|
U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 60108. Inspection and maintenance
(a) Plans. - (1) Each person owning or operating an intrastate
gas pipeline facility or hazardous liquid pipeline facility shall
carry out a current written plan (including any changes) for
inspection and maintenance of each facility used in the
transportation and owned or operated by the person. A copy of the
plan shall be kept at any office of the person the Secretary of
Transportation considers appropriate. The Secretary also may
require a person owning or operating a pipeline facility subject to
this chapter to file a plan for inspection and maintenance for
approval.
(2) If the Secretary or a State authority responsible for
enforcing standards prescribed under this chapter decides that a
plan required under paragraph (1) of this subsection is inadequate
for safe operation, the Secretary or authority shall require the
person to revise the plan. Revision may be required only after
giving notice and an opportunity for a hearing. A plan required
under paragraph (1) must be practicable and designed to meet the
need for pipeline safety and must include terms designed to enhance
the ability to discover safety-related conditions described in
section 60102(h)(1) of this title. In deciding on the adequacy of a
plan, the Secretary or authority shall consider -
(A) relevant available pipeline safety information;
(B) the appropriateness of the plan for the particular kind of
pipeline transportation or facility;
(C) the reasonableness of the plan; and
(D) the extent to which the plan will contribute to public
safety and the protection of the environment.
(3) A plan required under this subsection shall be made available
to the Secretary or State authority on request under section 60117
of this title.
(b) Inspection and Testing. - (1) The Secretary shall inspect and
require appropriate testing of a pipeline facility subject to this
chapter that is not covered by a certification under section 60105
of this title or an agreement under section 60106 of this title.
The Secretary shall decide on the frequency and type of inspection
and testing under this subsection on a case-by-case basis after
considering the following:
(A) the location of the pipeline facility.
(B) the type, size, age, manufacturer, method of construction,
and condition of the pipeline facility.
(C) the nature and volume of material transported through the
pipeline facility.
(D) the pressure at which that material is transported.
(E) climatic, geologic, and seismic characteristics (including
soil characteristics) and conditions of the area in which the
pipeline facility is located.
(F) existing and projected population and demographic
characteristics of the area in which the pipeline facility is
located.
(G) for a hazardous liquid pipeline facility, the proximity of
the area in which the facility is located to an area that is
unusually sensitive to environmental damage.
(H) the frequency of leaks.
(I) other factors the Secretary decides are relevant to the
safety of pipeline facilities.
(2) To the extent and in amounts provided in advance in an
appropriation law, the Secretary shall decide on the frequency of
inspection under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The Secretary
may reduce the frequency of an inspection of a master meter system.
(3) Testing under this subsection shall use the most appropriate
technology practicable.
(c) Pipeline Facilities Offshore and in Other Waters. - (1) In
this subsection -
(A) "abandoned" means permanently removed from service.
(B) "pipeline facility" includes an underwater abandoned
pipeline facility.
(C) if a pipeline facility has no operator, the most recent
operator of the facility is deemed to be the operator of the
facility.
(2)(A) Not later than May 16, 1993, on the basis of experience
with the inspections under section 3(h)(1)(A) of the Natural Gas
Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 or section 203(l)(1)(A) of the
Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, as appropriate, and
any other information available to the Secretary, the Secretary
shall establish a mandatory, systematic, and, where appropriate,
periodic inspection program of -
(i) all offshore pipeline facilities; and
(ii) any other pipeline facility crossing under, over, or
through waters where a substantial likelihood of commercial
navigation exists, if the Secretary decides that the location of
the facility in those waters could pose a hazard to navigation or
public safety.
(B) In prescribing standards to carry out subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph -
(i) the Secretary shall identify what is a hazard to navigation
with respect to an underwater abandoned pipeline facility; and
(ii) for an underwater pipeline facility abandoned after
October 24, 1992, the Secretary shall include requirements that
will lessen the potential that the facility will pose a hazard to
navigation and shall consider the relationship between water
depth and navigational safety and factors relevant to the local
marine environment.
(3)(A) The Secretary shall establish by regulation a program
requiring an operator of a pipeline facility described in paragraph
(2) of this subsection to report a potential or existing
navigational hazard involving that pipeline facility to the
Secretary through the appropriate Coast Guard office.
(B) The operator of a pipeline facility described in paragraph
(2) of this subsection that discovers any part of the pipeline
facility that is a hazard to navigation shall mark the location of
the hazardous part with a Coast-Guard-approved marine buoy or
marker and immediately shall notify the Secretary as provided by
the Secretary under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. A marine
buoy or marker used under this subparagraph is deemed a pipeline
sign or right-of-way marker under section 60123(c) of this title.
(4)(A) The Secretary shall establish a standard that each
pipeline facility described in paragraph (2) of this subsection
that is a hazard to navigation is buried not later than 6 months
after the date the condition of the facility is reported to the
Secretary. The Secretary may extend that 6-month period for a
reasonable period to ensure compliance with this paragraph.
(B) In prescribing standards for subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph for an underwater pipeline facility abandoned after
October 24, 1992, the Secretary shall include requirements that
will lessen the potential that the facility will pose a hazard to
navigation and shall consider the relationship between water depth
and navigational safety and factors relevant to the local marine
environment.
(5)(A) Not later than October 24, 1994, the Secretary shall
establish standards on what is an exposed offshore pipeline
facility and what is a hazard to navigation under this subsection.
(B) Not later than 6 months after the Secretary establishes
standards under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, or October 24,
1995, whichever occurs first, the operator of each offshore
pipeline facility not described in section 3(h)(1)(A) of the
Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 or section 203(l)(1)(A) of
the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, as appropriate,
shall inspect the facility and report to the Secretary on any part
of the facility that is exposed or is a hazard to navigation. This
subparagraph applies only to a facility that is between the high
water mark and the point at which the subsurface is under 15 feet
of water, as measured from mean low water. An inspection that
occurred after October 3, 1989, may be used for compliance with
this subparagraph if the inspection conforms to the requirements of
this subparagraph.
(C) The Secretary may extend the time period specified in
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph for not more than 6 months if
the operator of a facility satisfies the Secretary that the
operator has made a good faith effort, with reasonable diligence,
but has been unable to comply by the end of that period.
(6)(A) The operator of a pipeline facility abandoned after
October 24, 1992, shall report the abandonment to the Secretary in
a way that specifies whether the facility has been abandoned
properly according to applicable United States Government and State
requirements.
(B) Not later than October 24, 1995, the operator of a pipeline
facility abandoned before October 24, 1992, shall report to the
Secretary reasonably available information related to the facility,
including information that a third party possesses. The information
shall include the location, size, date, and method of abandonment,
whether the facility has been abandoned properly under applicable
law, and other relevant information the Secretary may require. Not
later than April 24, 1994, the Secretary shall specify how the
information shall be reported. The Secretary shall ensure that the
Government maintains the information in a way accessible to
appropriate Government agencies and State authorities.
(C) The Secretary shall request that a State authority having
information on a collision between a vessel and an underwater
pipeline facility report the information to the Secretary in a
timely way and make a reasonable effort to specify the location,
date, and severity of the collision. Chapter 35 of title 44 does
not apply to this subparagraph.
(7) The Secretary may not exempt from this chapter an offshore
hazardous liquid pipeline facility only because the pipeline
facility transfers hazardous liquid in an underwater pipeline
between a vessel and an onshore facility.
(d) Replacing Cast Iron Gas Pipelines. - (1) The Secretary shall
publish a notice on the availability of industry guidelines,
developed by the Gas Piping Technology Committee, for replacing
cast iron pipelines. Not later than 2 years after the guidelines
become available, the Secretary shall conduct a survey of gas
pipeline operators with cast iron pipe in their systems to
establish -
(A) the extent to which each operator has adopted a plan for
the safe management and replacement of cast iron;
(B) the elements of the plan, including the anticipated rate of
replacement; and
(C) the progress that has been made.
(2) Chapter 35 of title 44 does not apply to the conduct of the
survey.
(3) This subsection does not prevent the Secretary from
developing Government guidelines or standards for cast iron gas
pipelines as the Secretary considers appropriate.
|
|