# Mehlville Fire Protection District — Pipeline Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** PI-73-0114  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 1973-08-01

PI-73-0114 response to Mehlville Fire Protection District concerning 195.200.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

PI-73-0114
August 1, 1973
Mr. Joseph Enright, Inspector
Bureau of Fire Prevention
Mehlville Fire Protection District
11020 Mueller Road
St. Louis, MO 63123
Dear Mr. Enright:
This is in repsonse to your letter of July 13, 1973, requesting inforation pertaiing to rights-of-way for existing
pipelines.
Section 195.210(a) of the Federal liquid pipeline safety regulations (49 CFR) requries the pipeline right-of-way
to be selected “. . . to avoid, as far as practicable, areas contianing private dwellings, industrial buildings, and
places of public assembly.” Section 195.210(b) further requries that “No pipeline may be located within 50
feet of any private dwelling, or any industrial building or place of public assembly in which persons work,
congregate, or assemble, unless it is provided with at least 12 inches of cover in addition to that prescribed in
Ssection 195.248.” However, as stated in Section 195.200, these requirements are applicable only to the
construction of new pipeline systems with steel pipe, or for relocating, replacing, or otherwise chaging pipe.
These regulations became effective on April 1, 1970. It is not applicable to the construction of buildings in
relation to an existing pipeline. Enclosed is a copy of 49 CFR Part 195, covering the safety regulations for liquid
pipeline carriers.
Once the pipeline is in place, these regulations have no limitations on how close surface structures can be
placed to the pipeline. The 50-foot restriction in Section 195.210 applies only to installation of the pipeline
and does not affect any subsequent encroachment by the surface-holder. The width of the operator’s right-
of-way would be the only limiting factor. Easements and rights-of-way would be the only limiting factor.
Easements and rights-of-way are matters of local law and are not encompassed within the safety jurisdiction
of the Department of Transportation. Our regulations apply to pipelines and do not purport to apply to
buildings or other constructions.
We hope this information is helpful and if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Sincerely,
Original signed by;
Joseph C. Caldwell
Director
Office of Pipeline Safety

<<<PAGE 2>>>

Mehlville Fire Protection District
11020 Mueller Road
St. Louis, MO 63123
July 13, 1973
Department of Transportation
Office of Pipeline Safety
TSA-32
400 Sixth Street S. W.
Washington, D. C. 20590
Gentlemen:
We are interested in receiving any information regarding buildings being built on right-aways or directly over
the top of flammable liquid pipe lines.
Specifically, we are interested to know how far away buildings should be built from existing flammable liquid
pipe lines.
Please forward any information you might have to this office. Thank you!
Very truly yours,
MEHLVILLE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Joseph Enright
Inspector
Bureau of Fire Prevention

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1973/g73-08-01_Enright_195.200-DBx.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `6e82f4792179199367fdd48f3c4b3e6ddd2e570e3c3dc426f0ab147593605cd0`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-23T23:54:55.417Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-pi-73-0114`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "materialSubtype": "interpretation",
  "interpretationArea": "pipeline_safety",
  "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf",
  "companies": [
    "Mehlville Fire Protection District"
  ],
  "individuals": [
    "Mr. Joseph Enright"
  ],
  "refIds": [
    "PI-73-0114"
  ],
  "catalogDates": [
    "1973-08-01"
  ],
  "catalogParts": [
    195
  ],
  "catalogRowCount": 1,
  "sourceRecordUrls": [
    "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/63101"
  ],
  "linkedAttachmentUrls": [],
  "unavailableResponseUrls": [],
  "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [],
  "citedSections": [
    "195.200",
    "195.210(a)",
    "195.248"
  ],
  "catalogPageUrls": [
    "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/195200"
  ],
  "pdfUrls": [
    "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1973/g73-08-01_Enright_195.200-DBx.pdf"
  ],
  "representations": [
    {
      "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1973/g73-08-01_Enright_195.200-DBx.pdf",
      "detailUrl": null,
      "detailHtmlPath": null,
      "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1973/g73-08-01_Enright_195.200-DBx.pdf",
      "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/pi-73-0114.pdf",
      "pdfArtifactSha256": "14fb3b6d54f12a1e6c0ee763304e89a0d26fec86a64dd55f062604844622b6f7",
      "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/pi-73-0114.v2.txt",
      "extractedTextSha256": "b5a5399f97d608379819847b0f6de0b13853ec6af1195792322b3e3287e6bc0e",
      "pageCount": 2,
      "extractionVersion": 2
    }
  ],
  "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.",
  "jurisdiction": "US"
}
```