[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 148 (Thursday, July 31, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44800-44801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17530]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2008-0186]


Pipeline Safety: Voluntary Survey of Regulated and Unregulated 
Low-Stress Pipeline Information

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is requesting each 
operator of a rural low-stress hazardous liquid pipeline to complete a 
voluntary survey to gather information concerning the mileage and 
characteristics of these pipelines to assess the costs of subjecting 
rural low-stress pipeline mileage to the pipeline safety standards and 
regulations pursuant to the PIPES Act. The purpose of this notice is to 
request all operators of LSPs to complete the voluntary survey, 
including operators of low-stress pipelines that will not be subject to 
the pipeline safety standards and regulations until Phase II of the 
rulemaking proceeding.

DATES: It is requested that the voluntary survey be completed by 
September 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: To complete the voluntary survey, go to the OPS Online Data 
Entry Web site at http://

[[Page 44801]]

opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov. For those individuals that cannot access the 
Internet, please contact Carson Poe at 617-494-2765 for filing 
instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roger Little by telephone at 202-366-
4569, by fax at 202-366-4566, or by mail at DOT, PHMSA, PHP-10, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    With certain exceptions, section 4 of the Pipeline Inspection, 
Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006 (PIPES Act) (Pub. L. 
109-468) requires PHMSA to issue regulations subjecting low-stress 
hazardous liquid transmission pipelines (LSPs) to the same standards 
and regulations as other hazardous liquid transmission pipelines. On 
June 3, 2008, PHMSA issued a Final Rule that subjected larger diameter 
rural LSPs located within a half-mile buffer zone of an unusually 
sensitive area (USA) to the part 195 standards and regulations (73 FR 
31364). In that rulemaking proceeding, PHMSA explained that it was only 
the first phase of a two-phase approach to meeting the PIPES Act 
mandate and that additional rural LSP mileage would be subjected to the 
part 195 regulations in Phase II.
    The June 3, 2008 Final Rule subjected all operators of LSPs to 
certain reporting requirements, including LSPs that will be considered 
in the Phase II rulemaking. These reporting requirements include 
incident reports and safety-related condition reports as reflected in 
49 CFR 195.48, but did not require the reporting of pipeline mileage or 
characteristics (except to the extent that operators of regulated LSP 
mileage subject to the integrity management requirements must report 
high consequence area (HCA) mileage).
    In order to assess the costs of subjecting LSP mileage to the 
pipeline safety standards and regulations pursuant to the PIPES Act, 
PHMSA has initiated a voluntary survey on rural LSPs. The voluntary 
survey supports DOT's Strategic Safety Goal. PHMSA will be better able 
to promulgate future safety-related LSP regulations with more accurate 
information about pipelines.
    Voluntary survey results will be summarized by the John A. Volpe 
National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) of DOT. The 
voluntary survey solicits information on the following:
     Pipeline Mileage--Total number of LSP miles.
     Rural LSP Characteristics--Specific information on 
interplant pipeline miles, mileage of LSP having a diameter equal to or 
greater than 8\5/8\ inches, mileage of steel LSP, and mileage of non-
metallic LSP.
     Pipeline Products--Listing of all products transported 
using rural LSP.
     Pipeline Location by State--Listing of states with LSP and 
corresponding mileages.
     Unusually Sensitive Areas--Total number of LSP miles 
within one-half mile of an unusually sensitive area.
     Breakout Tanks--Total number of breakout tanks associated 
with the LSP miles.
    PHMSA will use the results to calculate the economic impacts 
associated with current and future LSP rulemakings. In addition, PHMSA 
will be able to oversee the safety of LSPs more effectively with more 
accurate information.
    The voluntary survey is posted on OPS Online Data Entry Web site at 
http://opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov. All companies completing the voluntary 
survey are asked to do so via the online link provided where possible. 
Operators who do not have access to the Internet should contact Carson 
Poe of the Volpe Center by phone at 617-494-2765 for alternate filing 
instructions.
    To ensure that PHMSA reaches all of the targeted operators, PHMSA 
will also electronically deliver notification of how to complete the 
voluntary survey to each of the companies operating regulated hazardous 
liquid pipelines. PHMSA will send the e-mail to the contact person 
responsible for the most recent annual report submission, as this 
voluntary survey is closely related to the infrastructure information 
PHMSA receives through the annual reports.
    In an effort to reach companies that operate currently unregulated 
pipelines exclusively, PHMSA is working with the American Petroleum 
Institute (API), the Independent Petroleum Association of America 
(IPAA), and the Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) to announce the 
voluntary survey via these industry associations' e-mail newsletters to 
their members.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations (5 CFR part 
1320) implementing provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(Pub. L. 104-13) require that interested members of the public and 
affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information 
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(s)) and 
specify that no person is required to respond to an information 
collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. In accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA has received OMB 
approval for the initiation of this voluntary survey as follows:
    Title: Rural Low-Stress Pipelines Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 2137-0623.
    Affected Public: Hazardous liquid pipeline operators.
    Expiration Date: June 30, 2011.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 158.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 158.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 2,528 hours.

    Issued in Washington, DC on July 25, 2008.
Jeffrey D. Wiese,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. E8-17530 Filed 7-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P