[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15485-15486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7028]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket ID PHMSA-2010-0097]
Pipeline Safety: Workshop on Guidelines for Integrity Assessment
of Cased Pipe
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice of workshop.
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SUMMARY: PHMSA is holding a workshop on the integrity assessment of
cased pipe for pipelines subject to integrity management program
requirements. The workshop is intended to discuss PHMSA's recently
issued guidance ``Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased Pipe in
Gas Transmission Pipelines'' and related Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs). The latest guidelines and FAQs are available online at: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/documents.htm. The workshop focus will be
for the public, pipeline operators, trade associations, and others to
address ideas and concerns with using External Corrosion Direct
Assessment integrity evaluation methods and use of other technologies
to assess pipelines in casings located within high consequence areas.
The workshop will be held at the Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South
Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 on April 28, 2010.
ADDRESSES: The April 28, 2010, cased pipe workshop will be held at the
Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
The meeting room will be posted at the hotel on the day of the
workshop.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Max Kieba at (202) 493-0595, or by e-
mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Registration: Members of the public may
attend this free workshop. The workshop will not be webcast. Hotel
reservations under the ``U.S. Department of Transportation'' room block
for the night of April 27, 2010, can be made by contacting the hotel
directly at 1-800-325-3535. A daily base rate of $161.00 is available
for the night of April 27, 2010. For this rate, room reservations must
be made by April 13, 2010.
To help assure that adequate space is provided, all attendees are
encouraged to register for the workshop at: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. Name badge pick-up
and on-site registration will be available starting at 7:30 a.m. with
the workshop taking place from 8:30 a.m. until approximately 5 p.m.
Refer to the meeting Web site for updated agenda and times at http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. All workshop
presentations will be available on the meeting Web site within 30 days
following the workshop.
Comments: Members of the public may also submit written comments,
either before or after the workshop. Comments should reference Docket
ID PHMSA-2010-0097. Comments may be submitted in the following ways:
E-Gov Web Site: http://www.regulations.gov. This site
allows the public to enter comments on any Federal Register notice
issued by any agency. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management System, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, Washington,
DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: DOT Docket Management System, Room W12-140,
on the ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
Instructions: Identify the Docket ID 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 has received
your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. Internet
users may submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov. Note: Comments
will be posted without changes or edits to http://www.regulations.gov
including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act
heading in the Regulatory Analyses and Notices section of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information.
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
[[Page 15486]]
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477).
Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: For
information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities, or to request special assistance at the meeting, please
contact Max Kieba at (202) 493-0595, or by e-mail at [email protected]
by April 15, 2010.
Issue Description: Under section 14 of the Pipeline Safety and
Improvement Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-355) and the regulations issued
thereunder, all gas transmission pipelines located in areas that could
affect high consequence areas (HCAs) must have an integrity management
program (IMP). One aspect of an integrity management program is that
each operator of a gas transmission pipeline located in an area that
could affect a HCA must conduct an integrity assessment by an approved
method no later than December 17, 2012, and must periodically reassess
the pipeline at least every seven years thereafter.
In response to Congressional mandates, PHMSA promulgated integrity
management regulations to implement this and other IMP requirements now
contained in 49 CFR 192, Subpart O. These regulations requiring
assessments apply to all pipe in a HCA, including cased pipe.
Operators reported that they were encountering technical challenges
in conducting External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA) on cased pipe
and industry requested more detailed guidance from PHMSA. PHMSA
responded by committing to hold a workshop to address the issues and to
follow up with stakeholders to help address the challenges cased
crossing pose. That workshop was held in July 2008 (http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64).
Following the workshop, PHMSA worked with a group of state
regulators, representatives from industry, trade associations, and
other stakeholders to develop guidelines for performing ECDA of gas
transmission pipe inside casings (http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/gasimp/ccCASQAT.htm). These guidelines are intended to assist pipeline
operators in complying with 49 CFR 192, Subpart O for cased pipe in
HCAs. The guidelines incorporate some of the input developed by this
work group, but have been updated in some areas to conform to the
integrity management regulations and statutory requirements.
The guidelines and FAQs are largely based on the work of this group
and state regulators, and provide guidelines for pipeline operators to
consider when implementing integrity management requirements for cased
pipe. The casing guidelines should assist operators in cases where
other integrity methods are not viable due to the pipeline being
unpiggable for reasons such as lateral location and customer outage
requirements.
Preliminary Workshop Agenda
The April 28, 2010 workshop will include:
(1) Briefing on the Guidelines for Integrity Assessment of Cased
Pipe.
(2) Briefing on FAQs.
(3) Comments from Stakeholders.
(4) Question and Answer Forum.
Refer to the meeting Web site for a more detailed agenda: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=64. PHMSA encourages all
interested persons to attend.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2010.
Steven Fischer,
Director, Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-7028 Filed 3-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P