Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration July 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a public meeting of PHMSA's Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee (TPSSC) to vote on a proposed rule requiring pipeline operators to consider internal corrosion when designing and constructing new and replaced gas transmission pipelines.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits 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. This notice is abbreviated to expedite docketing and public notice. Because the sections affected, modes of transportation, and the nature of application have been shown in earlier Federal Register publications, they are not repeated here. Request of modifications of special permits (e.g., to provide for additional hazardous materials, packaging design changes, additional mode of transportation, etc.) are described in footnotes to the application number. Application numbers with the suffix ``M'' denote a modification request. These applications have been separated from the new application for special permits to facilitate processing.

Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company (Tuscarora) requests a waiver of the pipeline safety regulation on valve spacing from PHMSA. The pipeline safety regulation requires each point on a pipeline in a Class 1 location be within 10 miles of a block valve. This document grants Tuscarora's request for waiver.

PHMSA is granting Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. (M&N) a waiver of compliance from certain PHMSA regulations for the United States portion of its pipeline system. This waiver increases the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) for the pipeline. This waiver decision also authorizes M&N to increase the design factor for its compressor station piping, grants relief from the strength testing requirements for M&N's compressor station piping, grants relief in establishing the MAOP of pipelines operating above prescribed hoop stresses, grants relief from the capacity requirements of pressure limiting stations, and authorizes M&N to maintain the pressure rating of portions of the waiver area subject to a change in class location. Before granting the waiver, PHMSA performed a thorough technical review of M&N's application and supporting documents. PHMSA requested and received supplementary information on numerous technical aspects of M&N's design, engineering, operations, and maintenance practices. The materials are available in docket PHMSA-2006-23448 at https:// dms.dot.gov. PHMSA also sought comments from the public and received positive feedback from States along the pipeline and the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee. The waiver is subject to and conditional upon supplemental safety criteria set forth in this notice. The supplemental safety criteria address the life-cycle management of the subject pipeline and require M&N to adhere to maintenance, inspection, monitoring, control, and reporting standards exceeding existing regulatory requirements.

PHMSA is granting Rockies Express Pipeline, L.L.C. (Rockies Express) a waiver of compliance from the pipeline safety regulation that prescribes the design factor to be used in the design formula for steel pipe. This waiver allows the Rockies Express pipeline to operate at hoop stresses up to 80 percent of the specified minimum yield strength (SMYS) in Class 1 locations. The waiver also grants Rockies Express relief from equipment requirements for pressure relieving and limiting stations. Before granting the waiver, PHMSA performed a thorough technical review of Rockies Express's application and supporting documents. PHMSA requested and received supplementary information pertaining to numerous technical aspects of its metallurgy, pipeline design, and engineering practices. These materials are available in the docket PHMSA-2006-23998 at https://dms.dot.gov. PHMSA also sought comments from the public and received positive feedback from the impacted States along the pipeline and the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee. The waiver is subject to and conditional upon supplemental safety criteria set forth in this notice. The supplemental safety criteria address the life cycle management of the subject pipeline and require Rockies Express to adhere to maintenance, inspection, monitoring, control, and reporting standards exceeding existing regulatory requirements.