[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28224-28225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12806]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0016]


Pipeline Safety: Safety of Underground Natural Gas Storage 
Facilities; Petition for Reconsideration

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On January 18, 2017, PHMSA received a petition for 
reconsideration of its interim final rule (IFR), ``Safety of 
Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities.'' This Notice informs the 
petitioners and other interested persons that PHMSA intends to address 
the issues raised by the petitioners in a final rule, which it expects 
to issue by January of 2018. In the interim, and for one year after the 
publication of a final rule, PHMSA will not issue any enforcement 
citations to operators for failure to meet any provisions that are non-
mandatory in an American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended 
Practices (RPs) RP 1170 and RP 1171 but that were converted to 
mandatory provisions by the IFR. Despite this stay of enforcement, 
PHMSA still reserves the right to exercise its other authorities, if 
necessary, to address any emergencies that present an imminent hazard 
or specific conditions that are or would be hazardous to life, 
property, or the environment. This Notice also informs operators of the 
availability of further guidance on implementation to help operators 
develop assessment schedules and carry out compliance programs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Byron Coy, Senior Technical Advisor, 
Pipeline Safety Policy and Programs, by telephone at 609-771-7810 or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 19, 2016, (81 FR 91860) PHMSA 
published an IFR titled ``Safety of Underground Natural Gas Storage 
Facilities.'' PHMSA issued this IFR in response to a statutory mandate 
in section 12 of the ``Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and 
Enhancing Safety Act of 2016'' (Pub. L. 114-183). The IFR incorporates 
by reference two API RPs: (1) API RP 1170, ``Design and Operation of 
Solution-mined Salt Caverns used for Natural Gas Storage,'' issued in 
July 2015, and (2) API RP 1171, ``Functional Integrity of Natural Gas 
Storage in Depleted Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Aquifer Reservoirs,'' 
issued in September 2015.
    On January 18, 2017, the American Gas Association, API, American 
Public Gas Association, and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of 
America (INGAA) submitted a petition seeking reconsideration of the 
IFR, insofar as it modified the non-mandatory nature of many of the 
recommendations in the RPs. The petitioners also contended that the 
implementation periods were impracticable and should reasonably be 
extended. On April 17, 2017, INGAA withdrew from the petition for 
reconsideration. For further review, interested parties can access this 
petition in the docket.
    Under subpart D of 49 CFR part 190, PHMSA's general policy is to 
take action on a petition for reconsideration of a regulation, whenever 
practicable, within 90 days of the regulation's publication in the 
Federal Register. PHMSA determined that it would be impracticable to 
respond to the petition for reconsideration within that time period. 
Therefore, this document provides notice to the petitioners and the 
public of the time period in which action will be taken in accordance 
with 49 CFR 190.337(b). PHMSA plans to leave the petition for 
reconsideration open and evaluate the petition, along with the comments 
it has received. during the development of a final rule. PHMSA plans on 
using the final rule to address the comments and the petition for 
reconsideration and revise the requirements detailed in the IFR 
accordingly. PHMSA expects to issue a final rule by January 2018.
    Regarding the manner in which non-mandatory sections of the RPs 
were made mandatory by the IFR, the petitioners expressed concern that, 
in certain instances, treating non-mandatory practices as mandatory 
could result in unnecessary burdens for operators. During the 60-day 
public comment period on the IFR, PHMSA received similar comments to 
those raised in the petition on this issue. PHMSA understands these 
concerns and is reviewing the treatment of non-mandatory provisions as 
mandatory and will respond to these points in a final rule.

[[Page 28225]]

    In the meantime, PHMSA will not issue any enforcement citations to 
operators for non-compliance with any provisions that are non-mandatory 
in the RPs until at least one year following publication of a final 
rule. During the same time period, PHMSA will not issue enforcement 
citations to operators for non-compliance with the requirement to 
justify and document deviations from the non-mandatory provisions. 
PHMSA does intend, however, to retain and enforce the other compliance 
deadlines in the IFR, including the requirement that operators of 
existing underground gas storage facilities develop, by January 18, 
2018, policies and procedures to implement those sections of the RPs 
that are identified as mandatory in the actual RPs.
    Notwithstanding this stay of enforcement, nothing in this Notice is 
intended to prevent or discourage an operator from carrying out any 
recommended practice that is non-mandatory in the RPs if the operator 
determines that the recommended practice needs to be followed to ensure 
the safe operation of its facilities.
    Finally, PHMSA reserves the right to exercise its authorities 
separate and apart from the IFR, if necessary, to address any pipeline 
facility, including any underground gas storage facility, found to be 
an imminent hazard under 49 U.S.C. 60117(o) or to order corrective 
actions where the operation of such facility is or would be hazardous 
to life, property, or the environment under 49 U.S.C. 60112. This 
exercise of PHMSA's enforcement discretion does not affect any other 
obligations that operators may have under the pipeline safety 
regulations or any other applicable law.
    Regarding the implementation periods discussed above, PHMSA has 
recently published informal guidance in the form of Frequently Asked 
Questions (FAQs) which can be found at https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/ung/faqs.htm. The FAQs explain PHMSA's expectations for the timing of 
implementing the RPs.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 15, 2017, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2017-12806 Filed 6-19-17; 8:45 am]
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