[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 195 (Friday, October 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48232-48233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19521]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0006]
Pipeline Safety: Request for Special Permit; Southern Natural Gas
(SNG)
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA);
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On June 26, 2025, PHMSA published a notice to solicit public
comment on a request for a special permit from Southern Natural Gas
(SNG), a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc. The comment period closed on
July 28, 2025. PHMSA is issuing this notice to extend the comment
period for an additional 15 days to give the public more time to review
the proposed special permit action and updated documents. At the
conclusion of the 15-day extension 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
October 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments should reference the docket number for this 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: There is a privacy statement published on http://www.regulations.gov. Comments, including any personal information
provided, are posted without changes or edits to http://www.regulations.gov.
Confidential Business Information: Confidential Business
Information (CBI) is commercial or financial information that is both
customarily and treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) (5 United States Code (U.S.C.) 552), CBI is
exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to this
notice contain commercial or financial information that is customarily
treated as private, that you 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 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) 190.343, you may ask PHMSA to give 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, along with the
original document, a second copy of the original document with the CBI
deleted; 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 FOIA, and they will not be placed
in the public docket of this notice. Submissions containing CBI should
be sent to Lee Cooper, DOT, PHMSA-PHP-80, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any commentary PHMSA receives that is not
specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for
this matter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
General: Mr. Lee Cooper by telephone at 202-913-3171, or by email
at [email protected].
Technical: Mr. Zaid Obeidi by telephone at 202-768-4354, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PHMSA received a special permit request from
SNG, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc., on January 27, 2025, seeking
to reincorporate a previously issued special permit segment into
special permit PHMSA-2016-0006. The new special permit segment request
is a part of the active permit's special permit inspection area.
Special permit PHMSA-2016-0006 allows SNG to deviate from the Federal
pipeline safety regulations in 49 CFR 192.611(a), (d), and 192.619(a),
where a gas transmission pipeline segment has undergone a change from a
Class 1 to a Class 3 location.
Special permit PHMSA-2016-0006 was initially granted on September
1, 2016 and included the requested special permit segment. A class
location drop made the need for a special permit unnecessary for this
specific special permit segment. When the special permit was reissued
on March 17, 2023, the relevant special permit segment was not
included. The currently issued special permit is effective until March
17, 2028 for 16 special permit segments, which include 16,792 feet
(approximately 3.180 miles) of the SNG natural gas transmission
pipeline system located in the States of Alabama, Georgia, and
Louisiana. The special permit segment requested to be reincorporated is
948 feet (approximately 0.179 miles). If granted, the special permit
segments would total 17,740 feet (approximately 3.360 miles).
The requested new special permit segment details are as follows:
[[Page 48233]]
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Maximum
allowable
Outside operating
SPS No. Status County, state diameter Line name Length Year pressure
(inches) (feet) installed (pounds per
square inch
gauge)
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729 (Previously known as New Segment.......... Autauga, AL.......... 30 South Main 2nd Loop 948 1981 1,200
segment 2). Line.
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Upon receipt of this request, PHMSA reviewed the final
environmental assessment (FEA) and finds that the expansion of the
proposed special permit would not result in significant impacts to the
human environment. Furthermore, the existing FEA and finding of no
significant impact remain adequate, pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
No further environmental assessment is required for this proposal.
SNG's new special permit segment request, active special permit
with conditions, and FEA are available for review and public comment in
Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0006. PHMSA invites interested persons to review
and submit comments in the docket on the special permit segment
request. Please submit comments on any potential safety, environmental,
and other relevant considerations implicated by the special permit
request. Comments may include relevant data.
Before issuing a decision on the special permit request, PHMSA will
evaluate all comments received on or before the comments 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 it receives in making its decision
to grant or deny this special permit request.
Issued in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2025, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Linda Daugherty,
Acting Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2025-19521 Filed 10-9-25; 8:45 am]
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