[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24390-24391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11333]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2017-0155]


Pipeline Safety: Request for Special Permit--Hawaiian Electric 
Company, Inc.

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA is publishing this notice to seek public comments on a 
request for special permit, seeking relief from compliance with certain 
requirements in the Federal pipeline safety regulations. At the 
conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments 
received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny 
the special permit request.

DATES: Submit any comments regarding this special permit request by 
June 25, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference the docket number for the specific 
special permit request and may be submitted in the following ways:
     E-Gov website: 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 System: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: Docket Management System: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
    Instructions: You should identify the docket number for the special 
permit request you are commenting on at the beginning of your comments. 
If you submit your comments by mail, please submit two copies. To 
receive confirmation that PHMSA has received your comments, please 
include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Internet users may submit 
comments at http://www.Regulations.gov.

    Note: Privacy Act Statement: DOT may solicit comments from the 
public regarding certain general notices. 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.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    General: Ms. Kay McIver by telephone at 202-366-0113, or email at 
[email protected].
    Technical: Mr. Joshua Johnson by telephone at 816-329-3825, or 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 13, 2017, PHMSA received a 
special permit request from the Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., 
(HECO), a hazardous liquid pipeline operator seeking permission to 
deviate from the pipeline safety regulations at 49 CFR 195.571, 
regarding the criteria that must be used to determine cathodic 
protection of a pipeline.
    On January 9, 2018, PHMSA issued a Notice of Proposed Safety Order 
(NOPSO) mandating that HECO adopt certain corrective measures for the 
Waiau pipeline while the special permit request was being reviewed and 
determined. After issuance of the NOPSO, a situation occurred where the 
Waiau pipeline leaked for over six hours. The preliminary cause of the 
spill appears to be external corrosion due to ineffective cathodic 
protection, as described in the NOPSO.
    The Waiau pipeline is a 13-mile onshore intrastate pipeline located 
within the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. It begins at the 
Hawaiian Electric Barbers Tank Farm in Kapolei, Oahu, and ends at the 
Waiau Power Plant in Pearl City, Oahu, Hawaii. The pipeline was 
constructed in 2004 using fusion bond epoxy coating with 2 inches of 
urethane foam insulation, and 80-millimeter, high density polyurethane 
(HDPE) jacket. The thermal insulation and PE jacketing has high 
electrical resistance properties that inhibit the cathodic protection 
current flow to areas where water migration and corrosion may occur. 
Although annual cathodic protection inspections confirm that the Waiau 
pipeline experiences adequate levels of cathodic protection, cathodic 
protection is expected to be an ineffective corrosion control method 
for thermally insulated pipe. The maximum operating pressure of this 
pipeline is 1,350 psig. The pipeline runs through areas of mixed high 
population and other populated areas and is located entirely in an 
ecologically unusually sensitive area.
    For additional protection and integrity of the pipeline, HECO 
proposes to conduct, among other measures, alternative in-line 
inspection technology every four years, rotating between Axial or 
Circumferential and Ultrasonic testing. HECO claims that the proposed 
measures will provide a safer alternative than required by the 
regulations and better capabilities to detect corrosion clusters that 
may appear invisible if they were to align with the inspection tool 
magnetic fields.
    A draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) is provided in the 
respective docket at http://www.Regulations.gov, for each special 
permit request. We invite interested persons to participate by 
reviewing the special permit request and DEA at http://www.Regulations.gov, and by submitting written comments, data, or other 
views. Please include any comments on potential safety and 
environmental impacts that may result if the special permit is granted.
    Before issuing a decision on the special permit request, PHMSA will

[[Page 24391]]

evaluate all comments received on or before the comment closing date. 
Comments received after the closing date will be evaluated if it is 
possible to do so without incurring additional expense or delay. PHMSA 
will consider each relevant comment we receive in making our decision 
to grant or deny a request.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 22, 2018, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2018-11333 Filed 5-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-60-P