[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28224-28225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12806]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-2016-0016]
Pipeline Safety: Safety of Underground Natural Gas Storage
Facilities; Petition for Reconsideration
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On January 18, 2017, PHMSA received a petition for
reconsideration of its interim final rule (IFR), ``Safety of
Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities.'' This Notice informs the
petitioners and other interested persons that PHMSA intends to address
the issues raised by the petitioners in a final rule, which it expects
to issue by January of 2018. In the interim, and for one year after the
publication of a final rule, PHMSA will not issue any enforcement
citations to operators for failure to meet any provisions that are non-
mandatory in an American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended
Practices (RPs) RP 1170 and RP 1171 but that were converted to
mandatory provisions by the IFR. Despite this stay of enforcement,
PHMSA still reserves the right to exercise its other authorities, if
necessary, to address any emergencies that present an imminent hazard
or specific conditions that are or would be hazardous to life,
property, or the environment. This Notice also informs operators of the
availability of further guidance on implementation to help operators
develop assessment schedules and carry out compliance programs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Byron Coy, Senior Technical Advisor,
Pipeline Safety Policy and Programs, by telephone at 609-771-7810 or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 19, 2016, (81 FR 91860) PHMSA
published an IFR titled ``Safety of Underground Natural Gas Storage
Facilities.'' PHMSA issued this IFR in response to a statutory mandate
in section 12 of the ``Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and
Enhancing Safety Act of 2016'' (Pub. L. 114-183). The IFR incorporates
by reference two API RPs: (1) API RP 1170, ``Design and Operation of
Solution-mined Salt Caverns used for Natural Gas Storage,'' issued in
July 2015, and (2) API RP 1171, ``Functional Integrity of Natural Gas
Storage in Depleted Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Aquifer Reservoirs,''
issued in September 2015.
On January 18, 2017, the American Gas Association, API, American
Public Gas Association, and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of
America (INGAA) submitted a petition seeking reconsideration of the
IFR, insofar as it modified the non-mandatory nature of many of the
recommendations in the RPs. The petitioners also contended that the
implementation periods were impracticable and should reasonably be
extended. On April 17, 2017, INGAA withdrew from the petition for
reconsideration. For further review, interested parties can access this
petition in the docket.
Under subpart D of 49 CFR part 190, PHMSA's general policy is to
take action on a petition for reconsideration of a regulation, whenever
practicable, within 90 days of the regulation's publication in the
Federal Register. PHMSA determined that it would be impracticable to
respond to the petition for reconsideration within that time period.
Therefore, this document provides notice to the petitioners and the
public of the time period in which action will be taken in accordance
with 49 CFR 190.337(b). PHMSA plans to leave the petition for
reconsideration open and evaluate the petition, along with the comments
it has received. during the development of a final rule. PHMSA plans on
using the final rule to address the comments and the petition for
reconsideration and revise the requirements detailed in the IFR
accordingly. PHMSA expects to issue a final rule by January 2018.
Regarding the manner in which non-mandatory sections of the RPs
were made mandatory by the IFR, the petitioners expressed concern that,
in certain instances, treating non-mandatory practices as mandatory
could result in unnecessary burdens for operators. During the 60-day
public comment period on the IFR, PHMSA received similar comments to
those raised in the petition on this issue. PHMSA understands these
concerns and is reviewing the treatment of non-mandatory provisions as
mandatory and will respond to these points in a final rule.
[[Page 28225]]
In the meantime, PHMSA will not issue any enforcement citations to
operators for non-compliance with any provisions that are non-mandatory
in the RPs until at least one year following publication of a final
rule. During the same time period, PHMSA will not issue enforcement
citations to operators for non-compliance with the requirement to
justify and document deviations from the non-mandatory provisions.
PHMSA does intend, however, to retain and enforce the other compliance
deadlines in the IFR, including the requirement that operators of
existing underground gas storage facilities develop, by January 18,
2018, policies and procedures to implement those sections of the RPs
that are identified as mandatory in the actual RPs.
Notwithstanding this stay of enforcement, nothing in this Notice is
intended to prevent or discourage an operator from carrying out any
recommended practice that is non-mandatory in the RPs if the operator
determines that the recommended practice needs to be followed to ensure
the safe operation of its facilities.
Finally, PHMSA reserves the right to exercise its authorities
separate and apart from the IFR, if necessary, to address any pipeline
facility, including any underground gas storage facility, found to be
an imminent hazard under 49 U.S.C. 60117(o) or to order corrective
actions where the operation of such facility is or would be hazardous
to life, property, or the environment under 49 U.S.C. 60112. This
exercise of PHMSA's enforcement discretion does not affect any other
obligations that operators may have under the pipeline safety
regulations or any other applicable law.
Regarding the implementation periods discussed above, PHMSA has
recently published informal guidance in the form of Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs) which can be found at https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/ung/faqs.htm. The FAQs explain PHMSA's expectations for the timing of
implementing the RPs.
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 15, 2017, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.97.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 2017-12806 Filed 6-19-17; 8:45 am]
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