Pipeline Safety: Notice to Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquid Pipelines To Accurately Locate and Mark Underground Pipelines Before Construction-Related Excavation Activities Commence Near the Pipelines, 67703-67704 [06-9354]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–04–19856]
Pipeline Safety: Notice to Operators of
Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquid
Pipelines To Accurately Locate and
Mark Underground Pipelines Before
Construction-Related Excavation
Activities Commence Near the
Pipelines
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; Issuance of Advisory
Bulletin.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This advisory reminds and
reinforces the importance of safe
locating excavation practices near
underground pipelines. PHMSA’s
pipeline safety regulations require
pipeline operators to implement damage
prevention programs to protect
underground pipelines during
construction related excavation. In
addition, PHMSA recommends pipeline
operators excavating in areas populated
with other pipelines and utilities follow
all consensus best practices and
guidelines developed by the Common
Ground Alliance. Recent serious
incidents especially reinforce the
importance of accurately locating and
marking pipelines and highlight an
urgent need for pipeline operators to
review how they implement their
damage prevention programs to prevent
further accidents caused by construction
related damage. This Advisory Bulletin
provides guidance on how to do this.
ADDRESSES: This document can be
viewed on the PHMSA home page at:
https://www.phmsa.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy
Kadnar, (202) 366–0568, or by e-mail at
Joy.Kadnar@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
pwalker on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES
1. Background
Recently several construction related
incidents have caused damage to
underground natural gas and hazardous
liquid pipelines in several States,
including California, Texas, Virginia,
and Wyoming. Some of these incidents
have resulted in deaths, injuries,
property damage, and disruption to
communities. Following an appropriate
damage prevention program is the best
way to prevent such incidents in the
future.
This is the second bulletin PHMSA
has issued on locating damage
prevention this year. In Advisory
VerDate Aug<31>2005
22:25 Nov 21, 2006
Jkt 211001
Bulletin 06–01, published in the
Federal Register on January 17, 2006
(71 FR 2613), we described other
preventable accidents caused by
construction-related damage. Advisory
Bulletin 06–01 specifically called on
operators to ensure that individuals
critical to damage prevention at
construction sites are qualified to
perform the necessary safety tasks.
These tasks include one-call
notifications, line locating and marking,
and inspection of construction
activities. In Advisory Bulletin 02–01,
published in the Federal Register on
May 24, 2002 (67 FR 36667), we pointed
to the best practices on damage
prevention found in the Common
Ground Study and urged operators to
follow them (see https://ops.dot.gov/init/
prevent/damage.htm). The Common
Ground Alliance is continuing the work
on developing best practices begun with
the Common Ground Study. These best
practices are widely accepted as
providing the basis for conducting safe
locating excavation near pipelines.
Investigations by PHMSA and its
State partners continue to show that the
pipeline operators involved in
construction related incidents may not
always comply with Federal pipeline
safety regulations or their own
construction and maintenance practices.
Among the problems discovered are the
following:
• Pipeline operators do not always
follow their procedures for constructing,
repairing, ditching, and backfilling in
areas where there are existing pipelines.
Typically, procedures prohibit machine
excavation within two feet of existing
pipelines.
• Inspectors working for pipeline
operators at construction sites
sometimes fail to assist the operator’s
employees, the operator’s contractors,
and third-party construction contractors
in verifying the marked locations of the
existing pipeline facilities.
• Operators do not always verify
pipeline ‘‘as-built’’ drawings and make
them available to locators and
excavators at construction sites before
activities began.
• Operators do not always mark
pipelines at cross-overs.
• In locations with parallel pipelines,
operators sometimes mark the wrong
pipeline.
• Pipeline operators do not always
correctly mark all pipelines in the
vicinity of the construction and
maintenance activities, and sometimes
fail to assign personnel skilled enough
to observe excavation and backfilling
tasks.
Good procedures can prevent
accidents only if they are followed.
PO 00000
Frm 00163
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
67703
II. Advisory Bulletin (ADB–06–03)
To: Owners and Operators of Natural
Gas and Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
Systems.
Subject: Accurately Locating and
Marking Underground Pipelines Before
Construction-Related Excavation
Activities Commence Near the
Pipelines.
Advisory: Construction-related
excavation damage continues to be one
of the three leading causes of pipeline
damage. PHMSA continues to find
pipeline operators damaging regulated
pipelines, production and gathering
pipelines, and other utilities adjacent to
where construction and maintenance is
being performed. This damage
jeopardizes the safety of excavators,
pipeline employees, construction
personnel, and others in the vicinity of
the excavation. To guard the integrity of
buried pipelines and prevent injury,
death, and property and environmental
damage, PHMSA advises pipeline
operators to take the following damage
prevention measures:
• Use safe locating excavation
practices. Follow your procedures and
processes for excavation and backfill.
When constructing a new pipeline,
honor the marking of existing pipelines.
• Locate and mark pipelines
accurately before locating excavation
begins. Do not rely solely on maps,
drawings, or other written materials to
locate pipelines.
• Make sure that individuals locating
and marking the pipelines have the
knowledge, skills, and abilities to read
and understand pipeline alignment and
as-built drawings, and that they know
what other buried utilities exist in the
construction area.
• Make sure that individuals locating
and marking the pipelines have up-todate pipeline alignment and as-built
drawings.
• Make sure that individuals locating
and marking the pipelines are familiar
with state and local requirements on
marking.
• Mark all pipelines, including
laterals. This is especially important in
areas where there is a considerable
amount of new pipeline and utility
construction.
• Consider environmental conditions
such as rain and snow when selecting
marking methods.
• In areas where the pipelines are
curved or make sharp bends to avoid
other utilities or obstructions, consider
the visibility and frequency of markers.
• Confirm the accuracy of pipe
locating before excavation begins. This
applies when the pipeline operator
conducts the excavation using its own
employees, a contractor, or a third party.
E:\FR\FM\22NON1.SGM
22NON1
67704
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Notices
• Use qualified personnel for locating
and marking pipelines. At a minimum,
they should have received appropriate
training such as that outline in the
National Utility Locating Contractors
Association locator training standards
and practices.
• Make sure excavators have
sufficient information about
underground pipelines at the
construction site to avoid damage to the
pipeline. Facilitate communication
during the construction activity.
• Calibrate tools and equipment used
for line locating and make sure they are
in proper working order.
• Individually mark pipelines located
within the same trench where possible.
• Follow the best practices on
locating and marking pipelines
developed by the Common Ground
Alliance.
• When pipelines are hit or almost
his during excavation, evaluate the
practices and procedures in use before
continuing the construction activity.
Operators should use the full range of
safe locating excavation practices. In
particular, pipeline operators should
ensure the use of qualified personnel to
accurately locate and mark the location
of its underground pipelines.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. chapter 601; 49 CFR
1.53.
Issued in Washington, DC, on November
17, 2006.
Jeffrey D. Wiese,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for
Pipeline Safety
[FR Doc. 06–9354 Filed 11–17–06; 3:36 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910–10–M
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–2006–25803; Notice 1]
Pipeline Safety: Request for Waiver;
Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline,
L.L.C.
Note: All comments will be posted without
changes or edits to https://dms.dot.gov,
including any personal information
provided.
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA); DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Consider
Waiver Requests.
pwalker on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Kinder Morgan Louisiana
Pipeline L.L.C. (KMLP) requests a
waiver to use a 0.80 design factor in the
steel pipe design formula for Class 1
locations on Leg 1 of its proposed
natural gas interstate Kinder Morgan
Louisiana Pipeline. The waiver will
allow KMLP to design, construct and
operate Leg 1 of its pipeline at hoop
VerDate Aug<31>2005
22:25 Nov 21, 2006
Jkt 211001
stresses up to 80 percent of the specified
minimum yield strength (SMYS) in
Class 1 locations. KMLP seeks relief
from the related capacity design
requirements for pressure relieving and
pressure limiting stations on the same
segment of the proposed pipeline.
DATES: Persons interested in submitting
comments regarding this waiver request
must do so by December 22, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should reference
Docket No. PHMSA–2006–25803 and
may be submitted in the following ways:
• The DOT Web site: https://
dms.dot.gov. To submit comments on
the DOT electronic docket site, click
‘‘Comments/Submissions,’’ click
‘‘Continue,’’ fill in the requested
information, click ‘‘Continue,’’enter
your comment, then click ‘‘Submit.’’
• Fax: 202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Management System:
U.S. Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building,
Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
• Hand Delivery: DOT Docket
Management System; Room PL–401 on
the plaza level of the Nassif Building,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• E-Gov Web site: https://
www.regulations.gov. This site allows
the public to enter comments on any
Federal Register notice issued by any
agency.
Instructions for submitting comments:
You should identify the docket number
(PHMSA–2006–25803) at the beginning
of your comments. If you submit your
comments by mail, please submit two
copies. If you wish to receive
confirmation that PHMSA received your
comments, please include a selfaddressed stamped postcard. Internet
users may submit comments at https://
www.regulations.gov, and may access all
comments received by DOT at
https://dms.dot.gov by performing a
simple search for the docket number.
Privacy Act Statement: Anyone may
search the electronic form of all
comments received for any of our
dockets. You may review DOT’s
complete Privacy Act Statement in the
Federal Register published on April 11,
2000 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit
https://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alan Mayberry by telephone at (202)
366–5124; by fax at (202) 366–4566; by
mail at DOT, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration,
PO 00000
Frm 00164
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Pipeline Safety Program, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Room 2103, Washington,
DC 20590; or by e-mail at
alan.mayberry@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline
L.L.C. (KMLP) requests a waiver of
compliance from certain regulatory
requirements in 49 CFR 192.111 and
192.201 for Class 1 locations on Leg 1
only of its proposed natural gas
interstate pipeline. KMLP specifically
requests a waiver to allow the use of a
0.80 design factor in the steel pipe
design formula in § 192.105 in lieu of
the design factor of 0.72 specified
§ 192.111 for Class 1 locations. The
waiver will allow KMLP to design,
construct and operate Leg 1 of its
pipeline at hoop stresses up to 80
percent of the specified minimum yield
strength (SMYS) in Class 1 locations.
KMLP neither seeks a waiver from any
other design factors, nor for any other
segments of its pipeline.
A waiver allowing an increase of the
design factor from 0.72 to 0.80 in the
steel pipe design formula in § 192.105
requires a modification in the required
design capacities of pressure relieving
and limiting stations installed to protect
the pipeline. Therefore, KMLP also
requests a waiver of § 192.201(a)(2)(i),
which prescribes the design capacity
requirements for pressure relieving and
limiting stations on pipelines with a
maximum allowable operating pressure
(MAOP) of 60 pounds per square inch
gauge (psig) or more. KMLP specifically
wants to design the pressure relieving
and pressure limiting stations on Leg 1
of its pipeline such that the maximum
pressure will not exceed the MAOP plus
4 percent or the pressure that produces
a hoop stress of 83 percent of SMYS,
whichever is lower.
System Description
KMLP plans to construct and operate
its pipeline to deliver approximately
3,395,000 Dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of
regasified liquefied natural gas (LNG)
from the Sabine Pass LNG terminal
(currently under development) in
Cameron Parish, Louisiana (LA), to
markets in the eastern half of the United
States. The pipeline will consist of two
legs and two laterals. The pressure to
operate the pipeline will be supplied by
the LNG terminal so the proposed
project does not include the
construction of compressor stations.
Four major segments comprise the
KMLP pipeline project as follows:
• Leg 1 is a 137-mile, 42-inch
diameter, pipeline running
E:\FR\FM\22NON1.SGM
22NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67703-67704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9354]
[[Page 67703]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-04-19856]
Pipeline Safety: Notice to Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous
Liquid Pipelines To Accurately Locate and Mark Underground Pipelines
Before Construction-Related Excavation Activities Commence Near the
Pipelines
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice; Issuance of Advisory Bulletin.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This advisory reminds and reinforces the importance of safe
locating excavation practices near underground pipelines. PHMSA's
pipeline safety regulations require pipeline operators to implement
damage prevention programs to protect underground pipelines during
construction related excavation. In addition, PHMSA recommends pipeline
operators excavating in areas populated with other pipelines and
utilities follow all consensus best practices and guidelines developed
by the Common Ground Alliance. Recent serious incidents especially
reinforce the importance of accurately locating and marking pipelines
and highlight an urgent need for pipeline operators to review how they
implement their damage prevention programs to prevent further accidents
caused by construction related damage. This Advisory Bulletin provides
guidance on how to do this.
ADDRESSES: This document can be viewed on the PHMSA home page at:
https://www.phmsa.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy Kadnar, (202) 366-0568, or by e-
mail at Joy.Kadnar@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
Recently several construction related incidents have caused damage
to underground natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in several
States, including California, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Some of
these incidents have resulted in deaths, injuries, property damage, and
disruption to communities. Following an appropriate damage prevention
program is the best way to prevent such incidents in the future.
This is the second bulletin PHMSA has issued on locating damage
prevention this year. In Advisory Bulletin 06-01, published in the
Federal Register on January 17, 2006 (71 FR 2613), we described other
preventable accidents caused by construction-related damage. Advisory
Bulletin 06-01 specifically called on operators to ensure that
individuals critical to damage prevention at construction sites are
qualified to perform the necessary safety tasks. These tasks include
one-call notifications, line locating and marking, and inspection of
construction activities. In Advisory Bulletin 02-01, published in the
Federal Register on May 24, 2002 (67 FR 36667), we pointed to the best
practices on damage prevention found in the Common Ground Study and
urged operators to follow them (see https://ops.dot.gov/init/prevent/
damage.htm). The Common Ground Alliance is continuing the work on
developing best practices begun with the Common Ground Study. These
best practices are widely accepted as providing the basis for
conducting safe locating excavation near pipelines.
Investigations by PHMSA and its State partners continue to show
that the pipeline operators involved in construction related incidents
may not always comply with Federal pipeline safety regulations or their
own construction and maintenance practices. Among the problems
discovered are the following:
Pipeline operators do not always follow their procedures
for constructing, repairing, ditching, and backfilling in areas where
there are existing pipelines. Typically, procedures prohibit machine
excavation within two feet of existing pipelines.
Inspectors working for pipeline operators at construction
sites sometimes fail to assist the operator's employees, the operator's
contractors, and third-party construction contractors in verifying the
marked locations of the existing pipeline facilities.
Operators do not always verify pipeline ``as-built''
drawings and make them available to locators and excavators at
construction sites before activities began.
Operators do not always mark pipelines at cross-overs.
In locations with parallel pipelines, operators sometimes
mark the wrong pipeline.
Pipeline operators do not always correctly mark all
pipelines in the vicinity of the construction and maintenance
activities, and sometimes fail to assign personnel skilled enough to
observe excavation and backfilling tasks.
Good procedures can prevent accidents only if they are followed.
II. Advisory Bulletin (ADB-06-03)
To: Owners and Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquid
Pipeline Systems.
Subject: Accurately Locating and Marking Underground Pipelines
Before Construction-Related Excavation Activities Commence Near the
Pipelines.
Advisory: Construction-related excavation damage continues to be
one of the three leading causes of pipeline damage. PHMSA continues to
find pipeline operators damaging regulated pipelines, production and
gathering pipelines, and other utilities adjacent to where construction
and maintenance is being performed. This damage jeopardizes the safety
of excavators, pipeline employees, construction personnel, and others
in the vicinity of the excavation. To guard the integrity of buried
pipelines and prevent injury, death, and property and environmental
damage, PHMSA advises pipeline operators to take the following damage
prevention measures:
Use safe locating excavation practices. Follow your
procedures and processes for excavation and backfill. When constructing
a new pipeline, honor the marking of existing pipelines.
Locate and mark pipelines accurately before locating
excavation begins. Do not rely solely on maps, drawings, or other
written materials to locate pipelines.
Make sure that individuals locating and marking the
pipelines have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to read and
understand pipeline alignment and as-built drawings, and that they know
what other buried utilities exist in the construction area.
Make sure that individuals locating and marking the
pipelines have up-to-date pipeline alignment and as-built drawings.
Make sure that individuals locating and marking the
pipelines are familiar with state and local requirements on marking.
Mark all pipelines, including laterals. This is especially
important in areas where there is a considerable amount of new pipeline
and utility construction.
Consider environmental conditions such as rain and snow
when selecting marking methods.
In areas where the pipelines are curved or make sharp
bends to avoid other utilities or obstructions, consider the visibility
and frequency of markers.
Confirm the accuracy of pipe locating before excavation
begins. This applies when the pipeline operator conducts the excavation
using its own employees, a contractor, or a third party.
[[Page 67704]]
Use qualified personnel for locating and marking
pipelines. At a minimum, they should have received appropriate training
such as that outline in the National Utility Locating Contractors
Association locator training standards and practices.
Make sure excavators have sufficient information about
underground pipelines at the construction site to avoid damage to the
pipeline. Facilitate communication during the construction activity.
Calibrate tools and equipment used for line locating and
make sure they are in proper working order.
Individually mark pipelines located within the same trench
where possible.
Follow the best practices on locating and marking
pipelines developed by the Common Ground Alliance.
When pipelines are hit or almost his during excavation,
evaluate the practices and procedures in use before continuing the
construction activity.
Operators should use the full range of safe locating excavation
practices. In particular, pipeline operators should ensure the use of
qualified personnel to accurately locate and mark the location of its
underground pipelines.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. chapter 601; 49 CFR 1.53.
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 17, 2006.
Jeffrey D. Wiese,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety
[FR Doc. 06-9354 Filed 11-17-06; 3:36 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-10-M
