{"operation":"document","citation":"PI-10-0014","title":"City of LaGrange — Pipeline Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2014-06-10","effective_on":null,"summary":"PI-10-0014 response to City of LaGrange concerning 192.3.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-10-0014.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-10-0014.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-10-0014","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/2010/LaGrange-PI-10-0014-08-11-2011-Part_192.3.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nAUG II zon\nMr. Patrick Bowie\nDirector of Utilities\nCity of LaGrange\nP.O. Box 430\nLaGrange, GA 30241\nDear Mr. Bowie:\nOn August 10, 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's Office of\nPipeline Safety (OPS) issued a letter of interpretation on the regulatory status of your landfill gas\nsystem. OPS concluded that the pipeline that originates at the outlet of your compressor station\nand delivers gas downstream to a large volume customer is a transmission line. ( 49 CFR 192.3.)\nOPS also stated, in resfonding to your request to affirm, clarify, or rescind a March 12, 1992,\nletter of interpretation, that the agency had established new requirements for \"onshore gas\ngathering lines\" in a March 2006 final rule (71 FR 13302), and that those requirements\n\"chang[ed] the agency's approach from that which was employed in the early 1990s.\"\nBy letter dated August 13, 20 I 0, you asked OPS to provide further clarification on the regulatory\nstatus of your landfill gas system. Specifically, you asked whether the facilities located upstream\nof the outlet for the compressor station and on the landfill grounds are part of a gathering line or\nproduction facility.2 You stated that OPS and the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC)\nhave indicated that those facilities are used for the onshore gathering of gas, but that you believe\nthey should be classified as production facilities.\nThe gas pipeline safety requirements at 49 CFR Part 192 are generally applicable to \"pipeline\nfacilities and the transportation of gas, including pipeline facilities and the transportation of gas\nwithin the limits of the outer continental shelf as that term is defined in the Outer Continental\nShelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331).\" (49 CFR 192.1(a).) The requirements do not, however,\napply to the \"[o]nshore gathering of gas ... [t]hrough a pipeline that operates at less than 0 psig\n(0 kPa),\" or \"[t]hrough a pipeline that is not a regulated onshore gathering line (as determined at\n§ 192.8).\" (49 CFR 192.1(b)(4)(i)-(ii).)\n1 In the Matter of Mr. Edward M Steele, PHMSA lnterp. # Pl-92-010 (Mar. 12, 1992).\n2 According to the information submitted with your letter, the following facilities are located on the grounds ofthe\nLaGrange landfill: (1) a series of perforated vertical and horizontal pipes, which are installed in the landfill cells for\ngas collection, (2) a dual blower system, which creates a vacuum to pull the gas through the collection system, (3) a\nmixer tank and valve, which is used to direct the gas either to a flare or to a set of dual compressors, (4) the dual\ncompressors, which are used to increase the pressure of the gas to 35 to 45 psi, and (5) an air cooler and chiller\nsystem, which reduces the gas temperature to remove excess moisture and contaminants prior to delivery.\nThe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety provides written clarifications of the Regulations (49 CFR\nParts 190-199) in the form of interpretation letters. These letters reflect the agency's current application ofthe regulations to the specific facts\npresented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations do not create legally-enforceable rights or obligations and are provided to\nhelp the public understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n2\nA gathering line is generally defined at 49 CFR 192.3 as \"a pipeline that transports gas from a\ncurrent production facility to a transmission line or main.\" The definition of an onshore gas\ngathering line is further refined by the provisions in the American Petroleum Institute\nRecommended Practice 80, \"Guidelines for the Definition of Onshore Gas Gathering Lines,\"\n(1st Edition, April 2000) (API RP 80), a consensus industry standard incorporated into 49 CFR\nPart 192 by reference, with certain limitations. (49 CFR 192.7-192.8.)\nSpecifically, 49 CFR 192.8(a) states that \"[a]n operator must use API RP 80 ... to determine if\nan onshore pipeline (or part of a connected series of pipelines) is an onshore gathering line.\"\n49 CFR 192.8(a)(l) further states that \"[t]he beginning of gathering, under section 2.2(a)(l) of\nAPI RP 80, may not extend beyond the furthermost downstream point in a production operation\nas defined in section 2.3 of API RP 80.\"\nWith regard to the two referenced provisions, section 2.2(a)(l) of API RP 80 states, in relevant\npart, that a gathering line is \"any pipeline or part of a connected series of pipelines used to ...\ntransport gas from the furthermost downstream point in a production operation to the furthermost\ndownstream of [certain specified] endpoints.\" Section 2.3 of API RP 80 states that a production\noperation is \"piping and equipment used for production and preparation for transportation or\ndelivery of hydrocarbon gas and/or liquids and includes the following processes: (a) extraction\nand recovery, lifting, stabilization, treatment, separation, production processing, storage, and\nmeasurement ofhydrocarbon gas and/or liquids; and (b) associated production compression, gas\nlift, gas injection, or fuel gas supply.\"3\nYou stated that all of the facilities located upstream from the outlet to the compressor station are\nused for the extraction of gas and that these production facilities are not subject to the pipeline\nsafety requirements at 49 CFR Part 192. You rely on a March 12, 1992, letter of interpretation,\nand the absence of any contrary provision in the current regulations, to support that conclusion.\nIn the former interpretation, OPS considered the applicability of 49 CFR Part 192 to a landfill\ngas system in Gahanna, Ohio. As in this case, that system \"consist[ed] of a network of vacuum\nlines that collect gas from various wells in the landfill, a compressor station at the end of the\ncollection lines, and two pressurized lines that transport gas downstream from the compressor\nstation to industrial customers.\" Citing the definitions in effect at that time for gas transmission\n· and gathering lines, OPS stated in that letter that \"Part 192 does not apply to production\nfacilities.\" OPS then concluded that:\nIn the [Gahanna, Ohio] landfill system, the vacuum lines and compressor station\nare used to extract gas from the landfill. These facilities are, therefore, production\nfacilities, and are not subject to 49 CFR Part 192.\nAs noted in the response to your original request, PHMSA has issued regulations that are no\nlonger consistent with the above approach. Vacuum lines and other onshore gas gathering lines\n3 See also API RP 80, 2.3.1 (guidance on basic production operations), 2.4 (providing supplementary defmitions for\nuse in applying defmition for production operation).\nThe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety provides written clarifications of the Regulations\n( 49 CFR Parts 190-199) in the form of interpretation letters. These letters reflect the agency's current application of the regulations to the\nspecific facts presented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations do not create legally-enforceable rights or obligations and\nare provided to help the public understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n3\nthat operate at less than 0 psig are covered by a specific exemption at 49 CFR 192.1(b)(4)(i),4 a\nnew method for defining onshore gas gathering lines is codified at 49 CFR 192.7-192.8, and that\nmethod is based, in large part, on API RP 80, a consensus industry standard issued several years\nafter the March 12, 1992, letter of interpretation. OPS also recently concluded, in a March 8,\n2011, letter of interpretation, that the facilities located on the grounds of another landfill gas\nsystem were used for the onshore gathering of gas under the current regulations.5\nAccordingly, OPS concludes that the facilities located on the grounds of the LaGrange landfill\nbetween the outlet for the extraction wells and the outlet for the compressor station are used for\nthe onshore gathering of gas. Any vacuum lines and other facilities that operate at less than\natmospheric p~essure are exempt from the gas pipeline safety requirements. ( 49 CFR\n192.1 (b)( 4 )(i).) However, any facilities that operate at or above atmospheric pressure are part of\nan onshore gas gathering line. (49 CFR 192.7-192.8.)6\nI hope that you find this information helpful. If I can be of further assistance, please contact me\nat 202-366-4046.\ne\nDrrector, Division of\nStandards and Rulemaking\ncc: Danny L. McGriff\nDirector, Facilities Protection Unit\nGeorgia Public Service Commission\n4 As part of the rulemaking that led to the issuance of 49 CFR 192.1(b)(4)(i), PHMSA specifically referenced\n\"vacuum lines\" in discussing the gas pipeline facilities that would be covered by that exception. See 70 Fed. Reg.\n57536, 57543 (Oct. 3, 2005) (\"The proposal would exclude onshore gathering lines that operate under vacuum, or at\nless than atmospheric pressure. Any failure of a vacuum line would tend to draw air into the pipeline rather than\nrelease natural gas to the atmosphere. PHMSA believes this factor sufficiently reduces the level of risk so regulation\nis unnecessary. 49 CFR 192.1(b)(4) would be amended to exclude these vacuum lines from 49 CFR Part 192.\").\n5 See City of Glendale Water & Power, PHMSA Interp. # Pl-10-0016 (Mar. 8, 2011) (concluding that part of a\npipeline in a landfill gas system was a gathering line under 49 CFR Part 192).\n6 It is worth noting that the pipeline in the LaGrange system which delivers gas downstream to a large volume\ncustomer could still be regulated as a transmission line even if all of the facilities located on the landfill grounds\nwere used solely for the production of gas. See also API RP 80, 2.3.1.2 (stating \"that all or part of the gas from a\nproduction operation may go directly to a distribution facility, a transmission facility or a large volume end user\nwithout entering a gathering line.\").\nThe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety provides written clarifications of the Regulations\n( 49 CFR Parts 190-199) in the form of interpretation letters. These letters reflect the agency's current application of the regulations to the\nspecific facts presented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations do not create legally-enforceable rights or obligations and\nare provided to help the public understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n•\nLaGRANGE georgta\nSMA R T M 0 V E ®\nAugust 13, 2010\nMr. John A. Gale\nDirector, Office of Regulations\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\n'v'v'ashingtoil, D.C. 20590\nMr. Gale:\nI have received your letter of interpretation dated August 10, 2010 regarding the City of\nLaGrange's landfill gas operation. I tried to reach you by phone last week but was\nunsuccessful, so hopefully this letter will adequately convey my continuing concerns.\nThe question that was asked does not appear to have been answered (\"whether or not\nthe piping in a landfill gas collection system meets the definition of 'gathering line'\nunder 49 CFR Part 192.3\"). We are for the moment focused solely on the equipment\nlocated within the landfill boundaries and not on the pipeline that delivers gas from the\nlandfill to consumers.\nPHMSA's interpretati. on letter #PI-92~ 010 clearly states \"In a landfill system, the vacuum\nlines and compressor st ation are used to extract gas from the landfill. These facilities\nare, therefore, production facilities ... \" On the other hand, we provided you with a\nrecent email from PHMSA and a letter from the Georgia Public Service Commission\nstating that this same equipment is considered gathering lines. We tend to agree with\nthe original letter of interpretation because the landfill gas system does not appear to\nsatisfy the definitions in API RP-80 \"Guidelines for the Definition of Onshore Gas\nGathering Lines\", and we cannot identify any policy changes or rulemaking activities\nthat would have affe. ct~d : this conclusion. The \"Final Rule for Gas Gathering Line\nDefinition; Alternativen1!efinition for Onshore Lines . and New Safety\" referenced in your\nletter made certain on-shore, rural gathering lines jurisdictional and did not address\nlandfill gas collection systems.\nCITY OF LAGRANGE\nOFFICE OF THE PUBLIC UTILITIES DIRECTOR\nP.O. Box 430· LaGrange, Georgia 30241 • (706) 883-20 10· Fax (706) 883-2020\nemail -pbowie@lagrange.net\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nIt would be greatly appreciated if you could take another look at my request for\ninterpretation and provide some assistance in resolving this continuing contradiction.\nSincerely,\nPatrick Bowie\nDirector of Utilities\nc: Danny McGriff, Director, Georgia Pubiic Service Commission\nKelli Leaf, Staff Attorney, Georgia Public Service Commission","truncated":false,"body_characters":12966}