Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Notices 67703 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–04–19856] 

Pipeline Safety: Notice to Operators of 

Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquid 

Pipelines To Accurately Locate and 

Mark Underground Pipelines Before 

Construction-Related Excavation 

Activities Commence Near the 

Pipelines 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; Issuance of Advisory 

Bulletin. 

SUMMARY: This advisory reminds and 

reinforces the importance of safe 

locating excavation practices near 

underground pipelines. PHMSA’s 

pipeline safety regulations require 

pipeline operators to implement damage 

prevention programs to protect 

underground pipelines during 

construction related excavation. In 

addition, PHMSA recommends pipeline 

operators excavating in areas populated 

with other pipelines and utilities follow 

all consensus best practices and 

guidelines developed by the Common 

Ground Alliance. Recent serious 

incidents especially reinforce the 

importance of accurately locating and 

marking pipelines and highlight an 

urgent need for pipeline operators to 

review how they implement their 

damage prevention programs to prevent 

further accidents caused by construction 

related damage. This Advisory Bulletin 

provides guidance on how to do this. 

ADDRESSES: This document can be 

viewed on the PHMSA home page at: 

http://www.phmsa.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy 

Kadnar, (202) 366–0568, or by e-mail at 

Joy.Kadnar@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background 

Recently several construction related 

incidents have caused damage to 

underground natural gas and hazardous 

liquid pipelines in several States, 

including California, Texas, Virginia, 

and Wyoming. Some of these incidents 

have resulted in deaths, injuries, 

property damage, and disruption to 

communities. Following an appropriate 

damage prevention program is the best 

way to prevent such incidents in the 

future. 

This is the second bulletin PHMSA 

has issued on locating damage 

prevention this year. In Advisory 

Bulletin 06–01, published in the 

Federal Register on January 17, 2006 

(71 FR 2613), we described other 

preventable accidents caused by 

construction-related damage. Advisory 

Bulletin 06–01 specifically called on 

operators to ensure that individuals 

critical to damage prevention at 

construction sites are qualified to 

perform the necessary safety tasks. 

These tasks include one-call 

notifications, line locating and marking, 

and inspection of construction 

activities. In Advisory Bulletin 02–01, 

published in the Federal Register on 

May 24, 2002 (67 FR 36667), we pointed 

to the best practices on damage 

prevention found in the Common 

Ground Study and urged operators to 

follow them (see http://ops.dot.gov/init/ 

prevent/damage.htm). The Common 

Ground Alliance is continuing the work 

on developing best practices begun with 

the Common Ground Study. These best 

practices are widely accepted as 

providing the basis for conducting safe 

locating excavation near pipelines. 

Investigations by PHMSA and its 

State partners continue to show that the 

pipeline operators involved in 

construction related incidents may not 

always comply with Federal pipeline 

safety regulations or their own 

construction and maintenance practices. 

Among the problems discovered are the 

following: 

• Pipeline operators do not always 

follow their procedures for constructing, 

repairing, ditching, and backfilling in 

areas where there are existing pipelines. 

Typically, procedures prohibit machine 

excavation within two feet of existing 

pipelines. 

• Inspectors working for pipeline 

operators at construction sites 

sometimes fail to assist the operator’s 

employees, the operator’s contractors, 

and third-party construction contractors 

in verifying the marked locations of the 

existing pipeline facilities. 

• Operators do not always verify 

pipeline ‘‘as-built’’ drawings and make 

them available to locators and 

excavators at construction sites before 

activities began. 

• Operators do not always mark 

pipelines at cross-overs. 

• In locations with parallel pipelines, 

operators sometimes mark the wrong 

pipeline. 

• Pipeline operators do not always 

correctly mark all pipelines in the 

vicinity of the construction and 

maintenance activities, and sometimes 

fail to assign personnel skilled enough 

to observe excavation and backfilling 

tasks. 

Good procedures can prevent 

accidents only if they are followed. 

II. Advisory Bulletin (ADB–06–03) 

To: Owners and Operators of Natural 

Gas and Hazardous Liquid Pipeline 

Systems. 

Subject: Accurately Locating and 

Marking Underground Pipelines Before 

Construction-Related Excavation 

Activities Commence Near the 

Pipelines. 

Advisory: Construction-related 

excavation damage continues to be one 

of the three leading causes of pipeline 

damage. PHMSA continues to find 

pipeline operators damaging regulated 

pipelines, production and gathering 

pipelines, and other utilities adjacent to 

where construction and maintenance is 

being performed. This damage 

jeopardizes the safety of excavators, 

pipeline employees, construction 

personnel, and others in the vicinity of 

the excavation. To guard the integrity of 

buried pipelines and prevent injury, 

death, and property and environmental 

damage, PHMSA advises pipeline 

operators to take the following damage 

prevention measures: 

• Use safe locating excavation 

practices. Follow your procedures and 

processes for excavation and backfill. 

When constructing a new pipeline, 

honor the marking of existing pipelines. 

• Locate and mark pipelines 

accurately before locating excavation 

begins. Do not rely solely on maps, 

drawings, or other written materials to 

locate pipelines. 

• Make sure that individuals locating 

and marking the pipelines have the 

knowledge, skills, and abilities to read 

and understand pipeline alignment and 

as-built drawings, and that they know 

what other buried utilities exist in the 

construction area. 

• Make sure that individuals locating 

and marking the pipelines have up-todate pipeline alignment and as-built 

drawings. 

• Make sure that individuals locating 

and marking the pipelines are familiar 

with state and local requirements on 

marking. 

• Mark all pipelines, including 

laterals. This is especially important in 

areas where there is a considerable 

amount of new pipeline and utility 

construction. 

• Consider environmental conditions 

such as rain and snow when selecting 

marking methods. 

• In areas where the pipelines are 

curved or make sharp bends to avoid 

other utilities or obstructions, consider 

the visibility and frequency of markers. 

• Confirm the accuracy of pipe 

locating before excavation begins. This 

applies when the pipeline operator 

conducts the excavation using its own 

employees, a contractor, or a third party. 


pwalker on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES
67704 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Notices 

• Use qualified personnel for locating 

and marking pipelines. At a minimum, 

they should have received appropriate 

training such as that outline in the 

National Utility Locating Contractors 

Association locator training standards 

and practices. 

• Make sure excavators have 

sufficient information about 

underground pipelines at the 

construction site to avoid damage to the 

pipeline. Facilitate communication 

during the construction activity. 

• Calibrate tools and equipment used 

for line locating and make sure they are 

in proper working order. 

• Individually mark pipelines located 

within the same trench where possible. 

• Follow the best practices on 

locating and marking pipelines 

developed by the Common Ground 

Alliance. 

• When pipelines are hit or almost 

his during excavation, evaluate the 

practices and procedures in use before 

continuing the construction activity. 

Operators should use the full range of 

safe locating excavation practices. In 

particular, pipeline operators should 

ensure the use of qualified personnel to 

accurately locate and mark the location 

of its underground pipelines. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. chapter 601; 49 CFR 

1.53. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 

17, 2006. 

Jeffrey D. Wiese, 

Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Pipeline Safety 

[FR Doc. 06–9354 Filed 11–17–06; 3:36 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–10–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2006–25803; Notice 1] 

Pipeline Safety: Request for Waiver; 

Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline, 

L.L.C. 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA); DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Consider 

Waiver Requests. 

SUMMARY: Kinder Morgan Louisiana 

Pipeline L.L.C. (KMLP) requests a 

waiver to use a 0.80 design factor in the 

steel pipe design formula for Class 1 

locations on Leg 1 of its proposed 

natural gas interstate Kinder Morgan 

Louisiana Pipeline. The waiver will 

allow KMLP to design, construct and 

operate Leg 1 of its pipeline at hoop 

stresses up to 80 percent of the specified 

minimum yield strength (SMYS) in 

Class 1 locations. KMLP seeks relief 

from the related capacity design 

requirements for pressure relieving and 

pressure limiting stations on the same 

segment of the proposed pipeline. 

DATES: Persons interested in submitting 

comments regarding this waiver request 

must do so by December 22, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference 

Docket No. PHMSA–2006–25803 and 

may be submitted in the following ways: 

• The DOT Web site: http:// 

dms.dot.gov. To submit comments on 

the DOT electronic docket site, click 

‘‘Comments/Submissions,’’ click 

‘‘Continue,’’ fill in the requested 

information, click ‘‘Continue,’’enter 

your comment, then click ‘‘Submit.’’

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management System: 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: DOT Docket 

Management System; Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• 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. 

Instructions for submitting comments: 

You should identify the docket number 

(PHMSA–2006–25803) 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 received your 

comments, please include a selfaddressed stamped postcard. Internet 

users may submit comments at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, and may access all 

comments received by DOT at 

http://dms.dot.gov by performing a 

simple search for the docket number. 

Note: All comments will be posted without 

changes or edits to http://dms.dot.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. 

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 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit 

http://dms.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alan Mayberry by telephone at (202) 

366–5124; by fax at (202) 366–4566; by 

mail at DOT, Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration, 

Pipeline Safety Program, 400 Seventh 

Street, SW., Room 2103, Washington, 

DC 20590; or by e-mail at 

alan.mayberry@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline 

L.L.C. (KMLP) requests a waiver of 

compliance from certain regulatory 

requirements in 49 CFR 192.111 and 

192.201 for Class 1 locations on Leg 1 

only of its proposed natural gas 

interstate pipeline. KMLP specifically 

requests a waiver to allow the use of a 

0.80 design factor in the steel pipe 

design formula in § 192.105 in lieu of 

the design factor of 0.72 specified 

§ 192.111 for Class 1 locations. The 

waiver will allow KMLP to design, 

construct and operate Leg 1 of its 

pipeline at hoop stresses up to 80 

percent of the specified minimum yield 

strength (SMYS) in Class 1 locations. 

KMLP neither seeks a waiver from any 

other design factors, nor for any other 

segments of its pipeline. 

A waiver allowing an increase of the 

design factor from 0.72 to 0.80 in the 

steel pipe design formula in § 192.105 

requires a modification in the required 

design capacities of pressure relieving 

and limiting stations installed to protect 

the pipeline. Therefore, KMLP also 

requests a waiver of § 192.201(a)(2)(i), 

which prescribes the design capacity 

requirements for pressure relieving and 

limiting stations on pipelines with a 

maximum allowable operating pressure 

(MAOP) of 60 pounds per square inch 

gauge (psig) or more. KMLP specifically 

wants to design the pressure relieving 

and pressure limiting stations on Leg 1 

of its pipeline such that the maximum 

pressure will not exceed the MAOP plus 

4 percent or the pressure that produces 

a hoop stress of 83 percent of SMYS, 

whichever is lower. 

System Description 

KMLP plans to construct and operate 

its pipeline to deliver approximately 

3,395,000 Dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of 

regasified liquefied natural gas (LNG) 

from the Sabine Pass LNG terminal 

(currently under development) in 

Cameron Parish, Louisiana (LA), to 

markets in the eastern half of the United 

States. The pipeline will consist of two 

legs and two laterals. The pressure to 

operate the pipeline will be supplied by 

the LNG terminal so the proposed 

project does not include the 

construction of compressor stations. 

Four major segments comprise the 

KMLP pipeline project as follows: 

• Leg 1 is a 137-mile, 42-inch 

diameter, pipeline running 


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