63450 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 237 / Monday, December 11, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

Department, the Department concludes

that holding a public hearing would not

result in the presentation of additional

or different information from what has

already been submitted.

The Department stated in the interim

final rule that it would consider any

new matters presented and make

changes if warranted. The Department

has carefully considered all comments

presented and concludes that no

revisions to the interim final rule are

warranted. Accordingly, the Department

affirms, without change, the interim

final rule.

A final rule redesignating those

portions of the Coast Guard’s Great

Lakes Pilotage Regulations that are

necessary for SLSDC to carry out its

responsibilities under the Act will be

published in the Federal Register

shortly.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 1

Authority delegations (Government

agencies), Organizations and functions

(Government agencies).

Accordingly, 49 CFR part 1 is

amended as follows:

PART 1—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 1

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322; Pub. L. 101–552,

28 U.S.C. 2672, 31 U.S.C. 3711(a)(2).

§ 1.46 [Removed]

2. Section 1.46(a) is removed and

reserved.

3. Section 1.52 is amended by adding

a new paragraphs (d) and (e) to read as

follows:

§ 1.52 Delegations to Saint Lawrence

Seaway Development Corporation

Administrator.

* * * * *

(d) Carry out the Great Lakes Pilotage

Act of 1960, as amended, (46 U.S.C.

9301 et seq.).

(e) Under the 1977 Memorandum of

Arrangements with Canada and the

Great Lakes Pilotage Act of 1960, as

amended in 1983 (46 U.S.C. 9305), enter

into, revise, or amend arrangements

with Canada in coordination with the

General Counsel.

Issued at Washington, DC, this 5th day of

December 1995.

Federico Pen ̃ a,

Secretary of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 95–30081 Filed 12–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

Research and Special Programs

Administration

49 CFR Part 192

[Docket PS–135; Amdt. 192–74A]

RIN 2137–AC32

Customer-Owned Service Lines

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; response to petition

for reconsideration.

SUMMARY: This action concerns a

petition to reconsider the rule that

requires operators of gas service lines

who do not maintain certain buried

customer piping to notify customers of

the need for maintenance. The request

to change the rule to clarify the

exclusion of customer branch lines is

granted because some operators are

apparently misconstruing the rule to

cover these lines. The request to change

the rule to specify operator repair as a

maintenance option is granted because

a literal reading of the rule’s definition

of maintenance excludes this legitimate

option.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 10, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: L.M.

Furrow, (202) 366–2392.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As

directed by the 102d Congress (49

U.S.C. 60113(a)), RSPA issued a rule (49

CFR 192.16) that requires certain

operators of gas service lines to notify

their customers of the need to maintain

buried customer piping (60 FR 41828,

August 14, 1995). Operators subject to

this rule are identified in the first

paragraph of the rule, as follows:

§ 192.16 Customer Notification

(a) This section applies to each operator of

a service line who does not maintain the

customer’s buried piping up to entry of the

first building downstream, or, if the

customer’s buried piping does not enter a

building, up to the principal gas utilization

equipment or the first fence (or wall) that

surrounds that equipment. For the purpose of

this section, ‘‘maintain’’ means monitor for

corrosion according to § 192.465 if the

customer’s buried piping is metallic, survey

for leaks according to § 192.723, and if an

unsafe condition is found, either shut off the

flow of gas or advise the customer of the need

to repair the unsafe condition.

In a petition dated September 8, 1995,

the American Gas Association (AGA)

asked RSPA to reconsider this

notification rule. AGA contends

§ 192.16(a) is deficient in two respects.

First, AGA is concerned that § 192.16(a)

does not indicate that branch lines,

serving secondary equipment such as

yard lanterns or pool heaters, are not

part of the customer’s buried piping that

operators must maintain to qualify for

exclusion from the rule. In fact, as AGA

construes the rule, to avoid sending

notifications operators would have to

maintain most of these branch lines. For

clarity, AGA recommends amending

§ 192.16(a) to refer to ‘‘buried gas supply

piping’’ instead of ‘‘buried piping.’’

The amount of customer piping an

operator must maintain to avoid sending

customer notifications was a significant

issue in this rulemaking proceeding. Of

particular concern was buried piping

that branches from the customer’s

primary gas supply line to serve

secondary equipment, such as a yard

lantern or pool heater. We addressed

this issue in the final rule document as

follows:

[w]e intended the proposed rules to apply

to customers’ primary gas supply lines.

Branch lines that serve pool heaters, yard

lanterns, or other types of secondary

equipment were not intended to be covered.

The final rule (§ 192.16(a)) clarifies this point

by covering customer piping up to gas

utilization equipment only when the

customer’s piping does not enter a building.

(60 FR 41822)

Given this history of § 192.16(a) and

the plain meaning of the rule, we do not

agree with AGA that the rule can

reasonably be construed to apply to

most branch lines serving yard lanterns

or pool heaters. As AGA acknowledges

in its petition, such lines typically do

not enter buildings. Buried customer

piping that does not enter a building is

covered only if it serves the customer’s

principal gas utilization equipment.

And by their very nature, branch lines

do not serve principal gas utilization

equipment.

Nevertheless, the existence of the

AGA petition indicates that some

service line operators may be

misconstruing the rule. Since we want

to make the rule as easy as possible for

everyone to understand, we have

amended § 192.16(a) to emphatically

state that the customer’s buried piping

does not include branch lines that serve

yard lanterns, pool heaters, or other

types of secondary equipment. We did

not feel AGA’s suggestion to modify

‘‘piping’’ with ‘‘gas supply’’ would

necessarily clarify the rule because all

customer piping provides a supply of

gas.

Next, AGA argues that the definition

of ‘‘maintain’’ is too restrictive because

it does not mention repair as a method

of remedying unsafe customer piping.

As a result, AGA suggests § 192.16(a)

could be construed to require operators

to send customer notifications even if

they repair unsafe conditions on

customer piping. AGA recommends
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 237 / Monday, December 11, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 63451

amending the definition of ‘‘maintain’’

to include repair as a remedial measure.

We believe AGA’s recommendation

has merit. Operators may indeed choose

to repair some unsafe conditions on

customer piping without shutting off the

gas or advising the customer of the

problem. Such repair would be wholly

consistent with the purpose of

§ 192.16—to promote the safety of

customer piping—and would exceed the

required minimum level of

maintenance. Thus, operator repair

should not be the basis for a charge of

noncompliance with the rule. To

preclude this possibility and clarify the

rule, we have amended § 192.16(a) as

AGA recommends in the second part of

its petition.

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 and DOT

Policies and Procedures

The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) does not consider this final rule

to be a significant regulatory action

under section 3(f) of Executive Order

12866. Therefore, OMB did not review

this final rule. Also, DOT does not

consider this final rule to be significant

under its regulatory policies and

procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26,

1979). Because this final rule merely

clarifies an existing rule, the economic

impact is too minimal to warrant an

evaluation of costs and benefits.

However, an evaluation of the costs and

benefits of the rule revised by this

regulatory action is available for review

in the docket.

Executive Order 12612

We analyzed this final rule under the

principles and criteria in Executive

Order 12612 (‘‘Federalism’’). The final

rule does not have sufficient federalism

impacts to warrant preparation of a

federalism assessment.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify, under Section 605 of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act, that this final

rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. As explained

in Amendment 192–74 (60 FR 41828,

August 14, 1995), most small entities do

not come under the rule revised by this

regulatory action, and those small

entities that do may exercise very low

cost means of compliance.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 192

Natural gas, Pipeline safety, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

RSPA amends 49 CFR part 192 as

follows:

PART 192—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 192

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5103, 60102, 60104,

60108, 60109, 60110, 60113, and 60118; 49

CFR 1.53.

2. Section 192.16(a) is revised to read

as follows:

§ 192.16 Customer notification.

(a) This section applies to each

operator of a service line who does not

maintain the customer’s buried piping

up to entry of the first building

downstream, or, if the customer’s buried

piping does not enter a building, up to

the principal gas utilization equipment

or the first fence (or wall) that surrounds

that equipment. For the purpose of this

section, ‘‘customer’s buried piping’’

does not include branch lines that serve

yard lanterns, pool heaters, or other

types of secondary equipment. Also,

‘‘maintain’’ means monitor for corrosion

according to § 192.465 if the customer’s

buried piping is metallic, survey for

leaks according to § 192.723, and if an

unsafe condition is found, shut off the

flow of gas, advise the customer of the

need to repair the unsafe condition, or

repair the unsafe condition.

* * * * *

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 4,

1995.

Ana Sol Gutie ́rrez,

Deputy Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–30032 Filed 12–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 675

[Docket No. 951128281–5281–01; I.D.

112795A]

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and

Aleutian Islands Area, Trawl Closure

To Protect Red King Crab

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Inseason adjustment; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS has determined that an

interim closure to all trawling is

necessary in a portion of the Bristol Bay

area of the Bering Sea. The number of

female red king crab in Bristol Bay has

declined to a level that presents a

serious conservation problem for this

stock. To prevent excessive bycatch

rates of Bristol Bay area red king crab,

NMFS is implementing an interim

closure in an area of Bristol Bay to

vessels using trawl gear. This

management measure is intended to

accomplish the objectives of the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

with respect to fishery management in

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

management area (BSAI).

DATES: Effective January 20, 1996,

through March 31, 1996. Comments

must be submitted by January 10, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to

Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries

Management Division, Alaska Region,

National Marine Fisheries Service, P.O.

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802,

Attention: Lori Gravel. The

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory

Impact Review/Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA)

prepared for proposed Amendment 37

to the Fishery Management Plan for the

Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea

and Aleutian Islands Area addresses the

action implemented under this inseason

adjustment. Copies of the EA/RIR/IRFA

may be obtained from the North Pacific

Fishery Management Council, 605 W.

4th Ave. Suite 306, Anchorage, AK

99501–2252.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kaja

Brix, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Fishing for groundfish by U.S. vessels

in the exclusive economic zone of the

BSAI is managed by NMFS according to

the Fishery Management Plan for the

Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea

and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP). The

FMP was prepared by the North Pacific

Fishery Management Council (Council)

under the Magnuson Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801, et seq.) (Magnuson Act),

and is implemented by regulations

governing the U.S. groundfish fisheries

at 50 CFR parts 675 and 676. General

regulations that also pertain to U.S.

fisheries are codified at 50 CFR part 620.

High prohibited species bycatch rates

may warrant inseason adjustment to

close an area to fishing for groundfish.

Authority for interim closures of a

specific area is outlined under

regulations at § 675.20(e). This inseason

adjustment prohibits fishing for

groundfish by operators of vessels using

trawl gear in that portion of the Bering

Sea that is bounded by a straight line

connecting the following coordinates in

the order listed below from January 20

through March 31, 1996:

56°00′ N.; 162°00′ W.;