[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11477-11478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5353]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

[Docket No. RSPA-03-15733; Notice 2]


Pipeline Safety: Grant of Waiver; Portland Natural Gas 
Transmission System

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA); U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice; grant of waiver.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: PNGTS Operating Co., LLC, operator of the Portland Natural Gas 
Transmission System (PNGTS), requested a waiver of compliance with the 
regulatory requirements at 49 CFR 192.611 that require natural gas 
pipeline operators to confirm or revise the maximum allowable operating 
pressure of their natural gas pipelines after changes occur in Class 
location.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    PNGTS Operating Co., LLC, operator of the Portland Natural Gas 
Transmission System, submitted a request to RSPA's Office of Pipeline 
Safety (RSPA/OPS) seeking a waiver of compliance with the regulatory 
requirements at 49 CFR 192.611 to confirm or revise the maximum 
allowable operating pressure of its natural gas pipeline after Class 
location changes occurred in areas associated with two sections of the 
pipeline totaling 595 feet in length in West Stewartstown, New 
Hampshire. In lieu of complying with the Sec.  192.611 requirements, 
PNGTS proposed to conduct certain alternative risk control activities 
on the pipeline that exceed the minimum requirements of Part 192. These 
activities included performing internal inspections at six-year 
intervals on the entire 24-inch mainline, annual close-interval 
cathodic protection surveys on the waiver segments, a direct current 
voltage gradient survey on the waiver segments, direct assessment and 
repair of any anomalies identified by the inspections and electrical 
surveys, and more frequent ground and aerial surveillance patrols and 
instrumented leak surveys on the pipeline.
    PNGTS requested a waiver of compliance with the requirements at 49

[[Page 11478]]

CFR 192.611 to confirm or revise the pipeline's MAOP for the referenced 
portions of its pipeline based on the following reasons:
    1. The size of the geographic areas associated with the waiver 
segments is minimal. The area associated the two waiver segments is 
only 595 feet in length.
    2. The construction activity that resulted in the Class location 
change was minimal and is not expected to expand further. The 
construction consisted of several mobile homes and two multi-tenant 
structures containing four units each on the perimeter of a tree farm. 
The multi-tenant units cross the 660-foot Class boundary by distances 
of only 0.7 to 22.8 feet. In addition, the mobile home park is now at 
capacity and is unlikely to expand due to the sloping terrain in the 
area and property ownership constraints.
    3. The pipeline was constructed as recently as 1999 and hydro 
tested during the fourth quarter of 1998 to a pressure of 1,806 psig. 
Having been in service for only four years, the pipeline is nearly new 
and in excellent condition. No deficiencies were identified in a 
baseline close-interval cathodic protection survey conducted in 2000, 
and no anomalies were identified on or near the waiver segments in a 
baseline internal inspection conducted in 2002 with both magnetic flux 
leakage and geometry in-line inspection tools.
    4. The pipeline's operating history has been trouble-free. No leaks 
have been identified anywhere on the PNGTS pipeline since it was put 
into service.
    5. The pipeline is equipped with a satellite-linked supervisory 
control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, including pressure 
transmitters and mainline valves equipped with remote control actuators 
enabling PNGTS to identify and promptly mitigate any releases in the 
vicinity of the waiver segments should they occur.
    6. The proposed alternative risk control activities would provide a 
margin of safety and environmental protection that equals or exceeds 
that of the measures required under Sec.  192.611 in the absence of a 
waiver.
    7. Granting the waiver would avoid the delivery interruptions and 
costs associated with excavating and replacing the pipe in the 
specified areas.
    8. The proposed alternative risk control activities would benefit 
virtually the entire pipeline system, as opposed to only the 595 foot 
portion associated with the Class location change.
    After reviewing the waiver request, RSPA/OPS published a notice 
inviting interested persons to comment on whether a waiver should be 
granted (Notice 1) (68 FR 66156; Nov. 25, 2003). RSPA/OPS stated that 
it was considering granting the requested waiver because of the minimal 
distance by which the structures cross the Class boundary, the age and 
condition of the pipeline, and the additional inspection and monitoring 
activities on which the waiver would be conditioned. No comments were 
received from the public in response to the notice.
    For the reasons explained above and in Notice 1, and in light of 
the equivalent level of safety provided by the alternative risk control 
activities, RSPA/OPS finds that the requested waiver is not 
inconsistent with pipeline safety. Therefore, PNGTS's request for 
waiver of compliance with 49 CFR 192.611 is granted on the condition 
that PNGTS conducts the following activities:
    1. Perform internal inspections on the entire 143.8 miles of 24-
inch pipeline in 2008 and subsequent internal inspections at intervals 
not to exceed six years. The internal inspections must be performed 
using both magnetic flux leakage and geometry in-line inspection tools 
capable of detecting metal loss, dent-like deformations, and other 
integrity threats;
    2. Perform annual close-interval cathodic protection surveys on the 
Class 3 sections of the pipeline, as well as an additional 1000 feet of 
the Class 1 or 2 pipe on both the upstream and downstream ends of these 
sections;
    3. Perform annual direct current voltage gradient surveys on the 
Class 3 sections of the pipeline, as well as an additional 1000 feet of 
the Class 1 or 2 pipe on both the upstream and downstream ends of these 
sections;
    4. Perform assessments and appropriate repairs of all anomalies or 
other indications of corrosion identified by the internal inspections 
and electrical surveys, regardless of the size or depth of the anomaly;
    5. Perform weekly aerial patrols and quarterly ground road crossing 
patrols over the entire 143.8 miles of 24-inch pipeline. The ground 
road crossing patrols must include leak surveys on all Class 3 portions 
of the pipeline using appropriate instrumented leak detection 
equipment; and
    6. Perform semi-annual leak surveys on the portion of the pipeline 
extending from Mile Post (MP) 0.0 to MP 6.80 using appropriate 
instrumented leak detection equipment.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2004.
Stacey L. Gerard,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 04-5353 Filed 3-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P