[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 23 (Thursday, February 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2399]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 3, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Special Programs Administration
49 CFR Part 192
[Docket PS-135; Notice 1]
RIN 2137-AC32
Customer-Owned Service Lines
AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This notice proposes to require operators of gas distribution
pipelines who do not maintain customer-owned service lines to advise
their customers of the proper maintenance of these gas lines and of the
potential hazards of not properly maintaining these gas lines. This
proposed rulemaking, in response to a statutory mandate, is intended to
ensure that homeowners and other owners of customer-owned service lines
are made aware of the requirements for maintenance of those lines; the
resources known to the operator that could properly aid the customer in
doing such maintenance; any information that the operator has
concerning the operation and maintenance of its service lines that
could aid customers; and the potential hazards of not maintaining
customer-owned service lines.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments by April 4,
1994. Late filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
Interested persons should submit as part of their written comments all
the material that is considered relevant to any statement or argument
made.
ADDRESSES: Written comments must be submitted in duplicate and mailed
or hand-delivered to the Dockets Unit, Room 8421, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Identify the docket and
notice numbers stated in the heading of this notice. All comments and
materials cited in this document will be available for inspection and
copying in room 8421 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each business day.
Non-federal employee visitors are admitted to the DOT headquarters
building through the southwest quadrant at Seventh and E Streets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina M. Sames, (202) 366-4561,
regarding the content of this document, or the Dockets Unit (202) 366-
5046 for copies of this document or other materials in the docket.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The pipeline safety regulations in 49 CFR 192.3 define a gas
service line as a distribution line that transports gas from a common
source of supply to (1) a customer meter or the connection to a
customer's piping, whichever is farther downstream, or (2) the
connection to a customer's piping if there is no customer meter. The
source of supply for most gas services is a main commonly located in
the street. For service lines to homes and buildings, the customer
meter, which measures the transfer of gas from the operator to the
consumer, is commonly located adjacent to (outside or inside) an
exterior wall. A service line may also end at a customer meter adjacent
to end-use gas equipment. For all of the above installations, the
operator is responsible for compliance with part 192 standards from the
common source of supply (e.g., the main) to the end of the service
line.
Customer-Owned Service Lines
Not all customer meters are located adjacent to a home or building
wall or end-use equipment. Some customer meters are located at property
lines or at other locations more convenient for the gas distribution
operator or for the customer. In such cases, the service line ends at
the meter and the pipe running from the outlet of the meter to the
exterior wall or end-use equipment is called a customer-owned service
line.
Instances also exist where there is no customer meter or the
operator-owned service line extends beyond the meter to the connection
to a customer's piping. In such cases, the pipe running from this
connection to the exterior wall or end-use equipment is called a
customer-owned service line.
Customer-owned service lines are also known as ``yard lines'' and
``fuel lines''. A ``farm tap'' is a customer-owned service line that
begins at a customer meter, usually adjacent to a gas transmission
line, and runs (often a considerable distance) to a single consumer.
For the purposes of this notice, each of the above situations is
referred to as a customer-owned service line.
Customer-owned service lines are thought to comprise 12 to 17
percent of the piping that transports natural gas from distribution
mains to homes, businesses, and other consumers. These lines are
predominantly found in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa,
Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and West
Virginia. Many states have few, if any, customer-owned service lines
because the customer meter is adjacent to the home or building wall or
the state regulatory agency has required the distribution operator to
be responsible for operation and maintenance of the service line up to
the home or building wall, regardless of where the meter is placed.
These states include California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Federal pipeline safety regulations do not cover customer-owned
service lines, although a few states have issued regulations and some
gas distribution operators voluntarily maintain these lines to part 192
standards. In most states, the material, design, construction,
corrosion control, testing, and maintenance of customer-owned service
lines is left to the discretion of people who may not be familiar with
part 192 requirements for service lines. This has resulted in instances
of improper installation and minimal or no maintenance of these lines.
Over the last five years, one-third of all pipeline-related
fatalities reported to the Department of Transportation involved
distribution lines running from mains to homes and other buildings. An
unregulated customer-owned service line buried downstream of a customer
meter is prone to the same environmental stresses (corrosion and earth
settlement) and excavation damage hazards as a regulated service line
buried upstream of a customer meter. However, because of its proximity
to homes, businesses and schools, the unregulated segment of a
customer-owned service line buried downstream of a customer meter poses
a greater risk to people and property than the regulated segment of the
line buried upstream of the meter.
The safety of customer-owned service lines first emerged as an
issue after a series of five natural gas incidents occurred during a 7-
month period beginning September 16, 1988, in the Kansas City-Topeka
area. These instances resulted in four fatalities, twelve injuries, and
the destruction of four homes. In three of those incidents, the
failures were attributed to corrosion on unprotected customer-owned
service lines.
As a result of these incidents, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, and New
York made significant changes to their state's pipeline safety
regulations. These changes included extending the state regulatory
authority over service lines to the building wall. Under the Natural
Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 App. U.S.C. 1671 et seq.), states
may adopt more stringent safety regulations than the Federal
regulations if the state regulations are not incompatible with federal
regulations.
In addition to its response to the accidents by extending
regulatory authority to include customer-owned service lines, the
Missouri Public Service Commission also required the operator to
replace some 265,000 bare steel gas lines running from the main to the
building wall, of which some 175,000 were fully or partly owned by the
customer. The Kansas City Corporation Commission required the operator
to perform periodic leakage surveys of all customer-owned service lines
and to repair or replace all lines round to be leaking.
Statutory Mandate
Section 115(a) of the Pipeline Safety Act of 1992 (the Act, Pub. L.
102-508, October 24, 1992) amended the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act
of 1968 (49 U.S.C. App. 1685) to require the Secretary of
Transportation to--
* * * Issue regulations requiring operators of natural gas
distribution pipelines which do not maintain customer-owned service
lines up to building walls to advise their customers of the
requirements for maintenance of those lines, any resources known to
the operator that could aid customers in doing such maintenance, any
information that the operator has concerning the operation and
maintenance of its lines that could aid customers, and the potential
hazards of not maintaining service lines.
Anecdotal data available to RSPA indicates that some of the
petroleum gas systems covered under Sec. 192.11 include customer-owned
service lines where the material, design, construction, corrosion
control, testing and maintenance is left to the discretion of people
who may not be familiar with part 192 requirements for service lines.
RSPA invites public comment on (1) Whether customer-owned service lines
occur in petroleum gas systems subject to Sec. 192.11 and (2) If so,
whether the petroleum gas systems have been properly installed and
periodically maintained. Commenters are requested to support their
responses with leak and incident data that includes information on
personal injuries, deaths, property and environmental damages.
AGA Petition
The American Gas Association (AGA) has petitioned RSPA to issue
immediately a proposed rule to establish the notification regulations
mandated in section 115 of the Act (P-50, September 1, 1993). In its
petition, AGA expresses concern that, lacking federal guidance, state
and local authorities may move forward and adopt notification
requirements that could make compliance with federal regulations
difficult.
AGA has requested RSPA to incorporate the following language to
satisfy the notification requirements for operations of customer-owned
service lines:
(a) Each operator meeting the applicability requirements of
paragraph (c) (of this section) shall provide notification to
customers covering the maintenance of customer-owned lines. At
minimum, this notification shall advise those customers:
(1) That they own and are responsible for the maintenance of
customer-owned lines;
(2) Of the requirements for maintenance of those lines in
accordance with paragraph (b) of this section;
(3) Who should be contacted to assist in the maintenance of
customer-owned lines;
(4) Of information that the operator has concerning the
maintenance of its lines that could aid the customer in performing
such maintenance; and
(5) That periodic maintenance of customer-owned lines is
necessary in order to avoid potential safety problems, such as gas
leakage.
(b) If the applicable codes and standards do not address
maintenance of those lines, the information that operators provide
under paragraph (a)(4) of this section must describe the maintenance
requirements for customer-owned lines.
(c) The notification requirements in paragraph (a) (of this
section) apply to operators for which one or more customers have
responsibility for maintenance of a substantial portion of the
primary underground natural gas supply pipe between the operator's
main and the foundation wall of the customer's premise, or its
equivalent in those installations where the supply piping does not
enter a building but rather goes directly to end-use equipment
located outdoors.
AGA's petition is on file in the docket and was taken into
consideration during development of this notice of proposed rulemaking.
Proposals
Federal gas pipeline safety standards do not require gas pipeline
operators to maintain customer-owned service lines. In many cases, the
owner of the customer-owned service line is not aware he or she is
responsible for the maintenance of the customer-owned service line or
what those maintenance responsibilities are. To address these concerns,
AGA's petition, and the statutory mandate, RSPA proposes to revise
Sec. 192.3 to add a definition of customer-owned service lines, and to
add Sec. 192.16 concerning notification requirements for customer-owned
service lines to subpart A of 49 CFR part 192.
At this time, RSPA is proposing to apply the notification
requirements to operators of petroleum gas systems covered under
Sec. 192.11. Thus, for the purpose of this discussion, the word
``operator'' will apply to those operators of natural gas and petroleum
gas distribution systems that do not maintain customer-owned service
lines up to the home or building wall or to the end-use equipment.
RSPA is aware there are situations where the meter is adjacent to,
but not at, the home or building wall or the end-use equipment. In
these instances, the operator is responsible for the pipeline up to the
meter, and the customer is responsible for the small portion of buried
pipeline from the outlet of the meter to the home or building wall or
to the end-use equipment. At this time, RSPA is proposing to apply the
notification requirements to these sections of pipeline when the
operator does not voluntarily maintain these sections of pipeline. RSPA
invites public comment on whether these short sections of customer-
owned service line have been properly installed and whether they are
periodically maintained. RSPA believes that some of these sections were
installed and are voluntarily maintained by the operator, even though
they are the responsibility of the customer. Commenters are requested
to support their responses with leak and incident data that includes
information on personal injuries, deaths, and property damages.
The following discussion covers the requirements listed within
section 115(a) of the Act and how RSPA proposes to address them.
Maintenance Requirements for Customer-Owned Service Lines
RSPA requires operator-owned service lines to be operated and
maintained to 49 CFR part 192 standards. These pipeline safety
standards include leak detection surveys and corrosion control. Subpart
I details the requirements for corrosion control, and subpart M details
leak detection surveys and other maintenance requirements. Local codes
and standards may also address operation and maintenance requirements.
This notice proposes that operators provide to the owners of customer-
owned service lines general information on these safety requirements.
The proposal does not require operators to take over the maintenance of
these lines.
Under the proposal, operators would be allowed to use any written
means to provide actual notification of the required information to
customers. RSPA anticipates most operators will provide notice through
inserts mailed to the customer and flyers hand delivered by the meter
readers.
Maintenance Resources
Many resources are available to assist owners of customer-owned
service lines in obtaining information to assure effective service line
maintenance, including information supplied by the operator. The
sources referenced below can provide general information on corrosion
control and leakage surveys, and may be able to provide an actual
listing of gas distribution contractors (including plumbers) or other
individuals who could perform these maintenance requirements. The
addresses and telephone numbers listed are current to the best of
RSPA's knowledge.
The State Licensing Board for Plumbers and State Plumbers' Associations
The state licensing board for plumbers and state plumbers'
associations can provide owners of customer-owned service lines with a
listing of qualified, independent contractors who perform leakage
surveys, gas piping repair and replacement, and valve repair and
replacement.
The Gas Piping Technology Committee (GPTC) Guide for Gas Transmission
and Distribution Piping Systems, Volume 1
The GPTC guide contains information and methods to assist gas
pipeline operators in complying with the federal pipeline safety
regulations by providing ``how to'' information related to the
standards. The GPTC Guide contains minimum federal safety standards
together with the design recommendations, material reference, and
recommended practices of the GPTC.
Gas Piping Technology Committee, AGA, 1515 Wilson Boulevard,
Arlington, VA 22209, (703) 841-8454
The National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE)
NACE publishes a standard recommended practice to present
procedures and practices for achieving effective control of external
corrosion on buried or submerged metallic piping systems. This
recommended practice describes the use of electrically insulating
coatings, electrical isolation, and cathodic protection as corrosion
control methods. The practice also contains specific provisions for the
application of cathodic protection to existing bare, existing coated,
and new piping systems.
National Association of Corrosion Engineers P.O. Box 218340,
Houston, TX 77218-8340, (713) 492-0535
Federal Gas Pipeline Safety Organizations
The regional offices of the Federal Office of Pipeline Safety can
provide an owner of a customer-owned service line with a copy of the
federal pipeline safety regulations (49 CFR part 192) that operators of
service lines follow, the booklet ``Guidance Manual for Operators of
Small Gas Systems,'' which provides a general overview of compliance
responsibilities under federal pipeline safety regulations, and verbal
information on proper maintenance for customer-owned service lines:
Office of Pipeline Safety, Eastern Region, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW., room 5413, Washington, DC
20590, (202) 366-4580
Jurisdictional authority over the District of Columbia and the
states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
Office of Pipeline Safety, Southern Region, 1720 Peachtree Road NW.,
Suite 426 North, Atlanta, GA 30309, (404) 347-2632
Jurisdictional authority over Puerto Rico and the states of
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee
Office of Pipeline Safety, Central Region, 911 Walnut Street, room
1811, Kansas City, MO 64106, (816) 426-2654
Jurisdictional authority over the states of Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin
Office of Pipeline Safety, Southwest Region, 2320 La Branch, room
2116, Houston, TX 77004, (713) 750-1746
Jurisdictional authority over the states of Arizona, Louisiana,
New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas
Office of Pipeline Safety, Western Region, 555 Zang Street, 2nd
floor, Lakewood, CO 80228, (303) 969-5150
Jurisdictional authority over the states of Alaska, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington
and Wyoming
State Pipeline Safety Organizations
The following state pipeline safety organizations can provide an
owner of a customer-owned service line with a copy of the federal and
state pipeline safety regulations that operators of service lines
follow, written or verbal information on maintenance requirements for
customer-owned service lines, and regional sources of additional
information.
Alabama Public Service Commission, PO Box 991, Montgomery, AL 36101-
0991, (205) 242-5778
Arizona Corporation Commission, 1200 West Washington Street,
Phoenix, AZ 85007, (602) 542-3316
Arkansas Public Service Commission, PO Box 400, Little Rock, AR
72203-0400 (501) 682-5705
California Public Utilities Commission, 1145 Market Street, Second
Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, (415) 557-3304
Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Logan Tower-Office, Level 2,
Room 340, 1580 Logan Street Denver, CO 80203, (303) 894-2000
Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control, One Central Park
Plaza, New Britain, CT 06051, (203) 827-1553
Delaware Public Service Commission, 1560 South Dupont Highway, PO
Box 457, Dover, DE 19903-0457, (302) 739-3233
Public Service Commission, District of Columbia, 450 5th Street NW.,
Suite, 820, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 626-5156
Bureau of Gas Regulation, Florida Public Service Commission, 101
East Gaines Street, Room 330, Tallahassee, FL 32301-0868, (904) 488-
8501
Georgia Public Service Commission, 244 Washington Street SW.,
Atlanta, GA 30334, (404) 656-7490
Illinois Commerce Commission, 527 East Capitol Avenue, Springfield,
IL 62794-9280, (217) 785-1165,
Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, 302 West Washington Street,
Suite E 306, Indianapolis, IN 46204, (317) 232-2717
Bureau of Rate & Safety Evaluation Utilities, Division, Iowa
Department of Commerce, Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, IA
50319, (515) 281-5546
Kansas Corporation Commission, 1500 SW Arrowhead, Road, Topeka, KS
66604-4027, (913) 271-3171
Kentucky Public Service Commission, 730 Schenkel Lane, PO Box 615,
Frankfort, KY 40602, (502) 564-3940
Office of Conservation, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources,
PO Box 94275, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9275, (504) 342-5585
Maine Public Utilities Commission, State House Station 18, 242 State
Street, Augusta, ME 04333, (207) 289-3831
Maryland Public Service Commission, The American Building, 11th
Floor, 231 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, (410) 333-
6079
Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, Saltonstall Building,
Room 1208, 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02202 (617) 727-3537
Michigan Public Service Commission, 6545 Mercantile Way, PO Box
30221, Lansing, MI 48909, (517) 334-6384
Minnesota Department of Public Safety, 175 Aurora Avenue, St. Paul,
MN 55103, (612) 296-9636
Mississippi Public Service Commission, PO Box 1174, Jackson, MS
39215-1174, (601) 961-5475
Missouri Public Service Commission, Truman State Office Building,
Room 530 PO Box 360, Jefferson City, MO 65102, (314) 751-3456
Department of Public Service Regulations, Montana Public Service
Commission, 1701 Prospect Avenue, PO Box 202601, Helena, MT 59620-
2601, (406) 444-6182
Nebraska State Fire Marshal, 246 South 14th, Lincoln, NE 68508,
(402) 471-2027
New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, Building #1, 8 Old
Suncook Road, Concord, NH 03301, (603) 271-2431
New Jersey Board of Regulatory Commissioners, Two Gateway Center,
Newark, NJ 07102, (201) 648-2204
New Mexico State Corporation Commission, PO Drawer 1269, Santa Fe,
NM 87504-1269, (505) 827-3767
Investigation Section, NY Public Service Commission, #3 Empire State
Plaza, Albany, NY 12223, (518) 474-5453
North Carolina Utilities Commission, 430 North Salisbury Street, PO
Box 29510, Raleigh, NC 27626-0510, (919) 733-6000
North Dakota Public Service Commission, State Capitol Building, 12th
Floor, Bismarck, ND 58505, (701) 224-2413
Public Service Commission of Nevada, 727 Fairview Drive, Carson
City, NV 89710, (702) 687-6040
Ohio Public Utilities Commission, 180 East Broad Street, 12th Floor,
Columbus, OH 43266-0573, (614) 644-8983
Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Jim Thorpe Office Building,
Oklahoma City, OK 73105, (405) 521-2258
Oregon Public Utility Commission, 550 Capitol Street NE., Salem, OR
97310, (503) 378-6760
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, T&S Building, Room 412, PO
Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265, (717) 787-1061
Puerto Rico Public Service Commission, PO Box 870, San Juan, PR
00919-0870, (809) 763-0625
Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities, 100 Orange Street,
Providence, RI 02903, (401) 277-3500
South Carolina Public Service Commission, PO Drawer 11649, Columbia,
SC 29211, (803) 737-5145
Tennessee Public Service Commission, 460 James Robertson Parkway,
Nashville, TN 37243-0505, (615) 741-2844
Transportation/Gas Utilities Division, RR Commission of Texas,
Capitol Station, PO Box 12967, Austin, TX 78711-2967, (512) 463-7058
Division of Public Utilities, Utah Department of Commerce, 160 East
300 South, PO Box 45807, Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0807, (801) 530-
6787
Vermont Department of Public Service, State Office Building, 120
State Street, Montpelier, VT 05620, (802) 828-2811
Division of Energy Regulation, Virginia State Corporation
Commission, PO Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23209, (804) 371-9264
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, PO Box 47250,
Olympia, WA 98504-7250, (206) 586-1154
Public Service Commission of West Virginia, 201 Brooks Street, PO
Box 812, Charleston, WV 25323, (304) 340-0473
Gas, Water & Federal Intervention Division, Public Service
Commission of Wisconsin, 4802 Sheboygan Avenue, PO Box 7854,
Madison, WI 53707, (608) 266-8128
Wyoming Public Service Commission, 700 West 21st Street, Cheyenne,
WY 82002, (307) 777-7427
Operation and Maintenance Information
This notice proposes to require gas distribution operators to
advise customers of any information that the operator has concerning
the operation and maintenance of its lines that could aid customers.
This information could include the following:
Excavation damage prevention: Excavation damage is the largest
single cause of gas pipeline incidents. Section 192.614 currently
requires gas pipeline operators to notify the public in the vicinity of
their pipeline on how to prevent damage to the pipeline from excavation
activities. Section 192.614 currently exempts pipelines in class 1 and
2 locations and pipelines in class 3 locations which are marked in
accordance with Sec. 192.707. However, in a pending rulemaking
(``Excavation Damage Prevention Programs for Gas, Hazardous Liquids and
Carbon Dioxide Pipelines'', Docket 101, 53 FR 24747, June 30, 1988),
RSPA has proposed removing these exemptions.
Type of pipe: Different pipeline materials require different
maintenance procedures. An operator's knowledge of the environmental
conditions affecting the service pipe connected to the customer-owned
service line may assist the owner in the maintenance of the customer-
owned service line.
Age of the pipe: The installation date of customer-owned service
lines, installed by individuals other than the operator, may not be
known. However, many operators will have a record of the date gas
service was initially established to the customer. In such cases,
operators may reasonably assume that the installation date of the
customer-owned service line is approximately the date of initial gas
service. This information may then be relayed to the customer to assist
in estimating the condition of the pipeline.
Potential Hazards: This notice proposes to require an operator to
inform customers of the potential hazards of not maintaining a
customer-owned service line. Improper maintenance or lack of periodic
maintenance of customer-owned service lines may result in corrosion of
metallic pipeline materials, separation of piping components, gas
leaks, property damage, environmental damage, personal injury, and even
death.
Regulatory Analyses
Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures
This proposed rule is not considered a significant regulatory
action under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, was
not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. The rule
is not considered significant under the regulatory policies and
procedures of the Department of Transportation (44 FR 11034, February
26, 1979). A regulatory evaluation is available for review in the
docket.
Executive Order 12612
The proposed rule has been analyzed in accordance with the
principles and criteria in Executive Order 12612 (``Federalism''), and
does not have sufficient federalism impacts to warrant the preparation
of a federalism assessment.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule would apply to operators of natural gas and
petroleum gas distribution systems. Small gas distribution systems are
characterized in this proposal as distribution systems serving fewer
than 10,000 customers. They include master meter systems, which usually
serve mobile home parks, housing projects and apartment complexes, and
public, private, and municipal natural gas distribution systems.
Master meter systems, as defined in Sec. 191.3, are pipeline
systems for distributing gas within, but not limited to, a definable
area, such as a mobile home park, housing project, or apartment
complex, where the operator purchases metered gas from an outside
source for resale through a gas distribution system. The gas
distribution pipeline system supplies the ultimate consumer who either
purchases the gas directly through a meter or by other means, such as
by rents.
RSPA has determined that master meter operators will not be
affected by this notice of proposed rulemaking because the master meter
operator generally owns the complete gas distribution system. Thus, the
master meter operator is responsible for the pipeline from the point of
purchase to the ultimate customer.
A draft regulatory evaluation has been prepared to determine the
economic impact of this proposed rule on public, private, and municipal
gas distribution systems. Based on the facts available, I certify that
this proposal will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. This certification is
subject to modification as a result of a review of comments received in
response to this proposal.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection requirements associated with this notice
of proposed rulemaking are being submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for approval in accordance with 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35
under the following:
Administration: Department of Transportation, Research and Special
Programs Administration;
Title: Customer-owned service line information dissemination;
Need for Information: To reduce the number of incidents and resulting
deaths, injuries, property, and environmental damage caused by improper
maintenance of customer-owned service lines;
Proposed Use of Information: To advise owners of customer-owned service
lines of the proper maintenance of these gas lines and of the potential
hazards of not properly maintaining these lines;
Frequency: Occasionally;
Burden Estimate: $500,000 initially, $50,000 annually thereafter;
Respondents: Gas distribution operators;
Form(s): N/A;
Average Burden Hours per Respondent: minimal.
For further information contact: The Information Management
Division, M-34, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-4735. Comments on the
proposed information collection requirements should be submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Washington, DC 20503, Attn: Desk Officer for Department of
Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration. It is
requested that comments sent to OMB also be sent to the RSPA rulemaking
docket for this proposed action.
List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 192
Pipeline safety, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
In consideration of the foregoing, RSPA proposes to amend 49 CFR
part 192 as follows:
PART 192--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 192 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 49 App. U.S.C. 1672 and 1804; 49 CFR 1.53.
2. Section 192.3 would be amended by adding the following
definition to read as follows:
Sec. 192.3 Definitions.
As used in this part:
Customer-Owned Service Line means a pipeline that transports
natural gas or petroleum gas from a service line to (1) an exterior
wall of a building, or (2) end-use equipment. ``Farm taps'' are
customer-owned service lines which begin at a customer meter, usually
adjacent to a gas transmission line, and run to a single consumer.
* * * * *
3. Section 192.16 would be added to subpart A to read as follows:
Sec. 192.16 Customer-owned service lines.
(a) Each operator of a natural gas or petroleum gas distribution
system that does not maintain buried customer-owned service lines up to
the building wall or to the end-use equipment to part 192 standards,
shall provide written notification to the customer:
(1) That the customer owns and is responsible for the maintenance
of the customer-owned service line;
(2) Of the essential elements for proper maintenance of the
customer-owned service line, such as those listed in subpart M of this
part or those listed in applicable local building codes;
(3) Of available resources that could aid the customer in obtaining
maintenance assistance, such as the gas pipeline operator, the state
licensing board for plumbers and state plumbers' associations, Federal
and state gas pipeline safety organizations, the local building code
agencies, and appropriate leak detection, gas utility, and corrosion
protection contractors;
(4) Of any information that the operator has concerning the
operation and maintenance of the customer-owned service line that could
aid the customer, such as information on excavation damage prevention,
local codes and standards (when applicable), and the age, location, and
material of the customer-owned service line; and
(5) The potential hazards of not maintaining the customer-owned
service line, such as corrosion and gas leakage.
(b) An operator shall provide the notification required in
paragraph (a) of this section:
(1) Before (enter date 6 months after date of publication of final
rule) for existing customers; and
(2) Before (enter date 6 months after date of publication of final
rule) or within 30 days from date the gas service line is placed in
service for new customers, whichever is later.
(c) Each operator must keep a record of the written notifications
made under the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section.
George W. Tenley, Jr.,
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 94-2399 Filed 2-2-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P