Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration September 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

BOC Gases (BOC) petitioned PHMSA for a waiver from the pipeline safety standards at 49 CFR 195.306(c)(5) to allow the use of inert gas or carbon dioxide as the test medium for pressure testing its existing carbon dioxide pipeline.

This final rule corrects editorial errors, makes minor regulatory changes and, in response to requests for clarification, improves the clarity of certain provisions in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). In addition, this final rule revises references to the former Research and Special Programs Administration to reflect the creation of Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The intended effect of this rule is to enhance the accuracy, and reduce misunderstandings of the regulations. The amendments contained in this rule are minor changes and do not impose new requirements.

This is to notify the public that PHMSA is investigating the unauthorized marking of high- and low-pressure compressed gas cylinders, including fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinders, and self- contained breathing apparatus, by All-Out Fire Equipment Co., Inc. The company is located at 385 High Street, Holbrook, NY. On June 15, 2004, two inspectors from the Office of Hazardous Materials Enforcement (OHMEEastern Region) conducted a compliance inspection of All-Out Fire Equipment Co., Inc. During the inspection, PHMSA obtained evidence that All-Out Fire Equipment Co., Inc. had marked, certified, and returned to service an undetermined number of cylinders as being properly tested in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), without conducting the required hydrostatic testing of those cylinders. All-Out Fire Equipment Co., Inc.'s retest records revealed that, from November 2003 through June 2004, All-Out Fire Equipment Co., Inc. had returned to service hundreds of cylinders without hydrostatically testing them. In addition, PHMSA found no records of hydrostatic testing for cylinders All-Out Fire Equipment Co., Inc. had requalified prior to November 2003. This and other evidence obtained by PHMSA indicates that All-Out Fire Equipment Co., Inc. also failed to perform required hydrostatic testing on cylinders it requalified prior to November 2003. Hydrostatic retesting and visual inspection, conducted as prescribed in the HMR, are used to verify the structural integrity of a cylinder. If the hydrostatic retesting and visual inspection are not performed in accordance with the HMR, a cylinder with compromised structural integrity may be returned to service when it should have been condemned in the first place. Extensive property damage, serious personal injury, or death could result from rupture of a cylinder. Cylinders that have not been retested in accordance with the HMR may not be charged or filled with compressed gas or other hazardous material.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, exemptions from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR part 107, subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular exemption is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

In accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5117(c), PHMSA is publishing the following list of exemption applications that have been in process for 180 days or more. The reason(s) for delay and the expected completion date for action on each application is provided in association with each identified application.

PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to owners and operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines to communicate the potential for damage to pipeline facilities caused by the passage of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.