[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 165 (Friday, August 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50438-50439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16966]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-04-19854]


Pipeline Safety: Public Meeting on Integrity Management of Gas 
Distribution Pipelines

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

ACTION: Notice; public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 
(PHMSA) is sponsoring a public meeting on Enhancing Integrity 
Management of Gas Distribution Pipelines. The meeting will be held on 
September 21, 2005, in Dallas, Texas. At the meeting, PHMSA will 
discuss actions that have been underway this year to review the need 
for integrity management requirements for gas distribution pipelines. 
The meeting also will provide discussion on the use of Excess Flow 
Valves in gas distribution safety lines as a technique for mitigating 
the consequences of service line incidents, and will provide the public 
an opportunity to give comments.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 21, 
2005, from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting is open to all. There is no cost to attend. The 
meeting will be held at the Westin Park Central Hotel, 12720 Merit 
Drive, Dallas, TX 75251. The phone number for reservations is 1-972-
851-2037 or 1-800-Westin1.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Israni, Office of Pipeline 
Safety, at 202-366-4571; [email protected], regarding subject matter 
of this notice. For information regarding meeting logistics please 
contact Veronica Garrison at 202-366-4996, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This meeting follows a previous public 
meeting on this topic, held in Washington, DC, on December 16, 2004. 
This meeting will include briefings on the activities of a Distribution 
Integrity Management Phase 1 effort that is ongoing through 2005. This 
program involves a review of operating experience, current 
requirements, and practices. The Distribution Integrity Management 
Program (DIMP) team will develop information that PHMSA can consider in 
any subsequent rulemaking effort. The Phase 1 program involves work/
study groups comprised of representatives of state pipeline safety 
regulators, the gas distribution industry, the public, and PHMSA. The 
preliminary agenda for this meeting includes briefings on the following 
topics:
     The need for improvement;
     Distinctions among gas distribution pipeline systems;
     Comments from the team of executives (industry, state 
regulators, and public) providing oversight of the Phase 1 program;
     The plan and process of the Phase 1 program; (including 
use of EFV as a technique for mitigating the consequences of service 
line incidents.)
     Major issues and approaches, including preliminary Phase 1 
conclusions;
     Issues and cautions that must be considered in developing 
distribution integrity management requirements; and
     The views of industry and other stakeholders.

[[Page 50439]]

Need for Improvement

    Pipeline accidents with significant consequences gathered attention 
in recent years and prompted pipeline safety program changes. Integrity 
management rules were promulgated for hazardous liquid pipelines (65 FR 
75378; December 1, 2000) and for gas transmission pipelines (68 FR 
69778; December 15, 2003). In testimony before the Congress on July 20, 
2004, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported that the 
number of incidents reported on distribution systems has consistently 
exceeded that on transmission systems. Also, the number of fatalities 
and injuries reported on distribution systems has consistently been 
much higher than for transmission systems. The prevalence of incidents, 
particularly those with consequences to people, underscores the need 
for regulators and stakeholders to pay additional attention to 
distribution pipeline integrity management. PHMSA agrees that safety 
issues posed by gas distribution pipelines need to be addressed through 
appropriate integrity management initiatives.

Differences in Gas Distribution Pipeline Systems

    A plan for assuring integrity of gas distribution pipelines must 
consider the differences between transmission pipeline systems and 
distribution pipeline systems. Ensuring the integrity of distribution 
pipeline systems is different from doing so for transmission pipelines 
because:
     Most pipe in distribution pipeline systems is small 
diameter and operates at low pressure. Transmission pipelines are 
generally large diameter and high pressure.
     Distribution pipeline systems are a more complex network, 
with frequent branching and interconnections. Transmission pipelines 
generally run for many miles without such connections.
     Distribution pipeline systems include a range of 
materials, including a significant amount of plastic pipe. Transmission 
pipelines are generally constructed of steel.
     Distribution pipelines are usually difficult to take out 
of service for inspection without interrupting gas service to 
customers. Transmission pipelines often include loop lines and bypasses 
that allow individual sections of pipe to be removed from service 
temporarily.
     Distribution pipeline failures tend to occur as leaks. Gas 
can migrate underground, accumulating in areas remote from the leak so 
that fires and explosions occur away from the pipeline. Transmission 
pipelines tend to fail by rupture because of their high operating 
pressure. The fire and explosions on transmission lines occur on the 
pipeline.
     Distribution pipeline systems tend to be local, intrastate 
systems, which state regulators are responsible for regulating. A 
greater proportion of transmission pipelines are interstate systems, 
and Federal regulators play a much larger role regulating them.

Developing an Approach to Gas Distribution Integrity Management

    Expanding integrity management for distribution systems beyond 
currently required practices requires a thorough understanding of costs 
and benefits. Following the previous public meeting, PHMSA has worked 
with a number of groups comprised of state pipeline regulators, 
pipeline operators, and representatives of the public to conduct 
analyses and evaluations in a number of areas that must be considered 
in developing any distribution integrity management requirements. These 
meetings were announced by a Federal Register notice on March 29, 2005 
(70 FR 15988) and subsequent announcements on a Web site established 
specifically for this effort. The areas considered include:
     Identifying the principal threats to the integrity of 
distribution pipelines;
     Identifying requirements and practices that currently 
exist at the State and Federal levels that support management of these 
threats to integrity;
     Determining whether current requirements are written 
effectively to create opportunities and incentives for operators to use 
existing and developing technologies to support management of the 
integrity of distribution systems;
     Identifying whether opportunities exist for expedited 
development of new technologies supporting the assessment of gas 
distribution systems;
     Understanding practices beyond current requirements that 
are being used by operators and what the results are;
     Understanding whether there are requirements or approaches 
used by one or more States which are not included in Federal 
requirements but which have proven effective in managing the integrity 
of gas distribution systems; and,
     Identifying whether the opportunity exists to codify 
currently demonstrated effective integrity management practices in a 
national consensus standard.
    The analyses and evaluations conducted by the work/study groups 
comprise Phase 1 of the PHMSA plan to develop integrity management 
requirements. Phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of 2005. 
The Phase 1 results will support PHMSA and state regulators in making 
decisions regarding the nature of requirements that may be needed. 
Achieving increased integrity of distribution pipeline systems may 
involve Federal and/or State rulemaking, development of guidance for 
adoption by States, publication and promotion of best practices or 
national consensus standards, or some combination of these or other 
actions. PHMSA will use the results of Phase 1 to develop new 
requirements as part of Phase 2 of the PHMSA plan, which PHMSA expects 
to begin in early 2006.
    During this meeting, persons involved in the Phase 1 program will 
share the scope of their ongoing work and their preliminary conclusions 
with the public. Representatives of various stakeholder groups will 
also share their perspective with attendees. PHMSA will collect 
comments and suggestions from members of the public attending this 
meeting to further inform the Phase 2 efforts to develop appropriate 
requirements.
    Interested parties may find additional information regarding the 
previous public meeting in the docket (http://dms.dot.gov), then click 
on Simple Search and type in Docket No. 19854.
    Visitors may access the Distribution Integrity Management Web site 
through the OPS home page (http://ops.dot.gov) by selecting ``Integrity 
Management'' and then ``Distribution Integrity Management''.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 22, 2005.
Theodore L. Willke,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-16966 Filed 8-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P