[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59236-59237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25894]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

[Docket No. RSPA-03-16273]


Pipeline Safety: Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) Workshop

AGENCY: Office of Pipeline Safety, Research and Special Programs 
Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice; Workshop on Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC).

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SUMMARY: The Research and Special Programs Administration's (RSPA) 
Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) and the National Association of 
Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) are cosponsoring a workshop on 
stress corrosion cracking (SCC) with the pipeline industry trade 
associations (American Petroleum Institute, Association of Oil 
Pipelines, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, American Gas 
Association, and NACE International). The workshop will provide a forum 
for the discussion of SCC phenomena in both gas and hazardous liquid 
pipelines.

DATES: Tuesday, December 2, 2003, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public may attend the meeting at the Westin Oaks Hotel, 
5011 Westheimer Blvd., Houston, TX 77056 (telephone: 713-960-8100; fax: 
713-960-6553). Operators of natural gas transmission and hazardous 
liquid pipelines are urged to attend. To facilitate meeting planning, 
advance registration for these meetings is strongly encouraged and can 
be accomplished online at the following Web site: http://primis/
rspa.dot.gov/meetings.
    Members of the public are welcome to attend the workshop. An 
opportunity will be provided for the public to ask questions or make 
short statements on the topics under discussion. You may submit written 
comments by mail or deliver to the Dockets Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT), Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20590-0001. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. You also may submit written comments 
to the docket electronically. To do so, log onto the following Internet 
Web address: http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help & Information'' for 
instructions on how to file a document electronically. All written 
comments should identify the docket and notice numbers which appear in 
the heading of this notice. Anyone who would like confirmation of 
mailed comments must include a self-addressed stamped postcard.
    Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments received into 
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the April 11, 2000, issue of the Federal Register (Volume 
65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
    Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: For 
information on facilities or services for individuals with disabilities 
or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact Juan Carlos 
Martinez (telephone: 202-366-1933; E-mail: [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janice Morgan (telephone: 404-562-
3552; E-mail [email protected]) regarding the subject matter 
of this notice. You can read comments and other material in the docket 
on the Internet at: http://dms.dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The first recorded SCC failure of a pipeline 
in the United States was in 1965. SCC continues to be a threat to the 
integrity of both gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines under 
certain conditions. Recent incidents throughout North America and 
elsewhere, including Australia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and South 
America, have highlighted the threats to pipelines from SCC failures. 
Although SCC failures on hazardous liquid pipelines have been very rare 
compared with other threats to hazardous liquid pipelines and compared 
with SCC occurrences on natural gas pipelines, three SCC-caused 
failures of hazardous liquid pipelines have occurred in 2003.
    RSPA/OPS recently issued an Advisory Bulletin to remind owners and 
operators of gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines to 
consider SCC as a risk factor when developing and implementing 
Integrity Management Plans. All owners and operators of pipeline 
systems, whether or not their pipeline systems are subject to the 
Integrity Management Plan rules, should determine whether their 
pipeline system is susceptible to SCC and assess the impact of SCC on 
pipeline integrity. Based on this evaluation an operator should 
prioritize application of internal inspection, hydrostatic testing, or 
other forms of integrity verification.
    The workshop on December 2, 2003, will address the following 
topics:
    1. Stress Corrosion Cracking--description, science, and history.
    2. Practical application of SCC principles--how to assess SCC in 
operating pipelines within the context of integrity management.
    3. Response to the occurrence of SCC--guidelines for response and 
remediation; addressing public concerns.

[[Page 59237]]

    4. Research and development--knowledge gaps and next steps.
    This is a technical workshop aimed at sharing information on SCC in 
pipelines among operators and technical experts, providing regulators 
with information they can use in pipeline inspection and oversight, and 
reviewing priorities for research to address the problems posed by SCC 
in operating gas and hazardous liquid pipelines.
    RSPA/OPS will soon publish a final rule to require gas transmission 
pipelines to develop Integrity Management Plans for high consequence 
areas that incorporates requirements for addressing SCC threats by 
referencing Appendix A3 of standard ASME B31.8S. Although criteria and 
mitigation plans for near-neutral pH (6-8) SCC is not addressed in this 
standard, NACE International (NACE) is currently developing a standard 
on Direct Assessment of Stress Corrosion Cracking. Also, NACE will soon 
issue a technical committee report, External Stress Corrosion Cracking 
of Underground Pipelines, to provide information on SCC for hazardous 
liquid pipelines.
    RSPA/OPS is cosponsoring this workshop with NAPSR and major 
pipeline industry trade groups, including the American Petroleum 
Institute (API) Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL), Interstate Natural 
Gas Association of America (INGAA), American Gas Association (AGA), and 
a professional association, NACE International.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 60102, 60109, 60117.

    Issued in Washington, DC on October 7, 2003.
Jeffrey D. Wiese,
Manager, Program Development, Office of Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 03-25894 Filed 10-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P