Pipeline Safety: Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America; Approved for Pipeline Risk Management Demonstration Program

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

[Docket No. RSPA-98-4034; Notice 15]

Pipeline Safety: Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America;

Approved for Pipeline Risk Management Demonstration Program

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration, Office of

Pipeline Safety, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of risk demonstration project approval and finding of no

significant impact.

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SUMMARY: The Research and Special Programs Administration's (RSPA)

Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) has issued a Risk Management

Demonstration Project Order authorizing Natural Gas Pipeline Company of

America (NGPL) to participate in the Pipeline Risk Management

Demonstration Program. OPS has also made a finding that NGPL's

demonstration project will have no significant impacts on the

environment.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this or any other demonstration project will be

accepted in the Docket throughout the 4-year demonstration period.

Comments should be sent to the Dockets Facility, U.S. Department of

Transportation, Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590-0001, or you can E-Mail your comments to

[email protected]. Comments should identify the docket number,

RSPA-98-4034. Persons should submit the original comment document and

one (1) copy. Persons wishing to receive confirmation of receipt of

their comments must include a self-addressed stamped postcard. The

Dockets Facility is located on the plaza level of the Nassif Building

in Room 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC. The Dockets

Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

on Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Callsen, OPS, (202) 366-

4572, regarding the subject matter of this notice and environmental

assessment. Contact the Dockets Unit, (202) 366-9322, for docket

material. Comments may also be reviewed on line at the DOT Docket

Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Project Authorization

On December 31, 1998, OPS, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 60126, issued NGPL

a Risk

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Management Demonstration Project Order authorizing NGPL to conduct a

risk management project on the pipeline system it operates, covering

approximately 13,000 miles in 14 states. These states are Arkansas,

Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri,

Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. OPS has

determined, after a comprehensive review of NGPL's demonstration

project, that the project is expected to provide superior safety and

environmental protection.

More detailed descriptions of all aspects of the NGPL demonstration

project, including the OPS rationale for approving the project, are

available in the following documents:

(1) 63 FR 46497, ``Pipeline Safety: Intent To Approve Project and

Environmental Assessment for the Natural Gas Pipe Line Company of

America Pipeline Risk Management Demonstration Program'', September 1,

1998.

(2) ``Demonstration Project Prospectus: Natural Gas Pipeline

Company'', available by contacting Elizabeth M. Callsen at 202-366-

4572. Includes a map of the NGPL pipeline system.

(3) ``Natural Gas Pipeline Company--Application and Work Plan for

DOT-OPS Risk Management Demonstration Program'', as modified by the

December 18, 1998, letter from KN Energy, Inc. to OPS.

(4) ``OPS Project Review Team Evaluation of Phillips Demonstration

Project''.

(5) ``Risk Management Demonstration Project Order'' for Natural Gas

Pipeline Company, December 31, 1998.

These documents and other information pertaining to the NGPL

project are accessible to the public via the Pipeline Risk Management

Information System (PRIMIS), on the OPS Home Page at http://

ops.dot.gov.

Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

OPS has reviewed NGPL's project for conformity with section

102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332),

the Council on Environmental Quality implementing regulations (40 CFR

parts 1500-1508), and Department of Transportation Order 5610.1c,

Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts. OPS conducted an

Environmental Assessment of NGPL's project (63 FR 46497, ``Pipeline

Safety: Intent To Approve Project and Environmental Assessment for the

Natural Gas Pipe Line Company of America Pipeline Risk Management

Demonstration Program'').

OPS received no public comment on the Environmental Assessment.

Based on the analysis and conclusions reached in the Environmental

Assessment and the analyses conducted in the above-listed documents,

OPS has found that there are no significant impacts on the environment

associated with this action. The Environmental Assessment and the other

above-listed documents are incorporated by reference into this FONSI.

To summarize, the reason that the project will not have a significant

effect on the human environment is that the project as now defined

requires no regulatory exemption. This project is expected to

demonstrate that risk management techniques can be successfully applied

toward improving safety and environmental protection. All activities to

be performed by NGPL as part of the demonstration project--including

investigating risks, integrating risk information, identifying and

allocating resources to manage risks, institutionalizing risk

management within the company, and effectively communicating about

risks with company employees, OPS, and other stakeholders--exceed what

is currently required by pipeline safety regulations. This rationale is

further discussed in the Environmental Assessment referenced above.

When OPS determines that it plans to grant a regulatory exemption, it

will amend the Environmental Assessment to analyze any environmental

impacts of the proposed exemption.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 31, 1998.

Richard B. Felder,

Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety.

[FR Doc. 99-291 Filed 1-6-99; 8:45 am]

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