[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 221 (Thursday, November 15, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57388-57389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24774]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 192

[Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0073]


Pipeline Safety: Guidance on the Extension of the 7-year 
Integrity Management Reassessment Interval by 6 Months

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA is publishing this document to seek public comments on 
frequently asked questions (FAQs) developed to provide guidance on what 
constitutes sufficient justification for an operator to request a 6-
month extension to a gas pipeline's 7-year integrity management 
reassessment interval. This guidance, which consists of one revised and 
two new FAQs, will implement authority granted by Congress in Section 
5(e) of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act 
of 2011 (2011 Act).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 17, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference Docket No. PHMSA-2018-0073 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 document issued by any 
agency.
    Fax: (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's West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, Monday 
through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 
except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Identify the docket number, PHMSA-2018-0073, at the 
beginning of your comments. Please note that all comments received will 
be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. Anyone may search the electronic form of 
comments received for PHMSA dockets. You may review the DOT's complete 
Privacy Act Statement, 65 FR 19476, which was published in the Federal 
Register on April 11, 2000.
    Docket: For access to the docket or to read background documents or 
comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time. You may also 
visit Room W12-140 on the ground level of the DOT's West Building, 
located at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, Monday 
through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, except Federal holidays. 
If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your written 
comments, please include a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the 
following statement: ``Comments on PHMSA-2018-0073.'' The docket clerk 
will date stamp the postcard prior to returning it to you via the mail. 
Please note that, due to delays in the delivery of U.S. mail to Federal 
offices in Washington, DC, we recommend that you consider an 
alternative method (internet, fax, or professional delivery service) 
for submitting comments to the docket and ensuring their timely 
delivery to the DOT.
    Note: Privacy Act Statement: the DOT may solicit comments from the 
public regarding certain general notices. The 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). This document can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    General: Ms. Nancy White by telephone at 202-366-1419, or email at 
[email protected].
    Technical: Mr. Kenneth Lee by telephone at 202-366-2694, or email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Congress made several amendments to the 
pipeline safety statutes in the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, 
and Job Creation Act of 2011 (the 2011 Act). The Secretary of 
Transportation (the Secretary) has delegated to PHMSA the 
responsibility for implementing the changes resulting from the 2011 
Act. Section 5, ``Integrity Management,'' paragraph (e), of the 2011 
Act made a technical correction to the Federal pipeline safety statutes 
regarding the performance of integrity management assessments. As part 
of an operator's integrity management program, operators must assess 
pipelines in high-consequence areas for defects and anomalies at a 
minimum of once every 7 years. The technical correction clarified that 
the Secretary may extend such deadlines by an additional 6 months if 
the operator submits written notice to the Secretary with sufficient

[[Page 57389]]

justification of the need for the extension.
    To implement this authority, PHMSA is issuing guidance on what 
constitutes sufficient justification to extend a gas pipeline 
operator's 7-year integrity management reassessment interval by up to 6 
months if the operator submits written notice. PHMSA invites interested 
individuals to participate by reviewing the FAQs provided below and 
submitting written comments, data, or other information. Please include 
any comments on potential safety and environmental impacts that may 
result from issuance of the FAQs. Before finalizing the FAQs, PHMSA 
will evaluate all comments received on or before the comment closing 
date. PHMSA will consider all relevant comments we receive prior to the 
deadline when making changes to the final FAQs. Comments received after 
the closing date will be evaluated to the extent practicable.
    Once finalized, PHMSA's FAQs will be posted on PHMSA's public 
website at https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/faqs.htm:
    Guidance on the Extension of the 7-year Integrity Management 
Reassessment Interval by 6 Months (FAQs):
     NEW FAQ-281. How do I extend the assessment schedule 
beyond 7 years?
    Notify PHMSA, in accordance with 49 CFR 192.949, of the need for an 
extension, which may not exceed 6 months. The notification must be made 
180 days prior to end of the 7-year assessment date and include 
sufficient information to justify the extension.
     NEW FAQ-282. What constitutes sufficient information to 
justify extension of the assessment interval?
    Documentation is required to comply with 49 CFR 192.943 and 
include:

--An explanation as to why the deadline could not be met and how it 
will not compromise safety, and
--Identification of any additional actions necessary to ensure public 
safety during the extension time period.

     REVISED FAQ-207. Table 3 of ASME/ANSI B31.8S indicates 
that reassessment intervals must be 5 years for some instances in which 
test pressure was higher than would be required by subpart J. If I 
conduct my assessments in accordance with Subpart J, must I reassess 
more frequently than once every 7 years?
    Section 192.939(a)(1) specifies requirements for establishing 
reassessment intervals. Two options are allowed: (i) Basing the 
interval on identified threats, assessment results, data integration, 
and risk analysis, or (ii) using the intervals specified in Table 3 of 
ASME/ANSI B31.8S. An operator using the former option (Sec.  
192.939(a)(1)(i)) could establish intervals longer than those in Table 
3. The intervals that can be established by either method are limited 
to the maximum intervals in the table in Sec.  192.939.
    Pressure tests used as integrity management assessments must meet 
the requirements of Subpart J, including required test pressures. 
Higher test pressures must be used to justify extended reassessment 
intervals (Sec.  192.937(c)(2)). As used here ``extended reassessment 
intervals'' refers to any interval longer than 7 years as required by 
Sec. Sec.  192.937(a) and 192.939(a) and (b).
    Operators conducting assessments by pressure testing and who use 
test pressures meeting Subpart J requirements may establish a 
reassessment interval of 7 years, unless their analysis under Sec.  
192.939(a)(i) indicates a need for a shorter interval. This is true 
even if Table 3 would lead to a shorter interval.
    Operators who use Table 3 test pressures may establish reassessment 
intervals in accordance with Table 3 up to the maximums listed in the 
table in Sec.  192.939, again unless their analysis under Sec.  
192.939(a)(i) indicates a need for a shorter interval. Operators who 
establish intervals longer than 7 years must conduct a confirmatory 
direct assessment within the 7-year period. (For segments operating at 
less than 30% specified maximum yield strength, a low-stress 
reassessment per Sec.  192.941 may be conducted in lieu of confirmatory 
direct assessment--see Sec.  192.939(b)(1)).
    PHMSA may extend the 7-year interval for an additional 6 months if 
the operator submits written notice that includes sufficient 
justification regarding the need for an extension (Reference FAQ-281 
and 282).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 7, 2018, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2018-24774 Filed 11-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-60-P