Interpretation Response #PI-20-0015
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: RCP Inc.
Individual Name: Mr. W. R. Byrd
Location State: TX Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
Mr. W. R. Byrd
RCP Inc.
801 Louisiana Street
Suite 200
Houston, TX 770002
Dear Mr. Byrd:
In an April 13, 2021, letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), you requested an interpretation of 49 CFR Part 195. Specifically, you requested an interpretation of § 195.454, which was adopted in the final rule titled, "Pipeline Safety: Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines," which became effective on October 1, 2019 (84 FR 52260).
You stated it is your understanding that the October 1, 2019, final rule was intended to address pipelines in a navigation channel more than 150 feet deep. You stated that while the legislation and the rule may have been written with deep water bodies in mind, both are written in a way that might apply to other pipelines that are directionally drilled deep below a shallow water body. Therefore, you asked PHMSA to clarify whether "the rule only applies to crossings of waterbodies that are themselves more than 150 feet deep – not to deep directional drills under shallow water bodies."
The requirements of § 195.454 apply to "any underwater hazardous liquid pipeline facility located in a high consequence area that is not an offshore pipeline facility and any portion of which is located at depths greater than 150 feet under the surface of the water." This provision was adopted in response to the self-executing provisions of section 25 of the 2016 PIPES Act, which requires operators of such pipelines to complete in-line inspection assessments appropriate to the integrity threats specific to those pipelines, no less frequently than once every 12 months. Section 25 of the 2016 PIPES Act also requires that operators use pipeline route surveys, depth of cover surveys, pressure tests, external corrosion direct assessment, or other technology that the operator demonstrates can further the understanding of the condition of the pipeline facility, as necessary to assess the integrity of those pipelines on a schedule based on the risk that the pipeline facility poses to the high consequence area in which the facility is located.
As explained at the time § 195.454 was adopted, "PHMSA determined that one pipeline, Enbridge Line 5 at Mackinaw [City], Michigan, meets the applicability requirements for this provision. This line consists of two 20-inch pipelines where it crosses the Straits of Mackinac, over a distance of approximately 5 miles." PHMSA did not interpret § 195.454 or Section 25 of the 2016 PIPES Act to apply to pipelines directionally drilled deep below the surface of a shallow water body. If a pipeline is installed and operated underwater at a depth greater than 150 feet under the surface of a body of water, similar to Enbridge Line 5, the operator of that pipeline would be subject to this regulation.
If we can be of further assistance, please contact Tewabe Asebe at 202-366-5523.
Sincerely,
John A. Gale
Director, Office of Standards
and Rulemaking