# Repair of steel pipe.

**Citation:** 49 CFR 192.309  
**Type / status:** regulation / current  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** 2026-08-18  
**Published:** Not stated

(a) Each imperfection or damage that impairs the serviceability of a length of steel pipe must be repaired or removed. If a repair is made by grinding, the remaining wall thickness must at least be equal to either:

(1) The minimum thickness required by the tolerances in the specification to which t

## Document text

(a) Each imperfection or damage that impairs the serviceability of a length of steel pipe must be repaired or removed. If a repair is made by grinding, the remaining wall thickness must at least be equal to either:

(1) The minimum thickness required by the tolerances in the specification to which the pipe was manufactured; or

(2) The nominal wall thickness required for the design pressure of the pipeline.

(b) Each of the following dents must be removed from steel pipe to be operated at a pressure that produces a hoop stress of 20 percent, or more, of SMYS, unless the dent is repaired by a method that reliable engineering tests and analyses show can permanently restore the serviceability of the pipe:

(1) A dent that contains a stress concentrator such as a scratch, gouge, groove, or arc burn.

(2) A dent that affects the longitudinal weld or a circumferential weld.

(3) In pipe to be operated at a pressure that produces a hoop stress of 40 percent or more of SMYS, a dent that has a depth of:

(i) More than 1/4 inch (6.4 millimeters) in pipe 12 3/4 inches (324 millimeters) or less in outer diameter; or

(ii) More than 2 percent of the nominal pipe diameter in pipe over 12 3/4 inches (324 millimeters) in outer diameter.

For the purpose of this section a “dent” is a depression that produces a gross disturbance in the curvature of the pipe wall without reducing the pipe-wall thickness. The depth of a dent is measured as the gap between the lowest point of the dent and a prolongation of the original contour of the pipe.

(c) Each arc burn on steel pipe to be operated at a pressure that produces a hoop stress of 40 percent, or more, of SMYS must be repaired or removed. If a repair is made by grinding, the arc burn must be completely removed and the remaining wall thickness must be at least equal to either:

(1) The minimum wall thickness required by the tolerances in the specification to which the pipe was manufactured; or

(2) The nominal wall thickness required for the design pressure of the pipeline.

(d) A gouge, groove, arc burn, or dent may not be repaired by insert patching or by pounding out.

(e) Each gouge, groove, arc burn, or dent that is removed from a length of pipe must be removed by cutting out the damaged portion as a cylinder.

[35 FR 13257, Aug. 19, 1970, as amended by Amdt. 192-1, 35 FR 17660, Nov. 17, 1970; Amdt. 192-85, 63 FR 37503, July 13, 1998; Amdt. 192-88, 64 FR 69664, Dec. 14, 1999]

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.ecfr.gov/on/2026-08-18/title-49/section-192.309>
- Source ID: `ecfr`
- SHA-256: `694cd260325685f3b214a2e9fe9bf5a7af3432e7fd182578ef62d94f33427cdc`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T05:54:34.435Z
- Exported: 2026-08-23T09:01:33.664Z
- Document slug: `49-cfr-192-309`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "cfrTitle": 49,
  "part": "192",
  "section": "192.309",
  "subpart": "Subpart G—General Construction Requirements for Transmission Lines and Mains",
  "corpusVersion": "2026-08-18",
  "jurisdiction": "US"
}
```