[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 76 (Thursday, April 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20799-20800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8011]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. RSPA-04-18817; Notice 2]


Pipeline Safety: Grant of Waiver; Tractebel Power, Inc.

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Notice; grant of waiver.

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SUMMARY: The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's 
(PHMSA), formerly the Research and Special Programs Administration 
(RSPA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is granting Tractebel Power, 
Inc.'s (TPI) petition for a waiver of the pipeline safety regulations 
to employ a 1.0 longitudinal joint factor (LJF) for austenitic 
stainless steel pipe in its Tractebel Calypso Pipeline (TCP) project.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    TPI petitioned RSPA/OPS for a waiver from compliance with the gas 
pipeline safety regulations at 49 CFR 192.113 to allow it to employ a 
1.0 longitudinal joint factor (LJF) for austenitic stainless steel 
pipe. TPI requested the waiver because it intends to install a 96 mile, 
24-inch diameter, X65 steel, standard API 5L compliant interstate 
natural gas pipeline. The pipeline will extend from its liquefied 
natural gas (LNG) receiving and re-gasification terminal in Freeport, 
Grand Bahamas Island, to an onshore location in Broward County, FL. TPI 
intends to construct 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. Therefore, TPI 
is proposing to use a 1.0 LJF and install austenitic stainless steel 
pipe to satisfy the U.S. Navy requirement. TPI also intends to use 
mechanical joints to isolate the carbon steel from the austenitic 
stainless steel pipeline and will use fusion bond epoxy abrasion 
coating material to minimize coating disbondment. TPI gave 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 percent X-ray.
    On September 17, 2004, RSPA/OPS published a notice in the Federal 
Register requesting public comment on TPI's waiver request (69 FR 
056113). No comments were received in response to the Notice.

Findings and Grant of Waiver

    For the reasons explained above and in Notice 1, PHMSA/OPS finds 
that the requested waiver is consistent with pipeline safety. 
Therefore, TPI's request for waiver of compliance with 49 CFR 192.113 
is granted on the condition that TPI conducts the following activities:
     TPI must X-ray 100 percent of the girth welds of this 
pipeline as part of the procurement specification to comply with the 
requirements of Appendix B to Part 192--Qualification of Pipe, Section 
II (B) Weldability;
     TPI must purchase ASTM A 358, class 1 pipe and radiograph 
100 percent of the longitudinal joint;
     TPI must employ qualified welding procedures specifically 
designed to address the material characteristics of austenitic 
stainless steel pipe;
     TPI must consider and address any special testing 
requirements unique to the material characteristics of austenitic 
stainless steel pipe;
     TPI must provide PHMSA/OPS--Southern Region the 
opportunity to

[[Page 20800]]

review its overall project design package prior to and during the 
construction of this pipeline. The design package must include TPI's 
methodology to validate the calibration of the in-line inspection (ILI) 
tool that TPI intends to use when performing an inspection of its 
austenitic stainless steel pipeline. The design package must also 
include a description of the ILI tool. The ILI tool must be capable of 
detecting anomalies including--but not limited to--mechanical damage 
and pipe deformation; and
     TPI must exceed the tensile testing requirements of 
Appendix B to Part 192, Qualification of Pipe, Section II (D) Tensile 
Properties--which requires one test per 10 lengths of pipe--and perform 
one tensile test per five lengths of pipe for both the plate and the 
welded joint per the tensile testing required under ASTM A 358 (Section 
12).

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

    Issued in Washington, DC on April 15, 2005.
Theodore L. Willke,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-8011 Filed 4-20-05; 8:45 am]
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