith all 
required Federal, State, and local permits to carry out the project; 
and
    (C) The proposed alternative mitigation measures are not 
incompatible with pipeline safety.

    RSPA/OPS has reviewed the existing pipeline safety regulations and 
determined that no changes to these regulations are necessary to 
implement this provision. As explained below, RSPA/OPS interprets 
existing pipeline repair requirements to allow for alternative 
mitigative measures while an operator has applied for and is waiting 
for a permit in order to effectuate a repair.
    General pipeline facility repair requirements in 49 CFR 192.703 
(for natural gas pipelines) and 49 CFR 195.401 (for hazardous liquid 
pipelines) require repair of conditions that are ``unsafe'' or ``could 
adversely affect the safe operation of [the] pipeline system,'' but do 
not specify a time period in which the required repairs must be made. 
These provisions, instead, require an operator to take actions 
necessary to assure the pipeline is safe and to take these actions 
``within a reasonable time.'' Thus, for the non immediate hazard 
conditions, a reasonable repair time allows for an operator to obtain 
the Federal, state or local permits necessary to make a repair. RSPA/
OPS expects an operator to exercise diligence in obtaining the 
necessary permits by being able to demonstrate that it has applied for 
the applicable permit and is taking all necessary steps for the permit 
to be processed and granted. In this interim period until the permit is 
granted, an operator is allowed to take alternative actions to mitigate 
the condition, as long as the actions are compatible with pipeline 
safety.
    The reasonable time provision does not apply to an immediate hazard 
condition. If circumstances associated with a particular pipeline 
problem are such that safety is immediately in jeopardy, then immediate 
action is appropriate and delay would be inconsistent with the 
protection of human health, public safety, and the environment.
    The only current regulation that specifies time periods for 
pipeline repairs is the recently promulgated integrity management rule 
for hazardous liquid pipelines, 49 CFR 195.452. The remediation 
requirements of this regulation require an operator to remediate 
defects meeting certain criteria immediately or within 60 or 180 days, 
depending on the defect's severity. This regulation further provides 
for an operator to take alternative mitigation measures if it cannot 
make the repair within the specified period for any reason, including 
being unable to obtain required permits. Specifically, 49 CFR 195.452 
(h)(3) provides in part:

    (3) Schedule for evaluation and remediation. An operator must 
complete remediation of a condition according to a schedule that 
prioritizes the conditions for evaluation and remediation. If an 
operator cannot meet the schedule for any condition, the operator 
must justify the reasons why it cannot meet the schedule and that 
the changed schedule will not jeopardize public safety or 
environmental protection. An operator must notify OPS if the 
operator cannot meet the schedule and cannot provide safety through 
a temporary reduction in operating pressure.

    Thus, if an operator must obtain a permit to carry out a repair for 
the operator's integrity management program, and cannot obtain the 
permit and make the repair within the 60- or 180-day period, an 
operator may either reduce operating pressure as an interim mitigative 
measure or, if it determines that pressure reduction is impracticable, 
submit a notification to RSPA/OPS explaining how it will ensure safety 
in the interim period, and then continue operation until the permit is 
granted and the repair made. An operator must complete the repairs in a 
time frame that does not jeopardize safety or environmental protection. 
Again, if the specified time period cannot be met because the operator 
is waiting for a permit to be granted, RSPA/OPS expects an operator to 
show it has applied for the permit and is taking all necessary steps 
for the permit to be processed and granted.
    RSPA/OPS recently proposed integrity management remediation 
requirements for natural gas transmission pipelines (see 68 FR 4278; 
Jan. 28, 2003). Similar to the remediation requirements for hazardous 
liquid integrity programs, until a repair is made, the proposed 
regulation would allow continued operation with a reduction in 
operating pressure or notification to RSPA/OPS, if pressure reduction 
is impracticable. Under the proposal, an operator would be able to 
implement alternative mitigative measures while it has applied for and 
is waiting for the permit to be granted.
    RSPA/OPS discussed the need for additional requirements including 
alternative mitigative measures with its advisory committees, the 
Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and the 
Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, at a joint meeting held 
on March 26, 2003. The Committees agreed that the existing allowance 
for pressure reduction or case-by-case definition of alternative 
measures, via operator notification to RSPA/OPS, represents viable 
alternative

[[Page 35575]]

measures, and that additional rulemaking to add alternatives was not 
needed.
    Because RSPA/OPS interprets its pipeline repair requirements as 
allowing for interim alternative mitigation measures while an operator 
is diligently pursuing the granting of a permit, no further regulatory 
action is necessary.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 10, 2003.
Stacey L. Gerard,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 03-15084 Filed 6-13-03; 8:45 am]
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