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22 November 2006
[Federal Register: November 22, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 225)]
[Notices]
[Page 67703-67704]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22no06-149]
[[Page 67703]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA-04-19856]
Pipeline Safety: Notice to Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous
Liquid Pipelines To Accurately Locate and Mark Underground Pipelines
Before Construction-Related Excavation Activities Commence Near the
Pipelines
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice; Issuance of Advisory Bulletin.
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SUMMARY: This advisory reminds and reinforces the importance of safe
locating excavation practices near underground pipelines. PHMSA's
pipeline safety regulations require pipeline operators to implement
damage prevention programs to protect underground pipelines during
construction related excavation. In addition, PHMSA recommends pipeline
operators excavating in areas populated with other pipelines and
utilities follow all consensus best practices and guidelines developed
by the Common Ground Alliance. Recent serious incidents especially
reinforce the importance of accurately locating and marking pipelines
and highlight an urgent need for pipeline operators to review how they
implement their damage prevention programs to prevent further accidents
caused by construction related damage. This Advisory Bulletin provides
guidance on how to do this.
ADDRESSES: This document can be viewed on the PHMSA home page at:
http://www.phmsa.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy Kadnar, (202) 366-0568, or by e-
mail at Joy.Kadnar@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
Recently several construction related incidents have caused damage
to underground natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in several
States, including California, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Some of
these incidents have resulted in deaths, injuries, property damage, and
disruption to communities. Following an appropriate damage prevention
program is the best way to prevent such incidents in the future.
This is the second bulletin PHMSA has issued on locating damage
prevention this year. In Advisory Bulletin 06-01, published in the
Federal Register on January 17, 2006 (71 FR 2613), we described other
preventable accidents caused by construction-related damage. Advisory
Bulletin 06-01 specifically called on operators to ensure that
individuals critical to damage prevention at construction sites are
qualified to perform the necessary safety tasks. These tasks include
one-call notifications, line locating and marking, and inspection of
construction activities. In Advisory Bulletin 02-01, published in the
Federal Register on May 24, 2002 (67 FR 36667), we pointed to the best
practices on damage prevention found in the Common Ground Study and
urged operators to follow them (see http://ops.dot.gov/init/prevent/damage.htm
). The Common Ground Alliance is continuing the work on
developing best practices begun with the Common Ground Study. These
best practices are widely accepted as providing the basis for
conducting safe locating excavation near pipelines.
Investigations by PHMSA and its State partners continue to show
that the pipeline operators involved in construction related incidents
may not always comply with Federal pipeline safety regulations or their
own construction and maintenance practices. Among the problems
discovered are the following:
Pipeline operators do not always follow their procedures
for constructing, repairing, ditching, and backfilling in areas where
there are existing pipelines. Typically, procedures prohibit machine
excavation within two feet of existing pipelines.
Inspectors working for pipeline operators at construction
sites sometimes fail to assist the operator's employees, the operator's
contractors, and third-party construction contractors in verifying the
marked locations of the existing pipeline facilities.
Operators do not always verify pipeline ``as-built''
drawings and make them available to locators and excavators at
construction sites before activities began.
Operators do not always mark pipelines at cross-overs.
In locations with parallel pipelines, operators sometimes
mark the wrong pipeline.
Pipeline operators do not always correctly mark all
pipelines in the vicinity of the construction and maintenance
activities, and sometimes fail to assign personnel skilled enough to
observe excavation and backfilling tasks.
Good procedures can prevent accidents only if they are followed.
II. Advisory Bulletin (ADB-06-03)
To: Owners and Operators of Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquid
Pipeline Systems.
Subject: Accurately Locating and Marking Underground Pipelines
Before Construction-Related Excavation Activities Commence Near the
Pipelines.
Advisory: Construction-related excavation damage continues to be
one of the three leading causes of pipeline damage. PHMSA continues to
find pipeline operators damaging regulated pipelines, production and
gathering pipelines, and other utilities adjacent to where construction
and maintenance is being performed. This damage jeopardizes the safety
of excavators, pipeline employees, construction personnel, and others
in the vicinity of the excavation. To guard the integrity of buried
pipelines and prevent injury, death, and property and environmental
damage, PHMSA advises pipeline operators to take the following damage
prevention measures:
Use safe locating excavation practices. Follow your
procedures and processes for excavation and backfill. When constructing
a new pipeline, honor the marking of existing pipelines.
Locate and mark pipelines accurately before locating
excavation begins. Do not rely solely on maps, drawings, or other
written materials to locate pipelines.
Make sure that individuals locating and marking the
pipelines have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to read and
understand pipeline alignment and as-built drawings, and that they know
what other buried utilities exist in the construction area.
Make sure that individuals locating and marking the
pipelines have up-to-date pipeline alignment and as-built drawings.
Make sure that individuals locating and marking the
pipelines are familiar with state and local requirements on marking.
Mark all pipelines, including laterals. This is especially
important in areas where there is a considerable amount of new pipeline
and utility construction.
Consider environmental conditions such as rain and snow
when selecting marking methods.
In areas where the pipelines are curved or make sharp
bends to avoid other utilities or obstructions, consider the visibility
and frequency of markers.
Confirm the accuracy of pipe locating before excavation
begins. This applies when the pipeline operator conducts the excavation
using its own employees, a contractor, or a third party.
[[Page 67704]]
Use qualified personnel for locating and marking
pipelines. At a minimum, they should have received appropriate training
such as that outline in the National Utility Locating Contractors
Association locator training standards and practices.
Make sure excavators have sufficient information about
underground pipelines at the construction site to avoid damage to the
pipeline. Facilitate communication during the construction activity.
Calibrate tools and equipment used for line locating and
make sure they are in proper working order.
Individually mark pipelines located within the same trench
where possible.
Follow the best practices on locating and marking
pipelines developed by the Common Ground Alliance.
When pipelines are hit or almost his during excavation,
evaluate the practices and procedures in use before continuing the
construction activity.
Operators should use the full range of safe locating excavation
practices. In particular, pipeline operators should ensure the use of
qualified personnel to accurately locate and mark the location of its
underground pipelines.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. chapter 601; 49 CFR 1.53.
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 17, 2006.
Jeffrey D. Wiese,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety
[FR Doc. 06-9354 Filed 11-17-06; 3:36 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-10-M