[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53272-53273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17652]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration


Pipeline Safety Advisory: Potential for Damage to Pipeline 
Facilities Caused by the Passage of Hurricane Katrina

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of advisory bulletin.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to owners and 
operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines to communicate the 
potential for damage to pipeline facilities caused by the passage of 
Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.

ADDRESSES: This document can be viewed on the Office of Pipeline Safety 
(OPS) home page at: http://ops.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy Kadnar, (202) 366-0568, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The purpose of this advisory bulletin is to warn all operators of 
gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent 
state waters that pipeline safety problems may have been caused by the 
passage of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. PHMSA received 
numerous reports of damage to pipeline facilities in the offshore and 
inland areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida 
Panhandle.
    Department of the Interior reported on August 29, 2005 that 615 of 
the 819 oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico had been evacuated and that 
crude oil production had dropped by nearly 92 percent, or 1.4 million 
barrels a day, and natural gas production was down 83 percent.
    The first aerial inspections of crude oil and natural gas platforms 
have reported extensive damage and numerous oil and gas pipeline leaks. 
There is also a report of a production platform missing. Several on 
shore pipeline companies have reported facilities (pumping stations, 
compression stations, and terminals) to be underwater water and 
leaking.
    The Federal pipeline safety regulations at 49 CFR parts 192 and 195 
require operators to shut down and start up pipeline facilities in a 
safe manner and to conduct periodic pipeline patrols to detect unusual 
operating and maintenance conditions and to take corrective action if 
conditions are unsafe. Because this patrolling is generally by 
aircraft, pipelines exposed or damaged on the sea floor may not be 
visually detected. It is likely that some pipeline facilities and 
pipelines located in the area of Hurricane Katrina's impact are damaged 
or exposed.
    The gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations require 
that operators mitigate the safety condition if a pipeline facility is 
damaged or if a pipeline is exposed on the sea floor or constitutes a 
hazard to navigation. The regulations require that damaged pipeline 
facilities or exposed pipelines must be repaired, replaced, or reburied 
to eliminate the hazard, and pipelines that are a hazard to navigation 
must be promptly reported to the National Response Center (NRC) at 1-
800-424-8802.

II. Advisory Bulletin (ADB-05-08)

    To: Owners and operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipeline 
systems.
    Subject: Potential for damage to pipeline facilities caused by the 
passage of Hurricane Katrina.
    Advisory: All operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in 
the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent state waters are warned that pipeline 
safety problems may have been caused by the passage of Hurricane 
Katrina on August 29, 2005. PHMSA received numerous reports of damage 
to pipeline facilities, particularly offshore Louisiana.
    Pipeline operators are urged to take the following actions to 
ensure personal and environmental safety and the integrity of gas and 
hazardous liquid pipelines located in areas impacted by Hurricane 
Katrina:
    1. Identify persons who normally engage in shallow water commercial 
fishing, shrimping, and other marine vessel operations and caution them 
that underwater offshore pipelines may have become unprotected on the 
sea floor. Marine vessels operating in water depths comparable to a 
vessel's draft or when operating bottom dragging equipment can be 
damaged and their

[[Page 53273]]

crews endangered by an encounter with a underwater pipeline.
    2. Identify and caution marine vessel operators in offshore 
shipping lanes and other offshore areas where Hurricane Katrina may 
have affected a pipeline that deploying fishing nets or anchors, and 
dredging operations may damage the pipeline, their vessels, and 
endanger their crews.
    3. In the process of bringing offshore and inland transmission 
facilities back online, check for structural damage to piping, valves, 
emergency shutdown systems, risers and supporting systems. Aerial 
inspections of pipeline routes should be conducted to check for leaks 
in the transmission systems. In areas where floating and jack-up rigs 
have moved and their path could have been over the pipelines, review 
possible routes and check for sub-sea pipeline damage where required.
    4. Identify and correct any conditions on the pipeline as required 
by the Federal pipeline safety regulations.
    PHMSA would appreciate receiving information about all damage to 
pipeline facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent State waters 
caused by Hurricane Katrina. The Federal pipeline safety regulations 
require that operators report certain incidents and accidents to PHMSA 
by specific methods. Damage not reported by these methods may be 
reported to Joy Kadnar at (202) 366-0568 or [email protected].

(49 U.S.C. Chapter 601; 49 CFR 1.53).

    Issued in Washington, DC on August 31, 2005.
Joy Kadnar,
Director of Engineering and Engineering Support.
[FR Doc. 05-17652 Filed 9-6-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P