[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 134 (Thursday, July 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39698-39699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11011]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-04-19091; Grant 2]


Pipeline Safety: Petition for Waiver; Tuscarora Gas Transmission 
Company

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

ACTION: Grant; petition for waiver.

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SUMMARY: Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company (Tuscarora) requests a 
waiver of the pipeline safety regulation on valve spacing from PHMSA. 
The pipeline safety regulation requires each point on a pipeline in a 
Class 1 location be within 10 miles of a block valve. This document 
grants Tuscarora's request for waiver.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The pipeline safety regulation at 49 CFR 192.179(a)(4) requires 
each point

[[Page 39699]]

on a pipeline in a Class 1 location be within 10 miles of a block 
valve, the maximum not to exceed 20 miles. PHMSA, however, reserves the 
right to approve an alternative spacing, which will provide an 
equivalent level of safety.
    During a review of its records, Tuscarora discovered that the 
upstream portions of its pipeline in Lassen County, CA, were slightly 
re-routed during construction to avoid a sensitive environmental 
habitat. As a result, the valve spacing between main line valve (MLV) 8 
and MLV-9 exceeds the PHMSA mandated maximum valve space of 20 miles by 
1,065 feet. Due to this excessive valve space, Tuscarora requests a 
waiver of the valve spacing requirement for this section of line.
    As part of its review, PHMSA has taken the following information 
into consideration in regards to Tuscarora's waiver request:
     The pipeline was re-routed during construction to avoid a 
sensitive environmental habitat;
     All mainline block valves on the Tuscarora system are 
equipped with automatic line break detection and automatic closure 
devices;
     An existing dirt roadway provides ease of access to the 
affected valve location; and
     The pipeline segment from MLV-8 to MLV-10 is designed, 
operated, and maintained to Class 1 requirements in accordance with 49 
CFR part 192.
    On October 26, 2004, PHMSA published a notice in the Federal 
Register requesting public comment on Tuscarora's waiver request (69 FR 
62516). No comments were received.

Grant of Waiver

    Based on the information above, PHMSA finds that a waiver from the 
requirement of Sec.  192.179(a)(4) is not inconsistent with pipeline 
safety and does provide an equivalent level of safety to that required 
by the regulation. Specifically, Tuscarora's entire mainline block 
valves are equipped with automatic line break detection and automatic 
closure devices. Therefore, Tuscarora's request for waiver from the 
regulatory requirements of Sec.  192.179(a)(4) is granted between MLV-8 
and MLV-9.

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

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 6, 2006.
Joy Kadnar,
Director-Engineering Services, Security, and Emergency Response.
 [FR Doc. E6-11011 Filed 7-12-06; 8:45 am]
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