[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 180 (Friday, September 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56113-56114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21013]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

[Docket No. RSPA-04-18817; Notice 1]


Pipeline Safety: Petition for Waiver; Tractebel Power, Inc.

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

ACTION: Notice; petition for waiver.

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SUMMARY: Tractebel Power, Inc. (TPI) has petitioned the Research and 
Special Programs Administration's Office of Pipeline Safety (RSPA/OPS) 
for a waiver from the requirements of 49 CFR 192.113 to employ a 1.0 
longitudinal joint factor (LJF) in the design formula for austenitic 
stainless steel pipe to be used in its Tractebel Calypso Pipeline (TCP) 
project.

DATES: Persons interested in submitting written comments on the waiver 
proposed in this notice must do so by October 18, 2004. Late-filed 
comments will be considered so far as practicable.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by mailing or delivering an 
original and two copies to the Dockets Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001. The Dockets Facility is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except on Federal holidays when the facility is closed. 
Alternatively, you may submit written comments to the docket 
electronically at the following Web address: http://dms.dot.gov.
    All written comments should identify the docket and notice numbers 
stated in the heading of this notice. Anyone who wants confirmation of 
mailed comments must include a self-addressed stamped postcard. To file 
written comments electronically, after logging on to http://dms.dot.gov, click on ``Comment/Submissions.'' You can also read 
comments and other material in the docket at http://dms.dot.gov. 
General information about our pipeline safety program is available at 
http://ops.dot.gov.
    Anyone is able to 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 Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Reynolds by phone at 202-366-
2786, by fax at 202-366-4566, by mail at DOT, RSPA, OPS, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TPI's Tractebel Calypso Pipeline project 
includes a 96 mile, 24-inch diameter, X65 steel, standard API 5L 
compliant interstate natural gas pipeline. The pipeline will transport 
natural gas from TPI's liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and re-
gasification terminal in Freeport, Grand Bahamas Island, to an onshore 
location in Broward County, FL. The offshore portion of the pipeline 
will be in a Class 1 area and extend from the shoreline to a water 
depth of 200 feet. The onshore portion of the pipeline will be in a 
Class 3 area.
    TPI proposes to route a portion of this pipeline through a U.S. 
Navy exclusion zone offshore of Port Everglades, in Broward County, FL. 
As a condition of the pipeline traversing the exclusion zone, the U.S. 
Navy stipulated that approximately 14,000 feet of the pipeline be 
constructed of a low magnetic permeability steel material to prevent 
electromagnetic interference with U.S. Navy operations. A large 
percentage of this pipe will be installed using horizontal directional 
drill technology. TPI intends to use austenitic stainless steel pipe to 
satisfy the U.S. Navy requirement.
    TPI has petitioned RSPA/OPS for a waiver from 49 CFR 192.113 to use 
1.0 longitudinal joint factor (LJF) for

[[Page 56114]]

austenitic stainless steel pipe. Section 192.113 requires a 0.80 LJF to 
be used in the design formula given under Sec.  192.105 for pipe over 4 
inches in diameter and manufactured to a specification not listed under 
Sec.  192.113. This limitation is imposed because the quality of the 
pipe material, the manufacturing process, and the extent of inspection 
may not be to the same standard as the pipe for which a 1.0 LJF is 
permitted.
    TPI stated the following reasons for selecting austenitic stainless 
steel pipe and the use of a 1.0 LJF:
     The pipeline meets the requirements of the U.S. Navy and 
is a low magnetic permeability pipe material;
     The pipeline is manufactured to the American Society for 
Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards ASTM A-358 and A-999;
     The plate material is manufactured to comply with 
standards ASTM A-240 and Unified Numbering System S31254;
     The selected material is compatible with the bending 
properties and the test criteria in Appendix B of 49 CFR Part 192;
     The selected material is compatible with the weldability 
testing and inspection criteria required by Appendix B of 49 CFR Part 
192; and
     The selected material is consistent with prior practice of 
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standard ASME B31.8 
to allow a LJF of 1.0 when the longitudinal seam has been subjected to 
100% X-ray.
    TPI will require girth weld testing and will X-ray 100% of the 
girth welds of this pipeline as part of the procurement specification 
to comply with the weldability requirements of Appendix B, Section II 
(B) of 49 CFR Part 192. TPI will purchase ASTM A-358, Class 1 pipe and 
radiograph 100% of the longitudinal joint, and TPI will exceed the 
tensile testing requirements of ASTM A-358 (Section 12) for both the 
plate and the welded joint by performing one tensile test per 5 lengths 
of pipe. Only one test per 10 lengths of pipeline is required under the 
weldability section of Appendix B Section II (B) of 49 CFR Part 192.
    RSPA/OPS is publishing this notice in the Federal Register to 
provide an opportunity for public comment. At the conclusion of the 
comment period, RSPA/OPS will make a determination on the proposed 
waiver and publish its decision in the Federal Register. This notice is 
RSPA/OPS' only request for public comment before making its final 
decision in this matter.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 60118(c) and 49 CFR 1.53.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 14, 2004.
Stacey L. Gerard,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 04-21013 Filed 9-16-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P