[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67703-67704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9354]



[[Page 67703]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-04-19856]


Pipeline Safety: Notice to Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous 
Liquid Pipelines To Accurately Locate and Mark Underground Pipelines 
Before Construction-Related Excavation Activities Commence Near the 
Pipelines

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

ACTION:  Notice; Issuance of Advisory Bulletin.

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SUMMARY: This advisory reminds and reinforces the importance of safe 
locating excavation practices near underground pipelines. PHMSA's 
pipeline safety regulations require pipeline operators to implement 
damage prevention programs to protect underground pipelines during 
construction related excavation. In addition, PHMSA recommends pipeline 
operators excavating in areas populated with other pipelines and 
utilities follow all consensus best practices and guidelines developed 
by the Common Ground Alliance. Recent serious incidents especially 
reinforce the importance of accurately locating and marking pipelines 
and highlight an urgent need for pipeline operators to review how they 
implement their damage prevention programs to prevent further accidents 
caused by construction related damage. This Advisory Bulletin provides 
guidance on how to do this.

ADDRESSES: This document can be viewed on the PHMSA home page at: 
http://www.phmsa.dot.gov.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    Recently several construction related incidents have caused damage 
to underground natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in several 
States, including California, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Some of 
these incidents have resulted in deaths, injuries, property damage, and 
disruption to communities. Following an appropriate damage prevention 
program is the best way to prevent such incidents in the future.
    This is the second bulletin PHMSA has issued on locating damage 
prevention this year. In Advisory Bulletin 06-01, published in the 
Federal Register on January 17, 2006 (71 FR 2613), we described other 
preventable accidents caused by construction-related damage. Advisory 
Bulletin 06-01 specifically called on operators to ensure that 
individuals critical to damage prevention at construction sites are 
qualified to perform the necessary safety tasks. These tasks include 
one-call notifications, line locating and marking, and inspection of 
construction activities. In Advisory Bulletin 02-01, published in the 
Federal Register on May 24, 2002 (67 FR 36667), we pointed to the best 
practices on damage prevention found in the Common Ground Study and 
urged operators to follow them (see http://ops.dot.gov/init/prevent/damage.htm). The Common Ground Alliance is continuing the work on 
developing best practices begun with the Common Ground Study. These 
best practices are widely accepted as providing the basis for 
conducting safe locating excavation near pipelines.
    Investigations by PHMSA and its State partners continue to show 
that the pipeline operators involved in construction related incidents 
may not always comply with Federal pipeline safety regulations or their 
own construction and maintenance practices. Among the problems 
discovered are the following:
     Pipeline operators do not always follow their procedures 
for constructing, repairing, ditching, and backfilling in areas where 
there are existing pipelines. Typically, procedures prohibit machine 
excavation within two feet of existing pipelines.
     Inspectors working for pipeline operators at construction 
sites sometimes fail to assist the operator's employees, the operator's 
contractors, and third-party construction contractors in verifying the 
marked locations of the existing pipeline facilities.
     Operators do not always verify pipeline ``as-built'' 
drawings and make them available to locators and excavators at 
construction sites before activities began.
     Operators do not always mark pipelines at cross-overs.
     In locations with parallel pipelines, operators sometimes 
mark the wrong pipeline.
     Pipeline operators do not always correctly mark all 
pipelines in the vicinity of the construction and maintenance 
activities, and sometimes fail to assign personnel skilled enough to 
observe excavation and backfilling tasks.
    Good procedures can prevent accidents only if they are followed.

II. Advisory Bulletin (ADB-06-03)

    To: Owners and Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquid 
Pipeline Systems.
    Subject: Accurately Locating and Marking Underground Pipelines 
Before Construction-Related Excavation Activities Commence Near the 
Pipelines.
    Advisory: Construction-related excavation damage continues to be 
one of the three leading causes of pipeline damage. PHMSA continues to 
find pipeline operators damaging regulated pipelines, production and 
gathering pipelines, and other utilities adjacent to where construction 
and maintenance is being performed. This damage jeopardizes the safety 
of excavators, pipeline employees, construction personnel, and others 
in the vicinity of the excavation. To guard the integrity of buried 
pipelines and prevent injury, death, and property and environmental 
damage, PHMSA advises pipeline operators to take the following damage 
prevention measures:
     Use safe locating excavation practices. Follow your 
procedures and processes for excavation and backfill. When constructing 
a new pipeline, honor the marking of existing pipelines.
     Locate and mark pipelines accurately before locating 
excavation begins. Do not rely solely on maps, drawings, or other 
written materials to locate pipelines.
     Make sure that individuals locating and marking the 
pipelines have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to read and 
understand pipeline alignment and as-built drawings, and that they know 
what other buried utilities exist in the construction area.
     Make sure that individuals locating and marking the 
pipelines have up-to-date pipeline alignment and as-built drawings.
     Make sure that individuals locating and marking the 
pipelines are familiar with state and local requirements on marking.
     Mark all pipelines, including laterals. This is especially 
important in areas where there is a considerable amount of new pipeline 
and utility construction.
     Consider environmental conditions such as rain and snow 
when selecting marking methods.
     In areas where the pipelines are curved or make sharp 
bends to avoid other utilities or obstructions, consider the visibility 
and frequency of markers.
     Confirm the accuracy of pipe locating before excavation 
begins. This applies when the pipeline operator conducts the excavation 
using its own employees, a contractor, or a third party.

[[Page 67704]]

     Use qualified personnel for locating and marking 
pipelines. At a minimum, they should have received appropriate training 
such as that outline in the National Utility Locating Contractors 
Association locator training standards and practices.
     Make sure excavators have sufficient information about 
underground pipelines at the construction site to avoid damage to the 
pipeline. Facilitate communication during the construction activity.
     Calibrate tools and equipment used for line locating and 
make sure they are in proper working order.
     Individually mark pipelines located within the same trench 
where possible.
     Follow the best practices on locating and marking 
pipelines developed by the Common Ground Alliance.
     When pipelines are hit or almost his during excavation, 
evaluate the practices and procedures in use before continuing the 
construction activity.
    Operators should use the full range of safe locating excavation 
practices. In particular, pipeline operators should ensure the use of 
qualified personnel to accurately locate and mark the location of its 
underground pipelines.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. chapter 601; 49 CFR 1.53.

     Issued in Washington, DC, on November 17, 2006.
Jeffrey D. Wiese,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety
[FR Doc. 06-9354 Filed 11-17-06; 3:36 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-10-M