[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55575-55576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19801]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[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 virtual public meeting of the 
Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, also known as the Gas 
Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC), to discuss the Gas Pipeline 
Regulatory Reform notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

DATES: PHMSA will hold a virtual public meeting on October 7, 2020. 
GPAC will meet from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 7, 
2020. Members of the public who want to attend are asked to register no 
later than September 30, 2020. PHMSA requests that individuals who 
require disability accommodations notify Tewabe Asebe by September 30, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held virtually. The agenda and any 
additional information, including information on how to participate in 
the meeting, will be published on the meeting website at https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=151. Presentations will 
be available on the meeting website and on the E-Gov website, https://www.regulations.gov/, under docket number PHMSA-2016-0136 no later than 
30 days following the meetings. You may submit comments, identified by 
Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0136, by any of the following methods:
     E-Gov Web: https://www.regulations.gov. This site allows 
the public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice issued by 
any agency. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building: Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, West Building: Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays.
     Instructions: Identify Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0136 at the 
beginning of your comments. If you submit your comments by mail, submit 
two copies. Internet users may submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov. If you would like confirmation that PHMSA received 
your comments, please include a self-addressed stamped postcard that is 
labeled ``Comments on PHMSA-2016-0136.'' The docket clerk will date 
stamp the postcard prior to returning it to you via the U.S. mail.
     Note: All comments received will be posted without edits 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading for more information. 
Anyone can use the site to search all comments by the name of the 
submitting individual or, if the

[[Page 55576]]

comment was submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor 
union, etc., the name of the signing individual. Therefore, please 
review the complete U.S. Department of Transportation Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register (65 FR 19477) or the Privacy Notice 
at https://www.regulations.gov before submitting comments.
     Privacy Act Statement: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), 
DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking 
process. The DOT posts these comments without edit, including any 
personal information the commenter provides, to https://www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at https://www.dot.gov/privacy.
     Confidential Business Information: Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) is commercial or financial information that is both 
customarily and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public 
disclosure. If your comments in response to this notice contain 
commercial or financial information that is customarily treated as 
private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or 
responsive to this notice, it is important that you clearly designate 
the submitted comments as CBI. Pursuant to 49 CFR 190.343, you may ask 
PHMSA to provide confidential treatment to information you give to the 
agency by taking the following steps: (1) Mark each page of the 
original document submission containing CBI as ``Confidential;'' (2) 
send PHMSA a copy of the original document with the CBI deleted along 
with the original, unaltered document; and (3) explain why the 
information you are submitting is CBI. Unless you are notified 
otherwise, PHMSA will treat such marked submissions as confidential 
under the Freedom of Information Act and they will not be placed in the 
public docket of this notice. Submissions containing CBI should be sent 
to Tewabe Asebe, DOT, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, PHP-30, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any commentary PHMSA receives that is not 
specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket.
     Docket: For access to the docket or to read background 
documents or comments, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets. Alternatively, this 
information is available by visiting the DOT at 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, West Building: Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, except federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tewabe Asebe, Transportation 
Specialist, Office of Pipeline Safety, by phone at 202-366-5523 or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Meeting Agenda

    GPAC will meet to discuss the Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform NPRM 
that PHMSA published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2020; (85 FR 
35240). GPAC will review the NPRM and its associated regulatory 
analysis. PHMSA will post additional details on the meeting website in 
advance of the meeting.
    In the NPRM, PHMSA proposes revisions to the federal pipeline 
safety regulations to ease regulatory burdens on the construction, 
maintenance, and operation of gas transmission, distribution, and 
gathering pipeline systems. The proposed amendments include petitions 
for rulemaking, regulatory relief actions identified by internal agency 
review, and public comments submitted in response to two DOT 
infrastructure and regulatory reform notices: Transportation 
Infrastructure: Notice of Review of Policy, Guidance, and Regulation 
(82 FR 26734; June 8, 2017) and Notification of Regulatory Review (82 
FR 45750; October 2, 2017). The NPRM proposes to provide flexibility in 
the inspection requirements for farm taps, allow remote monitoring for 
rectifier stations, adjust the monetary damage threshold for reporting 
incidents for inflation, revise the inspection interval for monitoring 
atmospheric corrosion on gas distribution service pipelines, and repeal 
distribution integrity management program requirements for master meter 
operators and submission requirements for mechanical fitting failure 
reports. The NPRM also proposes to update the design standard for 
polyethylene pipe, raise the maximum diameter limit for polyethylene 
pipe, revise test requirements for pressure vessels, update welder 
requalification requirements to provide scheduling flexibility, and 
extend the allowance for pretested short segments of pipe and 
fabricated units to pipelines operating at a hoop stress of less than 
30 percent of the specified minimum yield strength and more than 100 
pounds per square inch.

II. Background

    GPAC is a statutorily mandated advisory committee that provides 
PHMSA and the Secretary of Transportation with recommendations on 
proposed standards for the transportation of natural gas or hazardous 
liquids by pipeline. GPAC was established in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 
60115 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 
2), to review PHMSA's regulatory initiatives and determine their 
technical feasibility, reasonableness, cost-effectiveness, and 
practicability. GPAC consists of 15 members, with membership evenly 
divided among federal and state governments, regulated industry, and 
the general public.

III. Public Participation

    The meeting will be open to the public. Members of the public who 
wish to attend must register on the meeting website and include their 
names and affiliations. PHMSA will provide members of the public with 
opportunities to make a statement during the course of these meetings. 
Additionally, PHMSA will record the meetings and post a record to the 
public docket. PHMSA is committed to providing all participants with 
equal access to these meetings. If you need disability accommodations, 
please contact Tewabe Asebe by phone at 202-366-5523 or by email at 
[email protected].
    PHMSA is not always able to publish a notice in the Federal 
Register quickly enough to provide timely notice regarding last minute 
issues that impact a previously announced advisory committee meeting. 
Therefore, individuals should check the meeting website or contact 
Tewabe Asebe regarding any possible changes.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 1, 2020, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2020-19801 Filed 9-4-20; 8:45 am]
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