Frequently Asked Questions on 911 Notifications Following Possible Pipeline Ruptures, 36179-36180 [2021-14582]
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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 128 / Thursday, July 8, 2021 / Notices
Company (BNSF) petitioned the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) to
modify a waiver of compliance that
provides relief from certain provisions
of the Federal railroad safety regulations
contained at 49 CFR part 213. FRA
previously assigned the waiver Docket
Number FRA–2020–0064.
BNSF’s existing waiver identified two
territories, the Powder River Territory,
and the Southern Transcon Territory,
where 49 CFR 213.233 visual track
inspection requirements are replaced
with a combination of performancebased automated and visual inspections.
Automated inspections are performed
by Unmanned Automated Track
Geometry Cars every 12 million gross
tons, not exceeding four weeks between
tests, and visual inspections are
performed either twice per month,
weekly, or three times per week, based
on risk model calculations made weekly
for each track segment.
BNSF is requesting to expand the
scope of the waiver by adding two
additional territories. First, BNSF
requests to incorporate their Orin
Subdivision, a 395-track mile line
running from Donkey Creek Junction,
Wyoming, to Bridger Junction,
Wyoming, into the existing Powder
River Territory. In support of this
request, BNSF states that the
operational, traffic mix, and weather
characteristics of the Orin Subdivision
are similar to the other subdivisions of
the Powder River Territory.
Second, BNSF requests to add a new
territory to the waiver, their Northern
Transcon Route. This 4,322-track mile
line runs from Chicago, Illinois, to
Seattle, Washington. In support of this
request, BNSF references their 2020
geometry defect rates along the route as
lower (safer) than the rates of the
Southern Transcon Territory.
In support of its petition, BNSF
references data and analysis from their
Track Inspection Test Program, Docket
Number FRA–2018–0091, and data and
analysis already available in Docket
Number FRA–2020–0064. BNSF states
that all requirements of the waiver have
been met during implementation on the
Powder River Territory and Southern
Transcon Territory. BNSF contends
there are no unique characteristics of
the Northern Transcon Route or Orin
Subdivision that would prevent BNSF’s
successful implementation of the
existing relief over those additional
territories. BNSF concludes that adding
the two new territories will result in net
safety benefits for those territories due
to the increased geometry inspections
and data-driven visual inspections.
A copy of the petition, as well as any
written communications concerning the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:47 Jul 07, 2021
Jkt 253001
petition, if any, are available for review
online at www.regulations.gov.
Interested parties are invited to
participate in these proceedings by
submitting written views, data, or
comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing for these
proceedings since the facts do not
appear to warrant a hearing. If any
interested parties desire an opportunity
for oral comment and a public hearing,
they should notify FRA, in writing,
before the end of the comment period
and specify the basis for their request.
All communications concerning these
proceedings should identify the
appropriate docket number and may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Website: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Operations Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT), 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, W12–
140, Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey
Ave. SE, Room W12–140, Washington,
DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
Communications received by August
23, 2021 will be considered by FRA
before final action is taken. Comments
received after that date will be
considered if practicable. Anyone can
search the electronic form of any written
communications and comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the document, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). Under 5
U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments
from the public to better inform its
processes. 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
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
See also https://www.regulations.gov/
privacy-notice for the privacy notice of
regulations.gov.
Issued in Washington, DC.
John Karl Alexy,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety,
Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–14535 Filed 7–7–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
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36179
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–2020–0164]
Frequently Asked Questions on 911
Notifications Following Possible
Pipeline Ruptures
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; draft frequently asked
questions.
AGENCY:
The Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA) is soliciting public comment
on draft frequently asked questions
(FAQs) intended to clarify existing
regulatory requirements that operators
of natural gas transmission and
distribution pipelines and hazardous
liquid pipelines alert emergency
responders when a pipeline emergency
occurs. The draft FAQs explain that
compliance with these existing
requirements is best achieved when
operators promptly identify a possible
rupture and alert emergency responders
in the impacted community or
jurisdiction through 911 services, or
direct contact with emergency
responders in areas where 911 services
are not available.
DATES: Comments on the draft FAQs
should be submitted to Docket No.
PHMSA–2020–0164 no later than
August 9, 2021.
ADDRESSES: 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 System:
U.S. Department of Transportation 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery: Department of
Transportation (DOT) Docket
Management System: West Building,
Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9:00
a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except federal holidays.
• Fax: 202–493–2251.
• Instructions: Identify the Docket
No. PHMSA–2020–0164, at the
beginning of your comments. If you
submit your comments by mail, submit
two copies. If you wish to receive
confirmation that PHMSA received your
comments, include a self-addressed
stamped postcard. Internet users may
submit comments at https://
www.regulations.gov.
SUMMARY:
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08JYN1
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
36180
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 128 / Thursday, July 8, 2021 / Notices
• Privacy Act: 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.
• 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 (FOIA)
(5 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 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 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.
Submissions containing CBI should be
sent to Byron Coy at Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, Eastern Region, PHP–
100, 840 Bear Tavern Rd., Suite 300.,
West Trenton, New Jersey 08628. Any
commentary PHMSA receives that is not
specifically designated as CBI will be
placed in the public docket for this
matter.
• Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for accessing the dockets.
Alternatively, you may review the
documents in person at the street
address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Byron Coy, Senior Technical Advisor,
Program Development Division, by
telephone at 609–433–2173, or by email
at Byron.Coy@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2011,
NTSB issued several safety
recommendations following its
investigation of the natural gas pipeline
rupture and explosion that occurred on
September 9, 2010, in San Bruno,
California. Finding that the operator of
the pipeline, Pacific Gas and Electric
Company (PG&E), had not notified
emergency officials that the accident
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:47 Jul 07, 2021
Jkt 253001
involved the rupture of one of PG&E’s
pipelines, NTSB made the following
recommendation to PHMSA:
Require operators of natural gas transmission
and distribution pipelines and hazardous
liquid pipelines to ensure that their control
room operators immediately and directly
notify the 911 emergency call center(s) for
the communities and jurisdictions in which
those pipelines are located when a possible
rupture of any pipeline is indicated. (P–11–
9)
Under existing pipeline safety
regulations, operators are required to
alert emergency responders when a
pipeline emergency occurs. Section
192.615(a)(8) requires operators of
natural gas pipelines to notify
appropriate fire, police, and other
public officials of gas pipeline
emergencies. Section 195.402(e)(7)
requires operators of hazardous liquid
pipelines to do the same. Operators are
also required to establish and maintain
means of communication with
appropriate fire, police, and other
public officials under §§ 192.615(a)(2)
and 195.402(c)(12).
In response to NTSB’s
recommendation, PHMSA first surveyed
existing FAQs in related areas to
determine if, and where, 911
notification following a possible rupture
had already been addressed. As part of
its research, PHMSA examined general
PHMSA and pipeline safety FAQs, as
well as FAQs related to gas
transmission, gas distribution,
hazardous liquid integrity management,
control room management (CRM), and
operator qualification.
PHMSA found that existing FAQs
most closely related to this topic are
those addressing CRM. These FAQs
(listed in the Appendix) include the
following:
• C.07 and C.09, which address
emergency communications.
• F.01, G.02, G.03, H.06, and H.07,
which cover emergency operations.
PHMSA found, however, that the
existing FAQs do not explicitly address
911 notification in response to a
possible pipeline rupture. In addition,
while the FAQs pertain to CRM, some
pipelines operate without a control
room.
PHMSA considered adding 911
notifications to existing FAQs but
determined that could dilute the
importance of emergency notification
requirements, as well as divert attention
from the specific topic of the existing
FAQs. Accordingly, PHMSA believes
that the safety issues raised in NTSB’s
recommendation are of sufficient
importance to merit new FAQs. In
addition, since control room personnel
may be fully occupied during an
PO 00000
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emergency addressing the emergency
itself, an operator’s procedures could
assign the duty to notify emergency
responders to others. Also, many
smaller pipeline operators do not have
control rooms. As a result, PHMSA is
creating guidance for all operators to
contact emergency responders without
specifically stating that it must be the
pipeline controllers who make the
notification, as mentioned in the NTSB
recommendation.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2021,
under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2021–14582 Filed 7–7–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–60–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
Hazardous Materials: Notice of Actions
on Special Permits
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of actions on special
permit applications.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
procedures governing the application
for, and the processing of, special
permits from the Department of
Transportation’s Hazardous Material
Regulations, notice is hereby given that
the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety
has received the application described
herein.
SUMMARY:
Comments must be received on
or before August 9, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Record Center, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation Washington, DC 20590.
Comments should refer to the
application number and be submitted in
triplicate. If confirmation of receipt of
comments is desired, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard showing
the special permit number.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donald Burger, Chief, Office of
Hazardous Materials Safety General
Approvals and Permits Branch, Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, U.S. Department of
Transportation, East Building, PHH–13,
1200 New Jersey Avenue Southeast,
Washington, DC 20590–0001, (202) 366–
4535.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of
the applications are available for
inspection in the Records Center, East
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\08JYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 128 (Thursday, July 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36179-36180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14582]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2020-0164]
Frequently Asked Questions on 911 Notifications Following
Possible Pipeline Ruptures
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice; draft frequently asked questions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA) is soliciting public comment on draft frequently asked
questions (FAQs) intended to clarify existing regulatory requirements
that operators of natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines
and hazardous liquid pipelines alert emergency responders when a
pipeline emergency occurs. The draft FAQs explain that compliance with
these existing requirements is best achieved when operators promptly
identify a possible rupture and alert emergency responders in the
impacted community or jurisdiction through 911 services, or direct
contact with emergency responders in areas where 911 services are not
available.
DATES: Comments on the draft FAQs should be submitted to Docket No.
PHMSA-2020-0164 no later than August 9, 2021.
ADDRESSES: 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 System: U.S. Department of
Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: Department of Transportation (DOT) Docket
Management System: West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except federal holidays.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Instructions: Identify the Docket No. PHMSA-2020-0164, at
the beginning of your comments. If you submit your comments by mail,
submit two copies. If you wish to receive confirmation that PHMSA
received your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard.
Internet users may submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov.
[[Page 36180]]
Privacy Act: 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.
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 (FOIA) (5 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 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 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. Submissions containing CBI
should be sent to Byron Coy at Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, Eastern Region, PHP-100, 840 Bear Tavern Rd., Suite
300., West Trenton, New Jersey 08628. Any commentary PHMSA receives
that is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public
docket for this matter.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets.
Alternatively, you may review the documents in person at the street
address listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Byron Coy, Senior Technical Advisor,
Program Development Division, by telephone at 609-433-2173, or by email
at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2011, NTSB issued several safety
recommendations following its investigation of the natural gas pipeline
rupture and explosion that occurred on September 9, 2010, in San Bruno,
California. Finding that the operator of the pipeline, Pacific Gas and
Electric Company (PG&E), had not notified emergency officials that the
accident involved the rupture of one of PG&E's pipelines, NTSB made the
following recommendation to PHMSA:
Require operators of natural gas transmission and distribution
pipelines and hazardous liquid pipelines to ensure that their
control room operators immediately and directly notify the 911
emergency call center(s) for the communities and jurisdictions in
which those pipelines are located when a possible rupture of any
pipeline is indicated. (P-11-9)
Under existing pipeline safety regulations, operators are required
to alert emergency responders when a pipeline emergency occurs. Section
192.615(a)(8) requires operators of natural gas pipelines to notify
appropriate fire, police, and other public officials of gas pipeline
emergencies. Section 195.402(e)(7) requires operators of hazardous
liquid pipelines to do the same. Operators are also required to
establish and maintain means of communication with appropriate fire,
police, and other public officials under Sec. Sec. 192.615(a)(2) and
195.402(c)(12).
In response to NTSB's recommendation, PHMSA first surveyed existing
FAQs in related areas to determine if, and where, 911 notification
following a possible rupture had already been addressed. As part of its
research, PHMSA examined general PHMSA and pipeline safety FAQs, as
well as FAQs related to gas transmission, gas distribution, hazardous
liquid integrity management, control room management (CRM), and
operator qualification.
PHMSA found that existing FAQs most closely related to this topic
are those addressing CRM. These FAQs (listed in the Appendix) include
the following:
C.07 and C.09, which address emergency communications.
F.01, G.02, G.03, H.06, and H.07, which cover emergency
operations.
PHMSA found, however, that the existing FAQs do not explicitly
address 911 notification in response to a possible pipeline rupture. In
addition, while the FAQs pertain to CRM, some pipelines operate without
a control room.
PHMSA considered adding 911 notifications to existing FAQs but
determined that could dilute the importance of emergency notification
requirements, as well as divert attention from the specific topic of
the existing FAQs. Accordingly, PHMSA believes that the safety issues
raised in NTSB's recommendation are of sufficient importance to merit
new FAQs. In addition, since control room personnel may be fully
occupied during an emergency addressing the emergency itself, an
operator's procedures could assign the duty to notify emergency
responders to others. Also, many smaller pipeline operators do not have
control rooms. As a result, PHMSA is creating guidance for all
operators to contact emergency responders without specifically stating
that it must be the pipeline controllers who make the notification, as
mentioned in the NTSB recommendation.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2021, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2021-14582 Filed 7-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P
