[Federal Register: July 31, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 148)]
[Notices]
[Page 44800-44801]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31jy08-98]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2008-0186]
Pipeline Safety: Voluntary Survey of Regulated and Unregulated
Low-Stress Pipeline Information
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: PHMSA's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is requesting each
operator of a rural low-stress hazardous liquid pipeline to complete a
voluntary survey to gather information concerning the mileage and
characteristics of these pipelines to assess the costs of subjecting
rural low-stress pipeline mileage to the pipeline safety standards and
regulations pursuant to the PIPES Act. The purpose of this notice is to
request all operators of LSPs to complete the voluntary survey,
including operators of low-stress pipelines that will not be subject to
the pipeline safety standards and regulations until Phase II of the
rulemaking proceeding.
DATES: It is requested that the voluntary survey be completed by
September 15, 2008.
ADDRESSES: To complete the voluntary survey, go to the OPS Online Data
Entry Web site at http://
[[Page 44801]]
opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov. For those individuals that cannot access the
Internet, please contact Carson Poe at 617-494-2765 for filing
instructions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roger Little by telephone at 202-366-
4569, by fax at 202-366-4566, or by mail at DOT, PHMSA, PHP-10, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, or by e-mail at
roger.little@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
With certain exceptions, section 4 of the Pipeline Inspection,
Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006 (PIPES Act) (Pub. L.
109-468) requires PHMSA to issue regulations subjecting low-stress
hazardous liquid transmission pipelines (LSPs) to the same standards
and regulations as other hazardous liquid transmission pipelines. On
June 3, 2008, PHMSA issued a Final Rule that subjected larger diameter
rural LSPs located within a half-mile buffer zone of an unusually
sensitive area (USA) to the part 195 standards and regulations (73 FR
31364). In that rulemaking proceeding, PHMSA explained that it was only
the first phase of a two-phase approach to meeting the PIPES Act
mandate and that additional rural LSP mileage would be subjected to the
part 195 regulations in Phase II.
The June 3, 2008 Final Rule subjected all operators of LSPs to
certain reporting requirements, including LSPs that will be considered
in the Phase II rulemaking. These reporting requirements include
incident reports and safety-related condition reports as reflected in
49 CFR 195.48, but did not require the reporting of pipeline mileage or
characteristics (except to the extent that operators of regulated LSP
mileage subject to the integrity management requirements must report
high consequence area (HCA) mileage).
In order to assess the costs of subjecting LSP mileage to the
pipeline safety standards and regulations pursuant to the PIPES Act,
PHMSA has initiated a voluntary survey on rural LSPs. The voluntary
survey supports DOT's Strategic Safety Goal. PHMSA will be better able
to promulgate future safety-related LSP regulations with more accurate
information about pipelines.
Voluntary survey results will be summarized by the John A. Volpe
National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) of DOT. The
voluntary survey solicits information on the following:
Pipeline Mileage--Total number of LSP miles.
Rural LSP Characteristics--Specific information on
interplant pipeline miles, mileage of LSP having a diameter equal to or
greater than 8\5/8\ inches, mileage of steel LSP, and mileage of non-
metallic LSP.
Pipeline Products--Listing of all products transported
using rural LSP.
Pipeline Location by State--Listing of states with LSP and
corresponding mileages.
Unusually Sensitive Areas--Total number of LSP miles
within one-half mile of an unusually sensitive area.
Breakout Tanks--Total number of breakout tanks associated
with the LSP miles.
PHMSA will use the results to calculate the economic impacts
associated with current and future LSP rulemakings. In addition, PHMSA
will be able to oversee the safety of LSPs more effectively with more
accurate information.
The voluntary survey is posted on OPS Online Data Entry Web site at
http://opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov. All companies completing the voluntary
survey are asked to do so via the online link provided where possible.
Operators who do not have access to the Internet should contact Carson
Poe of the Volpe Center by phone at 617-494-2765 for alternate filing
instructions.
To ensure that PHMSA reaches all of the targeted operators, PHMSA
will also electronically deliver notification of how to complete the
voluntary survey to each of the companies operating regulated hazardous
liquid pipelines. PHMSA will send the e-mail to the contact person
responsible for the most recent annual report submission, as this
voluntary survey is closely related to the infrastructure information
PHMSA receives through the annual reports.
In an effort to reach companies that operate currently unregulated
pipelines exclusively, PHMSA is working with the American Petroleum
Institute (API), the Independent Petroleum Association of America
(IPAA), and the Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) to announce the
voluntary survey via these industry associations' e-mail newsletters to
their members.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations (5 CFR part
1320) implementing provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(Pub. L. 104-13) require that interested members of the public and
affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(s)) and
specify that no person is required to respond to an information
collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. In accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, PHMSA has received OMB
approval for the initiation of this voluntary survey as follows:
Title: Rural Low-Stress Pipelines Survey.
OMB Control Number: 2137-0623.
Affected Public: Hazardous liquid pipeline operators.
Expiration Date: June 30, 2011.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 158.
Estimated Number of Responses: 158.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 2,528 hours.
Issued in Washington, DC on July 25, 2008.
Jeffrey D. Wiese,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. E8-17530 Filed 7-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P