# Oil, Chemical, & Atomic Workers International Union — Pipeline Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** PI-91-005  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 1991-02-06

PI-91-005 response to Oil, Chemical, & Atomic Workers International Union concerning 199.3.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

February 6, 1991
Mr. Dan C. Edwards
International Representative
Oil, Chemical, & Atomic Workers
International Union
P. O. Box 21635
Billings, MT 59104
Dear Mr. Edwards:
I am responding to your letter of December 11, 1990, to Bea Vandervalk. You asked whether
employees in petroleum refineries are subject to drug testing under the drug testing regulations in 49
CFR Part 199.
A person is subject to drug testing under Part 199 when that person performs on a pipeline or liquefied
natural gas (LNG) facility an operation, maintenance, or emergency-response function that is regulated
by 49 CFR Part 192, 193, or 195. (See the Part 199 definition of "employee.") Thus, unless Part 192,
193, or 195, has a safety standard that governs the function, the person who does the function is not
subject to drug testing under Part 199.
Employees at petroleum refineries usually are not subject to drug testing under Part 199, because Parts
192, 193, and 195 do not apply to piping in refineries. On occasion, however, the operator of a
pipeline or LNG facility may arrange with a refinery to do a function that is necessary to satisfy a safety
standard in Part 192, 193, or 195 governing operation, maintenance, or emergency-response on the
pipeline or LNG facility. Then, the finery employee who does the function would be subject to drug
testing under Part 199.
Section 195.406(b) contains a requirement that a pipeline operator possibly could meet through the
action of a refinery employee. Under this section, each operator must provide adequate controls and
protective equipment to control the pressure of hazardous liquid pipelines within a prescribed limit.
Any person who does a function to provide this pressure control for a pipeline operator would be
subject to drug testing under Part 199. Such a person might include a refinery employee who operates
a pump that feeds a pipeline or who monitors pumping pressures.
John Land is Chief of Pipeline Safety for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the State
agency that enforces Part 199 against intrastate operators in Louisiana. I am sending him a copy of this
letter to assure that he understands the limits of Part 199 regarding refineries. This should help resolve
any differences you may have had with that agency regarding Part 199. There is no formal way for you
to work through the Department of Transportation to bring charges against Louisiana.
dal/199.1
91-02-06.1

<<<PAGE 2>>>

I have enclosed a copy of Part 199. Please let me know if you need any further assistance in
understanding the Part 199 drug testing requirements.
Sincerely,
George W. Tenley, Jr.
Associate Administrator for
Pipeline Safety
dal/199.1
91-02-06.1

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/pipeline/interpretations/76306/pi-91005.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `06ccce3cdbc8b8b3c2f2c18c61398cb3a4bfaab610d472de449b16ac40ddeeb2`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-22T22:29:19.269Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-pi-91-005`

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