[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15485-15486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7028]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket ID PHMSA-2010-0097]


Pipeline Safety: Workshop on Guidelines for Integrity Assessment 
of Cased Pipe

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

ACTION: Notice of workshop.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA is holding a workshop on the integrity assessment of 
cased pipe for pipelines subject to integrity management program 
requirements. The workshop is intended to discuss PHMSA's recently 
issued guidance ``Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe in 
Gas Transmission Pipelines'' and related Frequently Asked Questions 
(FAQs). The latest guidelines and FAQs are available online at: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/documents.htm. The workshop focus will be 
for the public, pipeline operators, trade associations, and others to 
address ideas and concerns with using External Corrosion Direct 
Assessment integrity evaluation methods and use of other technologies 
to assess pipelines in casings located within high consequence areas.
    The workshop will be held at the Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South 
Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 on April 28, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The April 28, 2010, cased pipe workshop will be held at the 
Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. 
The meeting room will be posted at the hotel on the day of the 
workshop.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Max Kieba at (202) 493-0595, or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Registration: Members of the public may 
attend this free workshop. The workshop will not be webcast. Hotel 
reservations under the ``U.S. Department of Transportation'' room block 
for the night of April 27, 2010, can be made by contacting the hotel 
directly at 1-800-325-3535. A daily base rate of $161.00 is available 
for the night of April 27, 2010. For this rate, room reservations must 
be made by April 13, 2010.
    To help assure that adequate space is provided, all attendees are 
encouraged to register for the workshop at: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. Name badge pick-up 
and on-site registration will be available starting at 7:30 a.m. with 
the workshop taking place from 8:30 a.m. until approximately 5 p.m. 
Refer to the meeting Web site for updated agenda and times at http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. All workshop 
presentations will be available on the meeting Web site within 30 days 
following the workshop.
    Comments: Members of the public may also submit written comments, 
either before or after the workshop. Comments should reference Docket 
ID PHMSA-2010-0097. Comments may be submitted in the following ways:
     E-Gov Web Site: http://www.regulations.gov. This site 
allows the public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice 
issued by any agency. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management System, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, Washington, 
DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: DOT Docket Management System, Room W12-140, 
on the ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Identify the Docket ID at the beginning of your 
comments. If you submit your comments by mail, please submit two 
copies. If you wish to receive confirmation that PHMSA has received 
your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Internet 
users may submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov. Note: Comments 
will be posted without changes or edits to http://www.regulations.gov 
including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act 
heading in the Regulatory Analyses and Notices section of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information.
    Privacy Act Statement: Anyone may search the electronic form of all 
comments received for any of our dockets. You may review DOT's complete 
Privacy Act Statement in the

[[Page 15486]]

Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477).
    Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: For 
information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities, or to request special assistance at the meeting, please 
contact Max Kieba at (202) 493-0595, or by e-mail at [email protected] 
by April 15, 2010.
    Issue Description: Under section 14 of the Pipeline Safety and 
Improvement Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-355) and the regulations issued 
thereunder, all gas transmission pipelines located in areas that could 
affect high consequence areas (HCAs) must have an integrity management 
program (IMP). One aspect of an integrity management program is that 
each operator of a gas transmission pipeline located in an area that 
could affect a HCA must conduct an integrity assessment by an approved 
method no later than December 17, 2012, and must periodically reassess 
the pipeline at least every seven years thereafter.
    In response to Congressional mandates, PHMSA promulgated integrity 
management regulations to implement this and other IMP requirements now 
contained in 49 CFR 192, Subpart O. These regulations requiring 
assessments apply to all pipe in a HCA, including cased pipe.
    Operators reported that they were encountering technical challenges 
in conducting External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA) on cased pipe 
and industry requested more detailed guidance from PHMSA. PHMSA 
responded by committing to hold a workshop to address the issues and to 
follow up with stakeholders to help address the challenges cased 
crossing pose. That workshop was held in July 2008 (http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64).
    Following the workshop, PHMSA worked with a group of state 
regulators, representatives from industry, trade associations, and 
other stakeholders to develop guidelines for performing ECDA of gas 
transmission pipe inside casings (http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/ccCASQAT.htm). These guidelines are intended to assist pipeline 
operators in complying with 49 CFR 192, Subpart O for cased pipe in 
HCAs. The guidelines incorporate some of the input developed by this 
work group, but have been updated in some areas to conform to the 
integrity management regulations and statutory requirements.
    The guidelines and FAQs are largely based on the work of this group 
and state regulators, and provide guidelines for pipeline operators to 
consider when implementing integrity management requirements for cased 
pipe. The casing guidelines should assist operators in cases where 
other integrity methods are not viable due to the pipeline being 
unpiggable for reasons such as lateral location and customer outage 
requirements.

Preliminary Workshop Agenda

    The April 28, 2010 workshop will include:
    (1) Briefing on the Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased 
Pipe.
    (2) Briefing on FAQs.
    (3) Comments from Stakeholders.
    (4) Question and Answer Forum.
    Refer to the meeting Web site for a more detailed agenda: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. PHMSA encourages all 
interested persons to attend.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2010.
Steven Fischer,
Director, Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-7028 Filed 3-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P