23930 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 97 / Thursday, May 21, 2009 / Notices 

distribution. Please contact the Federal 

Aviation Administration at (907) 271– 

5438 for a copy. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Sitka 

Rocky Gutierrez Airport Master Plan 

outlined development goals and projects 

that are anticipated to be necessary over 

the next 20 or more years at the Airport. 

This Final EIS discusses the proposed 

improvements recommended at the 

Airport over the next five years, which 

have the potential to result in significant 

adverse environmental impacts. The 

FAA and the State of Alaska Department 

of Transportation and Public Facilities 

(DOT & PF) propose the following 

projects recommended over the next 

five years at the Airport to meet the 

identified needs. The major actions 

assessed in this Final EIS include: 

b Improvements to the Runway 

Safety Area. 

b Extension of the Parallel Taxiway. 

b Relocation of the Airport Seaplane 

Pullout. 

b Installation of an Approach 

Lighting System. 

b Repairs and Improvements to the 

Airport Seawall. 

b Acquisition of Sufficient Property 

Rights to Lands Needed for Existing and 

Future Aviation and Airport Uses. 

The proposed Airport improvements 

would be completed during the 2010– 

2015 time period and, depending on the 

alternatives implemented, may result in 

temporary or long-term impacts to the 

coastal resources, marine environment 

and wildlife (including species 

protected under the Endangered Species 

Act), water quality, wetlands, historical, 

architectural, archaeological, and 

cultural resources, terrestrial wildlife 

and vegetation, and subsistence. 

Section 810 of the Alaska National 

Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) 

requires an evaluation on the effects of 

alternatives presented in this Final EIS 

on subsistence activities occurring on 

public lands in the planning area. The 

evaluation in the Final EIS indicates 

that none of the alternatives 

significantly restrict subsistence 

activities. 

If the transfer of title option is 

selected for the acquisition of property 

rights, the lands would change from 

Federal to State ownership. This would 

result in the loss of Federal subsistence 

regulations applying on those lands and 

the irreversible loss of opportunities for 

a subsistence priority for rural residents 

from loss of Federal public lands. A 

long-term lease or easement would 

preserve opportunities for a subsistence 

priority for rural residents by retaining 

Federal ownership of public lands. 

The FAA conducted a public hearing 

on the Draft EIS October 2, 2008 and 

received comments on the Draft EIS 

through October 14, 2008. The FAA has 

reviewed and responded to the 

comments received during the Draft EIS 

comment period and made revisions to 

the EIS as appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia Sullivan. Environmental 

Specialist, Federal Aviation 

Administration, Alaskan Region, 

Airports Division, 222 W. 7th Avenue 

#14, Anchorage, AK 99513–7504. Ms. 

Sullivan may be contacted during 

business hours at (907) 271–5454 

(phone) and (907) 271–2851 (facsimile). 

Issued in Anchorage, Alaska on May 14, 

2009. 

Byron K. Huffman, 

Mananger, Airports Division, Alaskan Region. 

[FR Doc. E9–11764 Filed 5–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2009–0148] 

Pipeline Safety: Potential Low and 

Variable Yield and Tensile Strength 

and Chemical Composition Properties 

in High Strength Line Pipe 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA); DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; Issuance of Advisory 

Bulletin. 

SUMMARY: PHMSA is issuing an advisory 

bulletin to owners and operators of 

natural gas pipeline and hazardous 

liquid pipeline systems. This bulletin 

advises pipeline system owners and 

operators of the potential for high grade 

line pipe installed on projects to exhibit 

inconsistent chemical and mechanical 

properties. Yield strength and tensile 

strength properties that do not meet the 

line pipe specification minimums have 

been reported. This advisory bulletin 

pertains to microalloyed high strength 

line pipe grades, generally Grade X–70 

and above. PHMSA recently reviewed 

metallurgical testing results from several 

recent projects indicating pipe joints 

produced from plate or coil from the 

same heat may exhibit variable chemical 

and mechanical properties by as much 

as 15% lower than the strength values 

specified by the pipe manufacturer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alan Mayberry by phone at (202) 366– 

5124 or by e-mail at 

alan.mayberry@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Federal pipeline safety 

regulations in 49 CFR Parts 192 and 195 

require operators of natural gas 

transmission, distribution pipeline 

systems, and hazardous liquids pipeline 

systems to use pipe manufactured by a 

listed specification in the design of 

pipelines in accordance with §§ 192.7, 

192.55(a), 192.105, and §§ 195.3, 

195.106, and 195.112. 

During pipeline construction in the 

late-fall of 2008, several recently 

installed natural gas transmission 

pipeline systems experienced field 

hydrostatic test failures or excessively 

expanded pipe joints of large diameter, 

microalloyed high grade line pipe. 

Metallurgical, mechanical and chemical 

composition tests of the line pipe in 

these cases have shown pipe to have 

yield strengths, tensile strengths and/or 

chemical compositions that did not 

meet the requirements of the American 

Petroleum Institute, Specification for 

Line Pipe—5L, (API 5L), 43rd edition 

for the specified pipe grade. API 5L, 

product specification level (PSL 2), 

specifies material requirements in 

Section 6 and inspection and testing 

standards in Section 9. Even though the 

pipe supplier provided the pipeline 

owner or operator with documentation 

that the pipe that was delivered to the 

owner met these minimum standards, 

substandard pipe properties were found 

in some pipe joints. Specifically, 

PHMSA was made aware that some of 

the line pipe that was installed in these 

projects had yield strengths that were 

up to 15% below the listed API 5L 

specification requirements for the 

specific pipe grade. 

Pipeline owners and operators should 

closely review the manufacturing 

procedure specifications for the 

production and rolling of the steel plate 

or coil that is to be used in the 

production of new microalloyed high 

strength line pipe to ensure that pipe 

steel was properly rolled into steel plate 

or coil prior to the pipe mill rolling 

process. Pipeline owners and operators 

should request detailed manufacturing 

procedure specifications (MPS) from the 

pipe manufacturer as a basis for 

ensuring critical steel processing 

parameters such as the detailed rolling 

schedule, including, but not limited to 

rolling temperature, heating temperature 

and temperature uniformity, are 

controlled throughout the steel rolling 

process. 

Mechanical property and chemical 

composition tests should be conducted 

throughout the steel making, steel 

rolling and pipe manufacturing process 

to ensure uniformity of chemical and 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 97 / Thursday, May 21, 2009 / Notices 23931 

mechanical properties of the pipe prior 

to being shipped from the steel and pipe 

rolling mills. Low yield and tensile 

strength test results are defined as any 

test results below the minimum 

specified yield strength ordered, and 

tensile strengths below those specified 

for the specified grade. An example of 

pipe standard and grades includes API 

5L, PSL 2, X70 and X80; where X–70 

corresponds to steel achieving a 

specified minimum yield strength of 

70,000 psi; and so on. 

II. Advisory Bulletin ADB–09–01 

To: Owners and Operators of 

Hazardous Liquid and Natural Gas 

Pipeline Systems. 

Subject: Potential Low and Variable 

Yield and Tensile Strength and 

Chemical Composition Properties in 

High Strength Line Pipe. 

Advisory: The Federal pipeline safety 

regulations in 49 CFR Parts 192 and 195 

require operators of natural gas 

transmission, gas distribution, and 

hazardous liquids pipeline systems to 

use pipe manufactured by a listed 

specification in the design of pipelines 

in accordance with §§ 192.7, 192.55 (a), 

192.105, and §§ 195.3, 195.106, and 

195.112. 

PHMSA has identified an integrity 

issue with respect to microalloyed high 

grade line pipe. Tests that have been 

conducted on line pipe that has been 

installed in pipeline systems have 

shown that some of the pipe material 

has yield strengths, tensile strengths, 

and/or chemical compositions that do 

not meet the requirements of the 

American Petroleum Institute, 

Specification for Line Pipe—5L, (API 

5L), for PSL 2 and the specified pipe 

grade. Pipe joints produced from plate 

or coil from the same heat may exhibit 

variable chemical and mechanical 

properties. Yield strengths below the 

minimum specified yield strength have 

been reported and yield strengths up to 

15% lower than the strength values on 

the pipe manufacturer produced mill 

test report have also been reported. In 

some cases, the affected pipe may 

successfully pass strength testing 

methods contained in current 

specifications but may lead to a future 

pipeline integrity issue. The presence of 

low yield strength line pipe installed in 

a pipeline system may result in 

increased susceptibility to excessive 

pipe expansion or rupture during the 

pre in-service field hydrostatic strength 

test. 

PHMSA wants to ensure that owners 

and operators of recently constructed 

pipeline systems are aware of the need 

to investigate whether their pipelines 

contain joints of pipe that do not meet 

minimum specification requirements. 

Pipeline owners and operators should 

review all MPS mill test reports and 

other appropriate documentation with 

their pipe suppliers to determine if all 

specification requirements have been 

met. Pipeline owners and operators 

should be aware that small deviations in 

steel rolling schedule parameters can 

have a pronounced effect on final 

mechanical properties. The MPS should 

provide adequate information 

concerning process details and 

inspection methods to ensure that the 

materials are uniform and will meet all 

specification requirements. 

PHMSA advises pipeline owners and 

operators of in service pipelines to 

review their pipe specifications, pipe 

steel making and rolling MPS, pipe mill 

test reports, deformation tool results and 

all hydrostatic test failure results for 

both mill and in place hydrostatic tests 

to ensure that inconsistent mechanical 

and chemical properties are not 

inherent in microalloyed line pipe 

grades on all API 5L—PSL 2, X70 and 

X80 line pipe installed during recent 

construction projects. 

Pipeline owners and operators should 

conduct technical document reviews on 

all high strength microalloyed line pipe 

installed during this period, review 

hydrostatic test failures that occurred on 

pipelines installed during this period 

and consider using methods to detect 

pipe expansion such as running 

deformation tools that detect expanded 

pipe in these systems if they have any 

knowledge, findings or pipe history that 

lead them to believe their newly 

constructed high grade line pipe 

systems contain line pipe joints that do 

not meet specification requirements. 

Should a pipeline owner or operator 

have knowledge of other high grade 

pipe vintages supplied at early dates 

that are in their operating systems that 

may have this problem, they should 

consider conducting reviews as 

described above with these operating 

pipelines to ensure that operating 

pressures and anomaly repair 

procedures are not being conducted 

outside of their 49 CFR Parts 192 and 

195 Code parameters. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. chapter 601 and 49 

CFR 1.53. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 14, 

2009. 

Jeffrey D. Wiese, 

Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. 

[FR Doc. E9–11815 Filed 5–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[AC 187–1C] 

Schedule of Charges Outside the 

United States 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) is announcing the 

availability of Advisory Circular (AC) 

187–1C which transmits an updated 

schedule of charges for services of FAA 

Flight Standards Aviation Safety 

Inspectors outside the United States. 

The advisory circular has been updated 

in accordance with the procedures 

listed in 14 CFR Part 187, Appendix A. 

DATES: This AC is effective on June 1, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: How to obtain copies: A 

copy of this publication may be 

downloaded from: http://rgl.faa.gov/ 

Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/ 

rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/b38e4a

75d8e55cae862575b6004e937a/$FILE/ 

AC%20187-1C.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Geoff McIntyre, Flight Standards 

Service, AFS–51, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, 

telephone (202) 385–8139. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 14, 

2009. 

John W. McGraw, 

Deputy Director, Flight Standards Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–11926 Filed 5–20–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Advisory Committee on Structural 

Safety of Department of Veterans 

Affairs Facilities; Notice of Meeting 

The Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) gives notice under Public Law 92– 

463 (Federal Advisory Committee Act) 

that a meeting of the Advisory 

Committee on Structural Safety of 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Facilities will be held on June 18–19, 

2009, in Room 442, Export Import Bank, 

811 Vermont Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC. The June 18 session 

will be from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., and the 

June 19 session will be from 8:30 a.m. 

until 12:30 p.m. The meeting is open to 

the pubic. 

The purpose of the Committee is to 

advise the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES