[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 98 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29557-29558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10202]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration


Pipeline Safety: Planning for Coordination of Emergency Response 
to Pipeline Emergencies

AGENCY: Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), Pipeline and Hazardous 
Materials Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice; issuance of advisory bulletin.

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SUMMARY: This document alerts pipeline operators about the need to 
preplan for emergency response with utilities whose proximity to the 
pipeline may impact the response. Coordination with electric and other 
utilities may be critical in responding to a pipeline emergency. 
Preplanning would facilitate actions that may be needed for safety, 
such as removing sources of ignition or reducing the amount of 
combustible material.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert J. Hall by phone at (202) 366-
8860, by fax at (202) 366-4566, or by e-mail, [email protected]. 
General information about the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration's Office of Pipeline Safety programs may be obtained by 
accessing the home page at http://ops.dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Existing regulations for both gas and hazardous liquid pipelines 
require operators to have emergency procedures to address pipeline 
emergencies. The key element of these requirements, which are located 
at 49 CFR 192.615 and 195.402(e), is to plan response before the 
emergency occurs. Because pipelines are often located in public space 
rather than in controlled access areas, planning emergency response 
must include more than internal plans. The regulations explicitly 
require that operators include procedures for planning with fire, 
police and other public officials to ensure a coordinated response. It 
is also important to plan a coordinated response with owners of other 
utilities in the vicinity of the pipeline. The operations of these 
utilities may provide sources of ignition for the product released from 
a pipeline, may increase the burning time of fires that have already 
started, or may delay responders who are attempting to make the 
situation safe rapidly.
    In the evening of April 7, 2003, a breakout tank exploded and 
subsequently ignited in Glenpool, Oklahoma. The fire continued to burn 
and increased in the early morning of April 8 when electric lines 
affected by the previous day's explosion and fire fell into a dike. The 
diesel fuel being contained in the dike ignited, expanding the fire. 
This resulted in a temporary suspension of firefighting and damaged 
additional facilities. While there were no injuries or fatalities, the 
fire burned for over 20 hours; the cost of the accident exceeded two 
million dollars; residents were evacuated; and schools were closed. The 
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted an investigation 
of the accident. In its report, the NTSB found that lack of a 
coordinated emergency response contributed to the severity of the 
accident. The NTSB noted that the existing pipeline safety regulations 
on emergency procedures do not explicitly require that operators have 
procedures for preplanning with electric and other utilities.
    A previous accident also points to the need for better coordination 
of emergency response. On March 1, 1998, a pipeline failure occurred 
when a raven landed on a power line. This resulted in a fault current 
that impacted a gas pipeline in Anchorage, Alaska. The situation very 
quickly developed into an explosion at the public electric company's 
plant. Although preplanning was required by regulation, the pipeline 
operator did not coordinate emergency response well with the fire 
department resulting in delays in shutting off the flow of gas. This 
resulted in additional fire damage. Inadequate coordination with the 
electric company also contributed to this delay.
    These accidents point to the need for operators to plan with 
utilities on how to coordinate actions needed in responding to a 
pipeline emergency. This preplanning will result in better coordination 
when an emergency occurs.

II. Advisory Bulletin ADB-05-03

    To: Owners and Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquid 
Pipeline Facilities in the Vicinity of Electric and other Utilities.
    Subject: Preplanning with owners of electric and other utilities 
for

[[Page 29558]]

coordinated response to pipeline emergencies.
    Purpose: To advise operators of pipeline facilities located near 
electric and other utilities of the need to preplan emergency response 
with the owners of those electric and other utilities to ensure better 
coordination of response, and reduced damages, when a pipeline 
emergency occurs.
    Advisory: Operators of pipeline facilities are required to plan 
emergency response before an emergency happens. The regulations include 
required elements of emergency plans and procedures. In planning 
emergency response, an operator should carefully look at the 
environment surrounding the pipeline facility and the risks that the 
environment will pose in the event of a pipeline emergency. Electric 
and other utilities may pose sources of ignition or may provide 
additional fuel for fires. The operations of these utilities may make 
response to a pipeline emergency by firefighters or the pipeline 
operator more difficult. Preplanning with these utilities will help the 
operator identify issues that may arise in responding to pipeline 
emergencies and plan effective response before there is an emergency. 
This will improve the coordination of emergency response and reduce 
delays.
    OPS advises pipeline operators to include within their emergency 
response planning outreach to owners of electric and other utilities in 
order to preplan and coordinate response to pipeline emergencies.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 17, 2005.
Theodore L. Willke,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-10202 Filed 5-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P