# Buckeye Pipe Line Company — Pipeline Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** PI-73-033  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 1973-11-05

PI-73-033 response to Buckeye Pipe Line Company concerning 195.248.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

Nov 5 1973
Mr. G. A. Chilcote
Manager, Engineering & Construction
Buckeye Pipe Line Company
P.O. Box 368
Emmaus, PA 18049
Dear Mr. Chilcote:
This refers to your letter of September 18, 1973, requesting an
interpretation of Section 195.248. Specifically, Buckeye is
requesting an interpretation of "impracticable" as used in
Section 195.248(b)(1) and an interpretation of "equivalent" as
used in Section 195.248(b)(2). The interpretation in these two
sections are requested to determine whether 48 inches of cover is
required pursuant to Sections 195.210(b) and 195.248(a) for
approximately half of the 17 miles of a 20-inch products pipeline
that Buckeye is preparing to lay across Middlesex County, New
Jersey.
The Office of Pipeline Safety considers that the term
"impracticable" means the carrier is incapable of complying with
the required pipeline cover. You itemized four factors which in
your opinion tend to make a 48-inch cover impracticable. The
first two items appear to be based on the high cost of
constructing this proposed pipeline, without any supporting
information on this cost. These two factors are not sufficient
reason to support your contention that the 48-inch cover is
impracticable. The last two items are based on possible future
occurrences and similarly cannot be used to substantiate that the
construction of this proposed pipeline is impracticable.
Since the regulations provided for additional protection
equivalent to the minimum cover required only when it is
impracticable to comply with the minimum cover requirements, the
additional protection Buckeye proposes is not applicable in this
case.
We trust that this has answered your particular inquiry. can be of further assistance, please let us know.
If we
Sincerely,
\signed\
Joseph C. Caldwell
Director
Office of Pipeline Safety
dal\195\248\73-11-05
1

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1973/PI73033.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `fed551a2f31c7cf09573aab26c1ae6a5d298fb3612898738dd50fd1751bbeccc`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-23T15:45:56.893Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-pi-73-033`

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```