Document ID: PHMSA-2011-0023-0650
Agency: phmsa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Pipeline Safety: Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Repair Criteria, Integrity Management Improvements, Cathodic Protection, Management of Change, and Other Related Amendments; Technical Corrections
Posted Date: 2023-04-24T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 78 (Monday, April 24, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24708-24712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08548]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 192

[Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023; Amdt. No. 192-133]
RIN 2137-AF39

Pipeline Safety: Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Repair 
Criteria, Integrity Management Improvements, Cathodic Protection, 
Management of Change, and Other Related Amendments: Technical 
Corrections; Response to Petitions for Reconsideration

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final rule; technical corrections; response to petitions for 
reconsideration.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA is making necessary technical corrections to ensure 
consistency within, and the intended effect of, a recently issued final 
rule titled ``Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Repair Criteria, 
Integrity Management Improvements, Cathodic Protection, Management of 
Change, and Other Related Amendments.'' PHMSA also alerts the public to 
its November 18, 2022, and April 19, 2023, responses to petitions for 
reconsideration of this final rule.

DATES: Effective May 24, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Technical questions: Steve Nanney, Senior Technical Advisor, by 
telephone at 713-272-2855.
    General information: Robert Jagger, Senior Transportation 
Specialist, by telephone at 202-366-4361.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 24, 2022, as the culmination of a 
decade-long rulemaking process, PHMSA published a final rule titled 
``Safety of Gas Transmission Pipelines: Repair Criteria, Integrity 
Management Improvements, Cathodic Protection, Management of Change, and 
Other Related Amendments'' \1\ amending the Pipeline Safety Regulations 
at 49 CFR part 192 to improve the safety of onshore gas transmission 
pipelines. In preparing to implement provisions of the August 2022 
Final Rule, as well as through discussions with stakeholders (including 
petitions for reconsideration of the August 2022 Final Rule), PHMSA has 
identified several places in the amended regulatory text that would 
benefit from technical correction to facilitate timely implementation 
of the August 2022 Final Rule consistent with the function and purposes 
described in the administrative record. PHMSA also alerts the public to 
the availability in the rulemaking docket of its November 18, 2022, 
response to a petition for reconsideration filed by the American Gas 
Association and its April 19, 2022, response to a petition for 
reconsideration jointly filed by the Interstate Natural Gas Association 
of America and the American Petroleum Institute.
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    \1\ 87 FR 52224 (Aug. 24, 2022) (``August 2022 Final Rule'').
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A. Technical Corrections To Ensure Consistency Between Sec. Sec.  
192.714 and 192.933

    Among the August 2022 Final Rule's regulatory amendments were the 
enhancement of existing repair criteria and repair schedules for 
anomalies discovered in a High Consequence Area (HCA) and the extension 
of those repair criteria and schedules to onshore gas transmission 
lines outside an HCA. See 87 FR at 52226 (``The content of the non-HCA 
repair criteria being finalized in this rule is consistent with the 
criteria for HCAs''). This was achieved by adding similar repair 
criteria and scheduling requirements to both 49 CFR 192.714 (applicable 
to non-HCA lines) and Sec.  192.933 (applicable to HCA lines). See 87 
FR at 52246. However, PHMSA has identified three instances in the 
amended regulatory text that would benefit from technical correction to 
facilitate timely implementation of the August 2022 Final Rule 
consistent with the function and purposes described in the 
administrative record.
    First, both Sec. Sec.  192.714 and 192.933 provide, at respective 
paragraph (d)(1), for specific conditions that must be repaired 
immediately. These are the most severe, risk-bearing conditions and the 
August 2022 Final Rule set out the importance for public and 
environmental safety of their swift remediation upon detection. That 
detection may come from regularly scheduled assessments and the 
evaluation of anomalies that appear indicative of a serious condition. 
Section 7 of ASME/ANSI B31.8S provides that examination of these 
indications must occur ``within a period not to exceed 5 days following 
determination of the condition,'' with ``prompt[ ]'' remediation 
thereafter of

[[Page 24709]]

any defect found to require repair or removal.\2\ ASME/ANSI B31.8S, 
section 7 is incorporated in the HCA immediate repair criteria at Sec.  
192.933(d)(1) for operators to follow in their evaluation and 
remediation schedule. However, parallel language was inadvertently 
omitted from Sec.  192.714(d). See 87 FR at 52246 (referencing ASME/
ANSI B31.8S, section 7 in the preamble discussion supporting Sec.  
192.714).\3\ This omission from Sec.  192.714 leaves unintended 
asymmetry in the evaluation and remediation schedule for immediate 
repair conditions between HCA and non-HCA lines, with potential for 
operator confusion. As the Sec.  192.714 repair criteria were intended 
to largely mirror those at Sec.  192.933, PHMSA is correcting this 
oversight by adding to the beginning of Sec.  192.714(d)(1) similar 
language that begins Sec.  192.933(d)(1): ``An operator's evaluation 
and remediation schedule for immediate repair conditions must follow 
section 7 of ASME/ANSI B31.8S (incorporated by reference, see Sec.  
192.7).''
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    \2\ Am. Soc'y Mech. Eng'rs, B31.8S-2004, ``Managing System 
Integrity of Gas Pipelines,'' sec. 7 (2005) (``ASME/ANSI B31.8S'').
    \3\ PHMSA included amendatory language at Sec.  192.7(c)(6) to 
incorporate by reference ASME/ANSI B31.8S for Sec.  192.714(d). See 
87 FR at 52267.
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    Second, Sec. Sec.  192.714(d)(3) and 192.933(d)(3) list various 
``monitored conditions'' that entail less acute risk to public safety 
and the environment but which nevertheless merit monitoring by 
operators to ensure no further degradation occurs. Evidence supporting 
differentiation between a scheduled repair condition and a monitored 
repair condition can include an engineering critical assessment (ECA) 
demonstrating critical strain levels are not exceeded; conversely, 
exceedance of critical strain levels will often require a condition be 
scheduled for a repair under Sec. Sec.  192.714(d)(2) and 
192.933(d)(2). For that reason, PHMSA explained during the Gas Pipeline 
Advisory Committee (GPAC) meeting that it intended for dent repair 
criteria for both HCA and non-HCA areas to provide that ``[d]ents 
analyzed by ECA, but shown to not exceed critical strain levels[,] 
would be Monitored Conditions'' under Sec. Sec.  192.714(d)(3) and 
192.933(d)(3).\4\ However, the regulatory text adopted by the August 
2022 Final Rule included references to ECA as an element for only two 
of three monitored dent conditions in Sec.  192.714 (applicable to non-
HCA lines), even as it referenced ECA for all three monitored dent 
conditions in Sec.  192.933 (applicable to HCA lines). See Sec. Sec.  
192.714(d)(3)(ii)-(iii) and 192.933(d)(3)(i)-(iii). The omission of ECA 
in the criteria at Sec.  192.714(d)(3)(i) for dents on the bottom third 
(\1/3\) of the pipeline was inadvertent, as further demonstrated by 
reference to the same condition found in Sec.  192.933(d)(3)(i) for HCA 
pipelines, which correctly includes the reference to an ECA. 
Accordingly, PHMSA is correcting the editorial oversight at Sec.  
192.714(d)(3)(i) by revising the regulatory language to provide that a 
dent on the bottom third (\1/3\) of a pipeline can be a monitored 
condition ``where an engineering analysis, performed in accordance with 
Sec.  192.712(c), demonstrates critical strain levels are not 
exceeded.''
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    \4\ GPAC, Mar. 26 to 28, 2018 Meeting Slides at slide 150 (Mar. 
2018); 87 FR at 52249. The GPAC meeting material is available on the 
public meeting page accessible at https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=132.
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    Third, PHMSA also clarifies that Sec.  192.714(b) permits operators 
in certain circumstances to use the default values provided for in 
Sec.  192.712(d)(3) and (e)(2) to calculate predicted failure pressure 
during repair operations when their documented material properties are 
unknown. Section 192.714(b) sets general, baseline requirements to 
``ensure that the repairs are made in a safe manner'' and requires a 
``pipeline segment's operating pressure [to] be less than the predicted 
failure pressure determined in accordance with Sec.  192.712 during 
repair operations.'' Section 192.712 directs operators to use material 
property values that are documented in traceable, verifiable, and 
complete records where possible and provides conservative values 
operators may use where they are not. See Sec.  192.712(d)(3), (e)(2). 
Operators must, in complying with Sec. Sec.  192.714(b) and 192.933(a), 
either use documented material properties where they are available; 
obtain any missing documentation through Sec.  192.607 where possible; 
or where such documentation is unavailable and cannot be obtained in a 
timely manner, employ the conservative assumptions in Sec.  192.712 in 
their stead. See 87 FR at 52253. To make this clear, PHMSA is issuing a 
technical correction to add as the final sentence to both Sec. Sec.  
192.714(b) and 192.933(a): ``Until documented material properties are 
available, the operator must use the conservative assumptions in either 
Sec.  192.712(e)(2) or, if appropriate following a pressure test, in 
Sec.  192.712(d)(3).'' As PHMSA explained in the August 2022 Final 
Rule, an operator ``missing any material properties during anomaly 
evaluations and repairs'' should, through the ensuing repair operation, 
``confirm those material properties under Sec. Sec.  192.607 and 
192.712(e) through (g)'' for future use. 87 FR at 52253.

B. Technical Correction to Sec.  192.319(f) for Consistency With Sec.  
192.461(h) Regarding Schedule for Completing Any Necessary Repairs

    PHMSA also intended in the August 2022 Final Rule to establish a 
consistent approach for scheduling remediation of severe coating damage 
for newly installed (pursuant to Sec.  192.319) and existing (pursuant 
to Sec.  192.461) pipelines to protect against corrosion. As PHMSA 
explained during the GPAC meeting, PHMSA intended both Sec. Sec.  
192.319 and 192.461 to provide operators 1 year total (contingent on 
obtaining any necessary permits) to complete the assessment of a pipe's 
corrosion protective coating and make any needed repairs; specifically, 
PHMSA intended to provide operators 6 months for the assessment plus 6 
months from the assessment to complete any necessary repairs, with an 
allowance for permitting delays.\5\ While Sec.  192.461 contains 
language providing for this schedule at paragraphs (f) (assessment) and 
(h) (repair), and Sec.  192.319 provides for the same schedule at 
paragraph (d) (assessment), PHMSA inadvertently omitted such language 
from paragraph (f) (repair) of Sec.  192.319. PHMSA is therefore 
issuing a technical correction so that Sec.  192.319(f) provides 6 
months from the assessment, or as soon as practical after obtaining 
necessary permits, to complete any necessary repairs. This technical 
correction will also ensure that under Sec.  192.319(f) operators apply 
for any needed permits within 6 months, mirroring the language in Sec.  
192.461(h).
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    \5\ GPAC, June 6 to 7, 2017 Meeting Slides at slides 10 & 13 
(June 2017) (providing 6 months for assessment ``plus 6 months to 
complete repairs''); GPAC, June 6, 2017 Meeting Transcript, at 40. 
The GPAC material is available on the public meeting page accessible 
at https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/MtgHome.mtg?mtg=123.
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C. Technical Correction To Specify the Unit Measurement in Sec.  
192.473(c)(3) Is in Alternating Current (AC)

    Finally, among several provisions providing safety measures against 
potential corrosion, the August 2022 Final Rule includes language at 
Sec.  192.473(c) obliging operators to conduct interference surveys to 
detect certain stray currents, for example, those from ``co-located 
pipelines, structures, or high voltage alternating current (HVAC) power 
lines.'' 87 FR at 52269 (amending Sec.  192.473(c)(1)). Detecting and 
remediating interference surveys is essential to protecting pipeline 
integrity against stray currents

[[Page 24710]]

that interfere with a corrosion control system. 87 FR at 52237. Section 
192.473(c)(3), as adopted by the August 2022 Final Rule, requires that 
operators take remedial action when those surveys detect interference 
current that meets or exceeds 100 amps per meter square. The precise 
unit of measure is ``100 amps per meter squared alternating current 
(AC).'' 100 amps is calibrated as the appropriate value when measured 
in AC, as PHMSA has also specified in special permits it has issued, 
stating: ``Remedial action is required when the interference . . . is 
at a level that could cause significant corrosion (defined as 100 amps 
per meter square for AC-induced corrosion)[.]'' See, e.g., Special 
Permit Requested by Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, LLC, Class 
1 to Class 3, Dkt. No. PHMSA-2019-0150 (Issued May 17, 2022), https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2022-05/2019-0150-NGPL-Class-1-to-3-FL-SP-05-17-2022.pdf; Special Permit Requested by Florida 
Gas Transmission Company, LCC, Class 1 to Class 3, Dkt. No. PHMSA-2020-
0001 (Issued Mar. 31, 2022), https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2022-04/2020-0001-Florida-Gas-Transmission-SP-Class-1-to-3-FL-SP-03-31-2022.pdf. PHMSA is issuing a technical 
correction to clarify in the regulatory text of Sec.  192.473(c)(3) 
that the unit of measure is in AC.

D. Response to Petitions for Reconsideration

    PHMSA alerts the public and regulated community to its responses to 
petitions for reconsideration filed by the American Gas Association 
(AGA), the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), and 
the American Petroleum Institute (API). On September 23, 2022, AGA 
submitted a petition for reconsideration of the August 2022 Final Rule 
requesting clarification of two definitions at Sec.  192.3 (regarding 
``in-line inspection'' and ``transmission line'') and additional 
compliance time. See Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023-0643. PHMSA's November 
18, 2022, response letter to AGA's petition is available in the docket 
for this rulemaking at Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023-0646.
    Also on September 23, 2022, INGAA and API jointly submitted a 
petition for reconsideration of the August 2022 Final Rule that raised 
a wide variety of requests, including additional compliance time. See 
Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023-0644. PHMSA's April 19, 2023, response 
letter to INGAA and API's petition is available in the docket for this 
rulemaking at Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023-0649. Several of the issues 
raised in this petition have also informed technical corrections made 
in this notice.

IV. Regulatory Analyses and Notices

A. Legal Authority

    Statutory authority for these technical corrections to the August 
2022 Final Rule, as with that final rule itself, is provided by the 
Federal Pipeline Safety Act (49 U.S.C. 60101 et seq.). The Secretary 
delegated his authority under the Federal Pipeline Safety Act to the 
PHMSA Administrator under 49 CFR 1.97.
    PHMSA finds it has good cause to make these five technical 
corrections without notice and comment pursuant to Section 553(b) of 
the Administrative Procedure Act (APA, 5 U.S.C. 551, et seq.). Section 
553(b)(B) of the APA provides that, when an agency for good cause finds 
that notice and public procedure are impracticable, unnecessary, or 
contrary to the public interest, the agency may issue a rule without 
providing notice and an opportunity for public comment. These technical 
corrections, as explained above, are all editorial in nature and 
consistent with the intent of the recently published August 2022 Final 
Rule, which itself was the product of a decade-long rulemaking record 
with extensive notice and opportunity for comment, including various 
occasions for input through the GPAC at public meetings. The technical 
corrections make no substantive changes to the August 2022 Final Rule 
but merely facilitate its implementation by aligning the regulatory 
text with explanatory material in the August 2022 Final Rule's preamble 
and the administrative record. Because the August 2022 Final Rule is 
the product of an extensive administrative record with numerous 
opportunities (including through written comments and the advisory 
committee) for public comment, PHMSA finds that additional comment on 
the technical corrections herein is unnecessary.

B. Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures

    These technical corrections have been evaluated in accordance with 
existing policies and procedures and are considered not significant 
under Executive Order 12866 (``Regulatory Planning and Review'') \6\ 
and DOT Order 2100.6A (``Rulemaking and Guidance Procedures''). While 
the August 2022 Final Rule received review by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866, these technical 
corrections (which are consistent with the final rule) are not 
considered significant and accordingly, this notice has not been 
reviewed under that authority. PHMSA finds that the technical 
corrections herein (in all respects consistent with the final rule) 
neither impose incremental compliance costs nor adversely affect 
safety.
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    \6\ 58 FR 51735 (Oct. 4, 1993).
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C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended by the Small Business 
Regulatory Flexibility Fairness Act of 1996 (RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.), generally requires Federal regulatory agencies to prepare a 
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) for a final rule subject 
to notice-and-comment rulemaking under the APA. 5 U.S.C. 604(a).\7\ 
PHMSA did so for the August 2022 Final Rule, where the FRFA is 
available in the rulemaking docket, and that analysis remains unchanged 
as the technical corrections will impose no new incremental compliance 
costs.\8\ Because PHMSA has ``good cause'' under the APA to forego 
comment on the technical corrections herein, no FRFA is required, 
consistent with the Small Business Administration's implementing 
guidance which explains that ``[i]f an NPRM is not required, the RFA 
does not apply.'' \9\
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    \7\ This requirement is subject to exceptions--which are not in 
any event applicable here because PHMSA has good cause to forego 
comment in adopting the technical correction herein.
    \8\ Final Regulatory Impact Analysis, Doc. No. PHMSA-2011-0023-
0637, at 44 (Aug. 26, 2022).
    \9\ Small Business Administration, ``A Guide for Government 
Agencies: How to Comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act'' 55 
(2017).
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D. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The technical corrections in this notice impose no new or revised 
information collection requirements beyond those discussed in the 
August 2022 Final Rule.

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    These technical corrections do not impose an unfunded mandate under 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). 
PHMSA prepared an analysis of the UMRA considerations in the final 
regulatory impact analysis for the August 2022 Final Rule, which is 
available in the docket for the rulemaking.\10\ These technical 
corrections have no substantial effect on that analysis as they will 
impose no new incremental compliance costs. PHMSA has analyzed the 
technical corrections in this notice

[[Page 24711]]

under the factors in the UMRA, as well, and determined that the 
technical corrections to the final rule herein do not impose 
enforceable duties on State, local, or Tribal governments or on the 
private sector of $100 million or more, adjusted for inflation, in any 
one year.
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    \10\ Doc. No. PHMSA-2011-0023-0637, at 44 (Aug. 26, 2022).
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F. National Environmental Policy Act

    The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.) requires Federal agencies to prepare a detailed statement on 
major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment. PHMSA analyzed the August 2022 Final Rule in accordance 
with NEPA, implementing Council on Environmental Quality regulations 
(40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and DOT implementing policies (DOT Order 
5610.1C, ``Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts'') and 
determined the final rule would not significantly affect the quality of 
the human environment.\11\ The technical corrections in this notice 
have no effect on PHMSA's earlier NEPA analysis prepared on the August 
2022 Final Rule as the technical corrections are consistent, and merely 
facilitate compliance with, the August 2022 Final Rule. The purpose of 
the technical corrections is to further improve safety in conducting 
operations and repairs.
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    \11\ Final Environmental Assessment, Doc. No. PHMSA-2011-0023-
0635 (July 2022).
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G. Privacy Act Statement

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 
public to inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these comments, 
without edit, including any personal information the commenter 
provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records 
notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.

H. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)

    PHMSA has analyzed this notice in accordance with the principles 
and criteria contained in Executive Order 13132 (``Federalism'').\12\ 
PHMSA has previously determined that the August 2022 Final Rule itself 
did not impose any substantial direct effect on the States, the 
relationship between the National Government and the States, or the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government, see 87 FR at 52266; nor do the technical corrections 
herein, which are consistent with the August 2022 Final Rule and merely 
facilitate its compliance. Therefore, the consultation and funding 
requirements of Executive Order 13132 do not apply.
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    \12\ 64 FR 43255 (Aug. 10, 1999).
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I. Executive Order 13211

    PHMSA analyzed the August 2022 Final Rule and determined that the 
requirements of Executive Order 13211 (``Actions Concerning Regulations 
that Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'') \13\ 
did not apply. Neither are these technical corrections to the rule a 
``significant energy action'' under Executive Order 13211 as they are 
not likely to have a significant adverse effect on supply, 
distribution, or energy use. Further, OMB has not designated these 
corrections a significant energy action.
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    \13\ 66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001).
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J. Executive Order 13175

    This document was analyzed in accordance with the principles and 
criteria contained in Executive Order 13175 (``Consultation and 
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments'') \14\ and DOT Order 
5301.1 (``Department of Transportation Policies, Programs, and 
Procedures Affecting American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Tribes''). 
Because nothing herein has Tribal implications or imposes substantial 
direct compliance costs on Indian Tribal governments, the funding and 
consultation requirements of Executive Order 13175 do not apply.
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    \14\ 65 FR 67249 (Nov. 6, 2000).
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K. Executive Order 13609 and International Trade Analysis

    Under Executive Order 13609 (``Promoting International Regulatory 
Cooperation''),\15\ agencies must consider whether the impacts 
associated with significant variations between domestic and 
international regulatory approaches are unnecessary or may impair the 
ability of American business to export and compete internationally. In 
meeting shared challenges involving health, safety, labor, security, 
environmental, and other issues, international regulatory cooperation 
can identify approaches that are at least as protective as those that 
are or would be adopted in the absence of such cooperation. 
International regulatory cooperation can also reduce, eliminate, or 
prevent unnecessary differences in regulatory requirements. The 
technical corrections to the final rule in this notice do not impact 
international trade.
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    \15\ 77 FR 26413 (May 4, 2012).
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L. Regulation Identifier Number (RIN)

    A regulation identifier number (RIN) is assigned to each regulatory 
action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations. The 
Regulatory Information Service Center publishes the Unified Agenda in 
April and October of each year. The RIN contained in the heading of 
this document can be used to cross-reference this action with the 
Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 192

    Corrosion control, Incorporation by reference, Installation of pipe 
in a ditch, Integrity management, Internal inspection device, 
Management of change, Pipeline safety, Repair criteria, Surveillance.

    In consideration of the foregoing, PHMSA further amends 49 CFR part 
192, as amended August 24, 2022, at 87 FR 52224, and effective May 24, 
2023, by making the following technical amendments:

PART 192--TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL AND OTHER GAS BY PIPELINE: 
MINIMUM FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS

0
1. The authority citation for part 192 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  30 U.S.C. 185(w)(3), 49 U.S.C. 5103, 60101 et seq., 
and 49 CFR 1.97.

0
2. Section 192.319, as amended August 24, 2022, at 87 FR 52269, and 
effective May 24, 2023, is further amended by revising paragraph (f) to 
read as follows:

Sec.  192.319  Installation of pipe in a ditch.

* * * * *
    (f) An operator of an onshore steel transmission pipeline must 
develop a remedial action plan and apply for any necessary permits 
within 6 months of completing the assessment that identified the 
deficiency. An operator must repair any coating damage classified as 
severe (voltage drop greater than 60 percent for DCVG or 70 dB[micro]V 
for ACVG) in accordance with section 4 of NACE SP0502 (incorporated by 
reference, see Sec.  192.7) within 6 months of the assessment, or as 
soon as practicable after obtaining necessary permits, not to exceed 6 
months after the receipt of permits.
* * * * *

0
3. Section 192.473, as amended August 24, 2022, at 87 FR 52269, and 
effective May 24, 2023, is further amended by revising paragraph (c)(3) 
to read as follows:

Sec.  192.473  External corrosion control: Interference currents.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) Development of a remedial action plan to correct any instances 
where

[[Page 24712]]

interference current is greater than or equal to 100 amps per meter 
squared alternating current (AC), or if it impedes the safe operation 
of a pipeline, or if it may cause a condition that would adversely 
impact the environment or the public; and
* * * * *

0
4. Section 192.714, as added August 24, 2022, at 87 FR 52271, and 
effective May 24, 2023, is amended by revising paragraphs (b), (d)(1) 
introductory text, and (d)(3)(i) to read as follows:

Sec.  192.714  Transmission lines: Repair criteria for onshore 
transmission pipelines.

* * * * *
    (b) General. Each operator must, in repairing its pipeline systems, 
ensure that the repairs are made in a safe manner and are made to 
prevent damage to persons, property, and the environment. A pipeline 
segment's operating pressure must be less than the predicted failure 
pressure determined in accordance with Sec.  192.712 during repair 
operations. Repairs performed in accordance with this section must use 
pipe and material properties that are documented in traceable, 
verifiable, and complete records. If documented data required for any 
analysis, including predicted failure pressure for determining MAOP, is 
not available, an operator must obtain the undocumented data through 
Sec.  192.607. Until documented material properties are available, the 
operator must use the conservative assumptions in either Sec.  
192.712(e)(2) or, if appropriate following a pressure test, in Sec.  
192.712(d)(3).
* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (1) Immediate repair conditions. An operator's evaluation and 
remediation schedule for immediate repair conditions must follow 
section 7 of ASME/ANSI B31.8S (incorporated by reference, see Sec.  
192.7). An operator must repair the following conditions immediately 
upon discovery:
* * * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) A dent that is located between the 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock 
positions (bottom \1/3\ of the pipe) with a depth greater than 6 
percent of the pipeline diameter (greater than 0.50 inches in depth for 
a pipeline diameter less than NPS 12), and where an engineering 
analysis, performed in accordance with Sec.  192.712(c), demonstrates 
critical strain levels are not exceeded.
* * * * *

0
5. Section 192.933, as amended August 24, 2022, at 87 FR at 52277, and 
effective May 24, 2023, is further amended by revising paragraph (a) 
introductory text to read as follows:

Sec.  192.933  What actions must be taken to address integrity issues?

    (a) General requirements. An operator must take prompt action to 
address all anomalous conditions the operator discovers through the 
integrity assessment. In addressing all conditions, an operator must 
evaluate all anomalous conditions and remediate those that could reduce 
a pipeline's integrity. An operator must be able to demonstrate that 
the remediation of the condition will ensure the condition is unlikely 
to pose a threat to the integrity of the pipeline until the next 
reassessment of the covered segment. Repairs performed in accordance 
with this section must use pipe and material properties that are 
documented in traceable, verifiable, and complete records. If 
documented data required for any analysis is not available, an operator 
must obtain the undocumented data through Sec.  192.607. Until 
documented material properties are available, the operator must use the 
conservative assumptions in either Sec.  192.712(e)(2) or, if 
appropriate following a pressure test, in Sec.  192.712(d)(3).
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 
1.97.
Tristan H. Brown,
Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-08548 Filed 4-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P