[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 22, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 83795-83796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28065]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 192

[Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0136]


Pipeline Safety: Meeting of the Gas Pipeline Safety Advisory 
Committee

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

ACTION: Notice of advisory committee meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting of the Technical 
Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, also known as the Gas Pipeline 
Advisory Committee (GPAC). The GPAC will meet to discuss a proposed 
rulemaking to address regulatory requirements for onshore gas 
transmission and gathering pipelines.

DATES: The committee will meet on Wednesday, December 7, 2016, from 
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursday, December 8, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. 
to 5 p.m., EST.
    The meetings will not be web cast; however, presentations will be 
available on the meeting Web site and posted on the E-Gov Web site: 
http://www.regulations.gov under docket number PHMSA-2016-0136 within 
30 days following the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at a location yet to be determined 
in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. The meeting location, agenda 
and any additional information will be published on the following 
pipeline advisory committee meeting and registration page at: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=121.

Public Participation

    This meeting will be open to the public. Members of the public who 
wish to attend in person are asked to register at: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=121 no later than 
December 1, 2016, in order to facilitate entry and guarantee seating. 
Members of the public who attend in person will also be provided an 
opportunity to make a statement during the meeting.
    Written comments: Persons who wish to submit written comments on 
the meeting may be submitted to the docket 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.
    Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    Hand Delivery: Room W12-140 on the ground level of the DOT West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Identify the docket number PHMSA-2016-0136 at the 
beginning of your comments. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. Anyone can search the electronic form of 
all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted 
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). Therefore, 
consider reviewing DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477) or view the Privacy 
Notice at http://www.regulations.gov before submitting any such 
comments.
    Docket: For access to the docket or to read background documents or 
comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to Room W12-
140 on the ground level of the DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,

[[Page 83796]]

Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your written 
comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard with the 
following statement: ``Comments on PHMSA-2016-0136.'' The Docket Clerk 
will date stamp the postcard prior to returning it to you via the U.S. 
mail.

Privacy Act Statement

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 
public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these 
comments, without edit, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Services for Individuals with Disabilities: The public meeting will 
be physically accessible to people with disabilities. Individuals 
requiring accommodations, such as sign language interpretation or other 
ancillary aids, are asked to notify Cheryl Whetsel at 
[email protected] by December 1, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the meeting, 
contact Cheryl Whetsel by phone at 202-366-4431 or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Meeting Details and Agenda

    The GPAC will be discussing the proposed rule, ``Safety of Gas 
Transmission and Gathering Pipelines'' published in the Federal 
Register on April 8, 2016, (81 FR 20722) and on the associated 
regulatory analysis. PHMSA is proposing changes to part 192 which 
include:
     Requiring periodic assessments of pipelines in locations 
where persons are expected to be at risk that are not already covered 
under the integrity management program requirements;
     Modifying the repair criteria, both inside and outside of 
high consequence areas (HCAs);
     Requiring inspections of pipelines in areas affected by 
extreme weather, man-made and natural disasters, and other similar 
events;
     Providing additional specificity for inline inspection, 
including explicit requirements to account for uncertainty of reported 
inspection data when evaluating inline inspection data to identify 
anomalies;
     Expanding integrity assessment methods to explicitly 
address guided wave ultrasonic inspection, and excavation with direct 
in-situ examination;
     Providing clearer functional requirements for conducting 
risk assessment for integrity management, including addressing seismic 
risk;
     Expanding the mandatory data collection and integration 
requirements for integrity management, including data validation and 
seismicity;
     Adding requirements to address Management of Change;
     Repealing the use of API 80 for gathering lines;
     Applying Type B requirements to newly regulated Type A 
gathering lines in Class 1 locations to > 8-inch along with emergency 
requirements (GAO Recommendation 14-667);
     Extending the reporting requirements to all gathering 
lines;
     Expanding requirements for corrosion protection to specify 
additional post-construction quality checks, and periodic operational 
and maintenance checks to address coating integrity, cathodic 
protection, and gas quality monitoring;
     Requiring operators to report MAOP Exceedance;
     Requiring safety features on Launchers and Receivers;
     Adding certain types of roadways to definition of 
``identified sites'' (NTSB P-14-1); and
     Addressing grandfather pipe; and pipe with inadequate 
records.
    The Agenda will be published on the PHMSA Web site.

II. Committee Background

    The GPAC is a statutorily mandated advisory committee that advises 
PHMSA on proposed gas pipeline safety standards and risk assessments 
for transporting gas and for gas pipeline facilitiesnatural gas 
pipelines. The committee is established in accordance with the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2, as amended) and 49 U.S.C. 
60115. The committee consists of 15 members--with membership evenly 
divided among the federal and state governments, the regulated 
industry, and the general public. The committees advise PHMSA on the 
technical feasibility, reasonableness, cost-effectiveness, and 
practicability of each proposed pipeline safety standard.

    Issued in Washington, DC on November 17, 2016, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Acting Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety
[FR Doc. 2016-28065 Filed 11-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-60-P