New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 16 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE › Chapter III - GAS UTILITIES › Subchapter C - Safety › Part 255 - Transmission And Distribution Of Gas › Operations › Section 255.605 - Essentials of operating and maintenance plan

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
Each operator shall include, as a minimum, the following
						in its operating and maintenance plan as applicable:
(a) detailed instructions for employees
					 covering operating and maintenance procedures during normal operations and
					 repairs;
(b) procedures required to
					 be included by the provisions of the welding, joining, corrosion control,
					 upgrading, operations, maintenance, and accidents and leaks sections of this
					 Part;
(c) specific programs
					 relating to facilities presenting the greatest hazard to public safety either
					 in an emergency or because of extraordinary construction or maintenance
					 requirements;
(d) provision for
					 periodic inspections to ensure that operating pressures are appropriate for the
					 class location;
(e) precautions to
					 be taken when excavation is performed in the vicinity of any underground gas
					 facility;
(f) procedures to
					 correct, within specified timeframes, deficiencies found during any
					 inspections, evaluations, reviews, etc. required by this Part;
(g) criteria employed to determine business
					 districts for the purpose of compliance with section
					 255.723(b)(1) 
					 of this Part;
(h) criteria employed
					 to identify those conditions at leak hazard locations which necessitate that
					 the interval between surveillances be shortened;
(i) details of how an operator plans to
					 comply with any requirement of this Part that is written in nonspecific
					 language. For example, section
					 255.805(b) 
					 of this Part states that "Each operator shall. . establish a means by which it
					 determines the appropriate surveillance interval at leak locations under frost
					 conditions. . " the details required by this subdivision would necessitate the
					 operator to specify the established means;
(j) instructions enabling personnel who
					 perform operation and maintenance activities to recognize conditions that may
					 be safety-related conditions that are subject to the reporting requirements of
					 section
					 255.831 
					 of this Part;
(k) procedures for
					 making construction records, maps, and operating history available to
					 appropriate personnel;
(l)
					 procedures for start up and shut down of any section of pipeline in a manner
					 designed to assure operation within the maximum allowable operating pressure
					 limits prescribed by this Part, plus the build-up allowed for operation of
					 pressure limiting and control devices;
(m) procedures for maintaining compressor
					 stations, including provisions for isolating units or sections of pipe and for
					 purging before returning to service;
(n) procedures for starting, operating, and
					 shutting down gas compressor units;
(o) procedures for periodic review of the
					 work done by operator personnel to determine the effectiveness and adequacy of
					 the procedures used in normal operation and maintenance and modifying the
					 procedures when deficiencies are found;
(p) procedures for adequate precautions in
					 excavated trenches to protect personnel from the hazards of unsafe
					 accumulations of vapor or gas, and making available when needed at the
					 excavation, emergency rescue equipment including a breathing apparatus and a
					 rescue harness and line;
(q)
					 responding promptly to a report of a gas odor inside or near a building, unless
					 the operator's emergency procedures under section
					 255.615(a)(3) 
					 of this Part specifically apply to these reports; and
(r) for transmission lines, other than those
					 operated in connection with the operator's distribution system, procedures for
					 the following to provide safety when operating design limits have been
					 exceeded:
(1) responding to, investigating and
					 correcting the cause of:
(i) unintended
					 closure of valves, or shutdowns;
(ii) increase or decrease in pressure or flow
					 rate outside normal operating limits;
(iii) loss of communications;
(iv) operation of any safety device;
					 and
(v) any other foreseeable
					 malfunction of component, deviation from normal operation, or personnel error
					 which may result in a hazard to persons or property;