[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41371-41373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14953]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0023]


Pipeline Safety: Public Workshop on Underground Natural Gas 
Storage Safety

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting to solicit input and 
obtain background information concerning underground natural gas 
storage safety. PHMSA and the National Association of Pipeline Safety 
Representatives (NAPSR) are co-sponsoring this one-day workshop. The 
workshop will bring federal and state regulators, emergency responders, 
industry, and interested members of the public together to participate 
in understanding and shaping the future for maintaining the safety of 
underground natural gas storage facilities.
    PHMSA and NAPSR recognize that the October, 2015, Southern 
California Gas Company's (SoCal Gas) Aliso Canyon underground natural 
gas storage

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facility leak on Well SS25 located in the Porter Ranch area near Los 
Angeles, California, has drawn concerns regarding natural gas storage 
well safety and the environmental effects of an incident. Currently, 
throughout the United States, approximately 400 interstate and 
intrastate underground natural gas storage facilities are operating 
with more than four trillion cubic feet of natural gas working 
capacity.

DATES: The public workshop will be held on July 14, 2016. Name badge 
pick up and on-site registration will be available starting at 7:30 
a.m., with the workshop taking place from 8:00 a.m. until approximately 
4:30 p.m. mountain time. Online preregistration for the workshop is 
available until July 10, 2016. Refer to the meeting Web site for the 
latest information about the meeting including agenda and the webcast. 
http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=115. Presentations 
and a recording of proceedings will be available within 30 days after 
the event.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Renaissance Boulder 
Flatiron Hotel located at 500 Flatiron Boulevard, Broomfield, Colorado 
80021. The hotel can be contacted at 1-303-464-8400.
    Registration: Members of the public may attend this free workshop. 
Please note that the public workshop will also be webcast for those who 
cannot attend in person. To help assure that adequate space is 
provided, attendees, both in person and by webcast, should register in 
advance at the PHMSA public meeting Web site at: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=115. Onsite registration 
will also be available for those attending in person. Presentations 
will also be available online at the meeting page Web site within 30 
days following the meeting.
    Comments: Members of the public may submit written comments either 
before or after the workshop. Comments should reference Docket No.: 
PHMSA-2016-0023. 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 (DOT), 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 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Identify the docket number (PHMSA-2016-0023) at the 
beginning of your comments. If you submit your comments by mail, 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 Statement below 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 Federal Register published April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19476) or 
visit http://dms.dot.gov.

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 Kenneth Lee, Engineering and Research Division, at (202) 366-
2694 or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Lee, Engineering and Research 
Division, at 202-366-2694 or [email protected] about the subject 
matter in this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PHMSA and NAPSR recognize that many of the 
existing underground natural gas storage facilities across the country 
have wells that have similar characteristics to the SoCal Gas Well 
SS25. Many, like Well SS25, are over 50 years old. They may flow 
through both the tubing and production casing with no subsurface safety 
valve or isolation zone with completion fluid to offset the high 
pressure effects of a possible casing corrosion leak. Many were 
originally constructed using production techniques such as having pipe 
sections that were joined by threaded couplings, not girth welds. They 
typically do not have a corrosion resistant internal or external 
protective coating. The workshop will have discussions on the aging 
effects on well safety including safety practices in well design, 
operations, and maintenance measures including downhole assessments and 
the type of preventative and mitigative measures to implement. 
Underground natural gas storage wells have operating pressures from 
about 200 pounds per square inch (psi) to 4,500 psi. By comparison, the 
maximum U.S. pipeline pressures are a maximum of about 2,000 psi and 
most are below 1,000 psi. Unlike line pipe, which for natural gas 
pipeline operations, has a design factor of 0.72 or less, most wells 
were not installed with consistent standards such as design safety 
factors to contain the well pressure.
    On February 5, 2016, (81 FR 6334) PHMSA issued Advisory Bulletin 
ADB-2016-02. The advisory bulletin recommended that operators of 
underground natural gas storage facilities review their operating, 
maintenance, and emergency response activities to ensure that the 
integrity of underground natural gas storage facilities is properly 
maintained. This bulletin informed operators about recommended 
practices and urged operators to take all necessary actions to prevent 
and mitigate breach of integrity, leaks, or failures at their 
underground natural gas storage facilities and to ensure the safety of 
the public and operating personnel and to protect the environment. 
Operators were advised to:
    (1) Verify that the pressure required to inject intended natural 
gas volumes does not exceed the design pressure limits of the 
reservoir, wells, wellheads, piping, casing, tubing, or associated 
facilities;
    (2) Monitor all wells for the presence of annular gas or liquids on 
a periodic basis;
    (3) Inspect the wellhead assembly and attached pipelines for each 
of the wells used;
    (4) Conduct periodic functional tests of all surface and subsurface 
safety valve systems and wellhead pipeline isolation valve(s) for 
proper function and ability to shut-off or isolate the well and 
remediate improperly functioning valves;
    (5) Perform risk assessments in a manner that reviews, at a 
minimum, the API RP 1171 criteria to evaluate the need for subsurface 
safety valves on new, removed, or replaced tubing strings or production 
casing;
    (6) Conduct ongoing assessments for the verification and 
demonstration of the mechanical integrity of each well and related 
piping and equipment;
    (7) Develop and implement a corrosion monitoring and integrity 
evaluation program for piping, wellhead, casing, and tubing including 
the usage of the appropriate well log evaluations;

[[Page 41373]]

    (8) Develop and implement procedures for the evaluation of well and 
attendant storage facilities that include analysis of facility flow 
erosion, hydrate potential, individual facility component capacity and 
fluid disposal capability at intended gas flow rates and pressures, and 
analysis of the specific impacts that the intended operating pressure 
range could have on the corrosive potential of fluids in the system;
    (9) Identify potential threats and hazards associated with 
operation of the underground storage facility;
    (10) Perform ongoing verification and demonstration of the 
integrity of the underground storage reservoir or cavern using 
appropriate monitoring techniques for integrity changes such as the 
monitoring of pressure and periodic pressure surveys, inventory 
(injection and withdrawal of all products), product levels, cavern 
subsidence, and the findings from adjacent production and water wells, 
and observation wells;
    (11) Ensure that emergency procedures are reviewed, conducted, and 
updated at least annually; and
    (12) Ensure records of the processes, procedures, assessments, 
reassessments, and mitigation measures are maintained for the life of 
the storage well.
    The Aliso Canyon incident has highlighted the concern about the 
current lack of minimum federal regulations related to the downhole 
operation of underground natural gas storage wells. The full extent of 
the damage, both to people and the environment, caused by the Aliso 
Canyon incident will not be known until much later.
    This workshop is a forum for PHMSA to collect input regarding 
safety concerns of the public and the challenges industry faces in 
conducting daily operations, maintenance, integrity verification, well 
monitoring, threat and hazard identification, assessments, remediation, 
site security, emergency response and preparedness, and recordkeeping.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 20, 2016, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Acting Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2016-14953 Filed 6-23-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-60-P