44800 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 148 / Thursday, July 31, 2008 / Notices 

petitioner is exempted from the 

obligation of providing notification of, 

and a remedy for, the subject 

noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 

and 30120. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; 

delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 

501.8. 

Issued on: July 25, 2008. 

Daniel C. Smith, 

Associate Administrator for Enforcement. 

[FR Doc. E8–17527 Filed 7–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket ID PHMSA–RSPA–1997–2426] 

Pipeline Safety: National Pipeline 

Mapping System 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; Issuance of Advisory 

Bulletin. 

SUMMARY: This document advises gas 

transmission pipeline operators, 

hazardous liquid pipeline operators, 

and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant 

operators of voluntary changes 

pertaining to submittal dates and 

Operator ID numbers for National 

Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) 

submissions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Nelson by phone at (202) 493–

0591 or by e-mail at 

amy.nelson@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Pipeline Safety Improvement Act 

of 2002 requires gas transmission 

pipeline operators, hazardous liquid 

pipeline operators, and LNG plant 

operators to submit data to NPMS. 

Currently, operators submit their data 

annually, within one year of the last 

submission date. PHMSA is attempting 

to simplify NPMS’s reporting process 

and to improve PHMSA’s ability to 

accurately describe an operator’s assets 

internally and to Congress. 

II. Advisory Bulletin (ADB–08–07) 

To: Operators of Gas Transmission 

Pipelines, Hazardous Liquid Pipelines 

and LNG Plant Operators. 

Subject: NPMS Submissions. 

Purpose: To advise operators of 

voluntary changes to their NPMS 

submissions. 

Advisory: Beginning on January 1, 

2009, PHMSA is requesting that 

operators submit their NPMS data 

concurrently with hazardous liquid and 

gas transmission annual report 

submissions. Annual reports are due on 

March 15 each year for gas transmission 

operators and on June 15 for hazardous 

liquid operators. PHMSA suggests that 

beginning on January 1, 2009, gas 

transmission NPMS submissions be 

submitted by March 15, 2009, and 

represent the pipeline operator assets as 

of December 31, 2008. LNG plant 

operators would also submit to NPMS 

by March 15, 2009, representing assets 

as of December 31, 2008. Hazardous 

liquid annual reports and NPMS 

submissions would both be submitted 

by June 15, 2009, representing assets as 

of December 31, 2008. In 2010 and 

beyond, the annual report and NPMS 

submission due dates would remain 

March 15 for gas transmission and LNG 

plants and June 15 for hazardous liquid 

pipelines. NPMS submissions would 

represent physical assets as of December 

31 of the previous year. 

Submitting annual reports and NPMS 

data at the same time will alleviate the 

need for pipeline operators to track their 

last NPMS submission and may 

decrease the receipt of notices from 

PHMSA that data has not been 

submitted. 

PHMSA also suggests that Operator ID 

numbers (internal DOT numbers 

assigned by PHMSA to the operator for 

specific assets) in annual report 

submissions match the same assets 

described in NPMS submissions. 

Operators who choose to follow this 

guidance will use the same Operator ID 

number to describe a pipeline or LNG 

asset in both the annual report and 

NPMS submission beginning with their 

2009 submissions. This does not apply 

to pipeline operators who have 

requested and been assigned only one 

Operator ID number. Synchronizing the 

Operator ID numbers will alleviate 

confusion in identifying operator assets 

and improve PHMSA’s ability to 

accurately describe the pipeline 

operated by a specific pipeline operator. 

The ability to accurately identify and 

track operator physical assets is 

beneficial to PHMSA, pipeline 

operators, and all stakeholders who 

utilize our data, and ultimately helps 

promote pipeline safety. 

Pipeline operators whose NPMS 

submission due date would normally 

fall between October 1, 2008, and 

December 31, 2008, and who choose to 

align their submission dates with 

annual report due dates, may wait to 

submit their 2008 data capture until 

their new submission dates (either 

March 15, 2009 or June 15, 2009). As 

stated above, NPMS submissions will 

reflect the state of the assets on 

December 31, 2008. 

The NPMS processing department 

encourages operators to submit data 

prior to the suggested deadlines. 

Submitting early will speed submission 

processing and provide time for the 

processing department to notify 

operators if a submission is incomplete. 

Submissions for the December 31, 2008, 

data capture will be accepted starting 

January 2, 2009. If operators have no 

change since their previous NPMS 

submission, they may continue to send 

an e-mail to npms-nr@mbakercorp.com 

or use the ‘‘Update your submission 

online’’ tool on the NPMS Web site 

(http://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov) in 

lieu of making a submission. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on July 24, 

2008. 

Jeffrey D. Wiese, 

Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. 

[FR Doc. E8–17532 Filed 7–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2008–0186] 

Pipeline Safety: Voluntary Survey of 

Regulated and Unregulated Low-Stress 

Pipeline Information 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: PHMSA’s Office of Pipeline 

Safety (OPS) is requesting each operator 

of a rural low-stress hazardous liquid 

pipeline to complete a voluntary survey 

to gather information concerning the 

mileage and characteristics of these 

pipelines to assess the costs of 

subjecting rural low-stress pipeline 

mileage to the pipeline safety standards 

and regulations pursuant to the PIPES 

Act. The purpose of this notice is to 

request all operators of LSPs to 

complete the voluntary survey, 

including operators of low-stress 

pipelines that will not be subject to the 

pipeline safety standards and 

regulations until Phase II of the 

rulemaking proceeding. 

DATES: It is requested that the voluntary 

survey be completed by September 15, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: To complete the voluntary 

survey, go to the OPS Online Data Entry 

Web site at http:// 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 148 / Thursday, July 31, 2008 / Notices 44801 

opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov. For those 

individuals that cannot access the 

Internet, please contact Carson Poe at 

617–494–2765 for filing instructions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Roger Little by telephone at 202–366–

4569, by fax at 202–366–4566, or by 

mail at DOT, PHMSA, PHP–10, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590, or by e-mail at 

roger.little@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

With certain exceptions, section 4 of 

the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, 

Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006 

(PIPES Act) (Pub. L. 109–468) requires 

PHMSA to issue regulations subjecting 

low-stress hazardous liquid 

transmission pipelines (LSPs) to the 

same standards and regulations as other 

hazardous liquid transmission 

pipelines. On June 3, 2008, PHMSA 

issued a Final Rule that subjected larger 

diameter rural LSPs located within a 

half-mile buffer zone of an unusually 

sensitive area (USA) to the part 195 

standards and regulations (73 FR 

31364). In that rulemaking proceeding, 

PHMSA explained that it was only the 

first phase of a two-phase approach to 

meeting the PIPES Act mandate and that 

additional rural LSP mileage would be 

subjected to the part 195 regulations in 

Phase II. 

The June 3, 2008 Final Rule subjected 

all operators of LSPs to certain reporting 

requirements, including LSPs that will 

be considered in the Phase II 

rulemaking. These reporting 

requirements include incident reports 

and safety-related condition reports as 

reflected in 49 CFR 195.48, but did not 

require the reporting of pipeline mileage 

or characteristics (except to the extent 

that operators of regulated LSP mileage 

subject to the integrity management 

requirements must report high 

consequence area (HCA) mileage). 

In order to assess the costs of 

subjecting LSP mileage to the pipeline 

safety standards and regulations 

pursuant to the PIPES Act, PHMSA has 

initiated a voluntary survey on rural 

LSPs. The voluntary survey supports 

DOT’s Strategic Safety Goal. PHMSA 

will be better able to promulgate future 

safety-related LSP regulations with more 

accurate information about pipelines. 

Voluntary survey results will be 

summarized by the John A. Volpe 

National Transportation Systems Center 

(Volpe Center) of DOT. The voluntary 

survey solicits information on the 

following: 

• Pipeline Mileage—Total number of 

LSP miles. 

• Rural LSP Characteristics—Specific 

information on interplant pipeline 

miles, mileage of LSP having a diameter 

equal to or greater than 85⁄8 inches, 

mileage of steel LSP, and mileage of 

non-metallic LSP. 

• Pipeline Products—Listing of all 

products transported using rural LSP. 

• Pipeline Location by State—Listing 

of states with LSP and corresponding 

mileages. 

• Unusually Sensitive Areas—Total 

number of LSP miles within one-half 

mile of an unusually sensitive area. 

• Breakout Tanks—Total number of 

breakout tanks associated with the LSP 

miles. 

PHMSA will use the results to 

calculate the economic impacts 

associated with current and future LSP 

rulemakings. In addition, PHMSA will 

be able to oversee the safety of LSPs 

more effectively with more accurate 

information. 

The voluntary survey is posted on 

OPS Online Data Entry Web site at 

http://opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov. All 

companies completing the voluntary 

survey are asked to do so via the online 

link provided where possible. Operators 

who do not have access to the Internet 

should contact Carson Poe of the Volpe 

Center by phone at 617–494–2765 for 

alternate filing instructions. 

To ensure that PHMSA reaches all of 

the targeted operators, PHMSA will also 

electronically deliver notification of 

how to complete the voluntary survey to 

each of the companies operating 

regulated hazardous liquid pipelines. 

PHMSA will send the e-mail to the 

contact person responsible for the most 

recent annual report submission, as this 

voluntary survey is closely related to the 

infrastructure information PHMSA 

receives through the annual reports. 

In an effort to reach companies that 

operate currently unregulated pipelines 

exclusively, PHMSA is working with 

the American Petroleum Institute (API), 

the Independent Petroleum Association 

of America (IPAA), and the Association 

of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) to announce the 

voluntary survey via these industry 

associations’ e-mail newsletters to their 

members. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations (5 CFR part 1320) 

implementing provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–13) require that interested 

members of the public and affected 

agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(s)) and specify that no person is 

required to respond to an information 

collection unless it displays a valid 

OMB control number. In accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, PHMSA has received OMB 

approval for the initiation of this 

voluntary survey as follows: 

Title: Rural Low-Stress Pipelines 

Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 2137–0623. 

Affected Public: Hazardous liquid 

pipeline operators. 

Expiration Date: June 30, 2011. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

158. 

Estimated Number of Responses: 158. 

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 

2,528 hours. 

Issued in Washington, DC on July 25, 2008. 

Jeffrey D. Wiese, 

Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. 

[FR Doc. E8–17530 Filed 7–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 


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