[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 85 (Friday, May 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24157-24158]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11451]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Special Programs Administration
[Docket No. RSPA-97-2346; Notice 1]
Pipeline Safety: Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities Petition for
Waiver; Northern Eclipse, Inc.
Northern Eclipse, Inc. (NE) has petitioned the Research and Special
Programs Administration (RSPA) for a waiver from compliance with 49 CFR
Part 193, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Facilities: Federal Safety
Standards. The petition applies to the Northern Eclipse's proposed Gas
Treating and Liquefaction (GTL) unit to be located 20 miles north of
Anchorage, Alaska. NE provides assurance that an equivalent level of
safety will be achieved through compliance with alternative safety
requirements for portable LNG facilities and, the siting requirements
for liquefaction units. The alternative requirements are described in
paragraph 2-3.4 of the National Fire Protection Association Standard
(NFPA) 59A, Standard for Production, Storage, and Handling of Liquefied
Natural Gas (1996).
The petitioner's rationale for the waiver rests on the following:
1. The NE GTL unit will be supplied with gas from the Beluga-
Anchorage pipeline through a 2,500 foot, privately-owned service
pipeline installed by NE downstream of the sales meter.
2. The NE GTL unit will have minimal LNG surge capacity, and there
will be no storage at the NE GTL facility.
3. The NE GTL unit's output will be trucked from the GTL unit to
end users, including one or more local distribution companies.
4. The NE GTL unit will not be used by the Beluga-Anchorage
pipeline in any way to transport gas on their behalf.
5. DOT does not assert similar jurisdiction over liquefiers
connected to the local distribution companies' (LDCs) that fuel motor
vehicles. The GTL unit would fulfil essentially the same function.
6. The NE GTL unit will be no different from other consumers of
gas. For example, chemical plants, power plants, and other end users
are not regulated even though they are supplied with gas from a
pipeline.
7. The NE GTL unit would be exempt under Section 193.2001(b)(2)
because it would be a natural gas treatment facility without any
storage.
8. The NE GTL unit will be a transportable unit mounted on skids.
In view of the above, NE alleges that an extension of Part 193
jurisdiction to the proposed facility would be inconsistent with the
language and purpose of the regulation. However, NE proposes to ensure
equivalent safety through compliance with the alternative safety
provisions for portable LNG facilities as described in paragraph 2-3.4
of the NFPA 59A and with the siting requirements for liquefaction
units.
The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) considers
the 2,500 foot, NE-installed gas pipeline supplying gas to the NE GTL
facility (a large volume customer) a transmission line. Therefore, the
gas line is subject to 49 CFR Part 192, Transportation of Natural and
Other Gas by Pipeline: Minimum Federal Safety Standards. Recent
revision of the definition of Transmission pipeline in Section 192.3
(61 FR 28783; June 6, 1996) includes
[[Page 24158]]
pipelines transporting gas to a large volume customer.
RSPA considers the proposed NE GTL facility to be subject to Part
193 regulation, because it receives gas from a Part 192 regulated
pipeline. In general, Part 192 applies to the pipeline transportation
of gas between producers and consumers. Although the LNG is transported
by truck after liquefaction, RSPA believes that the NE GTL facility
nonetheless is part of the overall operation of transporting gas, in
this case from the Beluga-Anchorage transmission line to LDCs and other
users at Fairbanks.
Because of the unusual features at the proposed NE GTL facility,
including its remote location, lack of a storage tank, and skid-mounted
transportable liquefaction unit, it poses low risk to public safety.
Therefore, RSPA believes that granting a waiver from the requirements
of 49 CFR Part 193 would not be inconsistent with pipeline safety, as
long as the operator complies with alternative requirements for
portable LNG facilities described in paragraph
2-3.4 of the NFPA Standard 59A and meets the siting requirements for
the liquefaction unit. Therefore, RSPA proposes to grant the waiver.
Interested parties are invited to comment on the proposed waiver by
submitting in duplicate such data, views, or arguments as they may
desire. Comments should identify the docket number and the RSPA
rulemaking number. Comments should be addressed to the Docket Facility,
US Department Of Transportation, Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
All comments received before June 2, 1997 will be considered before
final action is taken. Late filed comments will be considered so far as
practicable. No public hearing is contemplated, but one may be held at
a time and place set in a notice in the Federal Register if required by
an interested person desiring to comment at a public hearing and
raising a genuine issue. All comments and other docketed material will
be available for inspection and copying in room Plaza 401 between the
hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
Authority: 49 App. U.S.C. 2002(h) and 2015; and 49 CFR 1.53.
Issued in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 1997.
Cesar DeLeon,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.
[FR Doc. 97-11451 Filed 5-1-97; 8:45 am]
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