{"operation":"document","citation":"PI-23-0019","title":"Leesburg, LP — Pipeline Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2024-06-10","effective_on":null,"summary":"PI-23-0019 response to Leesburg, LP concerning 195.446.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-23-0019.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-23-0019.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-23-0019","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2024-06/LeesburgLP-PI-23-0019-06-10-2024-Part195.446.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration June 10, 2024\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nMs. Julie Lang\nDirector of Regulatory Compliance\nLeesburg, LP\n3963 Maple Avenue, Suite 300\nDallas, TX 75219\nDear Ms. Lang:\nIn a letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), dated\nSeptember 15, 2023, you requested an interpretation of the Federal pipeline safety regulations in\n49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 195 with respect to applying the control room\nmanagement (CRM) requirements under § 195.446 to a natural gas liquid (NGL) facility in\nCrockett County, Texas.\nYou stated during a recent Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) audit, RRC cited you stating,\n“Leesburg LP remotely monitors and operates 1.8 miles, [4-inch diameter] regulated NGL\npipeline and does not have a control room management plan. Leesburg personnel are capable of\nremotely operating pressure influencing equipment (pump) located upstream of the pipeline\nsystem and monitor pipeline pressures.” You mentioned the PHMSA CRM FAQ A.20 and\nbased on CRM FAQ A.20, Leesburg believes that for the CRM requirement to be applicable,\nLeesburg LP must have the ability to monitor and control the pipeline outside of the facility\nboundaries, but you do not believe that is the case with this pipeline system. You described your\npipeline system as follows:\n1. There are no pumps, sensors or remote-controlled valves \"outside the fence\" that affect or\ncould affect the 4-inch diameter NGL pipeline (Pipeline).\n2. The SCADA system is designed to monitor the liquids handling facility. The\ncomponents associated with the Pipeline are dedicated to sales product delivery and all\nlocated within the facility fence line.\n3. The pump referenced in the comment above must be manually started. Although the\npump can be remotely shut down, that decision would be based on completion of the\nsales process not due to pipeline conditions.\n4. The designed maximum pressure that the pump can operate is lower than the Pipeline\nmaximum operating pressure. Therefore, the pump has no ability to overpressure the\npipeline.\n5. In the event that abnormal operating conditions were detected on the pipeline (low or\nhigh pressure) the pump would shut down automatically.\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 of the regulations to the specific facts\npresented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations are not generally applicable, do not create legally-enforceable rights or\nobligations, and are provided to help the specific requestor understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nPage 2 of 3\n6. Leesburg personnel have no ability to control any portion of the Pipeline outside of the\nfence line.\nYou asked PHMSA if this pipeline system is required to meet the CRM requirements under\n§ 195.446.\nTo respond to your request, the applicable CRM requirement is reprinted below.\n§ 195.446 Control room management.\n(a) General. This section applies to each operator of a pipeline facility with a controller\nworking in a control room who monitors and controls all or part of a pipeline facility\nthrough a SCADA system. …\nA controller is defined as “a qualified individual who remotely monitors and controls the safety-\nrelated operations of a pipeline facility via a SCADA system from a control room, and who has\noperational authority and accountability for the remote operational functions of the pipeline.”\n49 CFR § 195.2.\nPHMSA CRM FAQ A.20 further clarifies that the control room management requirements may\nnot apply if an operator has a local control room and station personnel that monitor and control a\nlocal operation that is completely within the fenced boundary of the local facility.\nFrom your request, it is not clear to PHMSA if your system is monitored and controlled within a\nfenced boundary because you stated, “Leesburg personnel have no ability to control any portion\nof the pipeline outside of the fence line.” However, you have stated, “The pump referenced in\nthe comment above must be manually started. Although the pump can be remotely shut down,\nthat decision would be based on completion of the sales process not due to pipeline conditions.”\nThis remote shut down action would directly impact the pipeline system including that portion of\nthe pipeline beyond the fence line. Further, the manual action described to start the pump does\nnot eliminate the fact that this action can be directed by a controller.\nIn a separate communication, RRC asserts that your personnel are capable of remotely operating\npressure-influencing equipment (pump) located upstream of the pipeline system and monitoring\npipeline pressures.\nYour response is not clear who has responsibility for the pipeline outside of the fence line\nincluding that of detecting and responding to both abnormal operating and emergency\nconditions. You stated, “The designed maximum pressure that the pump can operate is lower\nthan the pipeline operating pressure. Therefore, the pump has no ability to overpressure the\npipeline.” But this does not address abnormal operating and emergency conditions associated\nwith a leak. Additionally, you stated, “In the event that abnormal operating conditions were\ndetected on the pipeline (low or high pressure) the pump would shut down automatically.”\nHowever, this statement is irrelevant to the determination of whether a control room exists.\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 of the regulations to the specific facts\npresented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations are not generally applicable, do not create legally-enforceable rights or\nobligations, and are provided to help the specific requestor understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nPage 3 of 3\nPHMSA interpretations reflect PHMSA’s current application of the regulations to the specific\nfacts presented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations are not generally\napplicable, do not create legally-enforceable rights or obligations, and are provided to help the\nspecific requestor understand how to comply with the regulations.\nBased on the information reviewed, including the fact that you utilize a SCADA system used by\nindividuals who monitor and control the pipeline, it seems that your facility is required to comply\nwith applicable CRM requirements under 49 CFR § 195.446. PHMSA recommends, however,\nthat the necessary facts to enable a more definitive conclusion should be determined through an\ninspection by RRC.\nIf we can be of further assistance, please contact Tewabe Asebe at 202-366-5523.\nSincerely,\nJohn A. Gale\nDirector, Office of Standards\nand Rulemaking\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 of the regulations to the specific facts\npresented by the person requesting the clarification. Interpretations are not generally applicable, do not create legally-enforceable rights or\nobligations, and are provided to help the specific requestor understand how to comply with the regulations.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nesburgLP\nSeptember 15, 2023\nMr. John Gale, Director\nStandards and Rulemaking\nOffice of Pipeline Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E.\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nRe: Request for Written Interpretation\nApplicability of Control Room Management\nDear Mr. Gale,\nLeesburg, LP owns and operates a Liquids Handling Facility with a regulated 4 inch NGL\npipeline located in Crockett County, Texas. During a recent Texas Railroad Commission\naudit, Leesburg was cited for an alleged violation for failure to have or follow written\ncontrol room management procedures that implement the requirements of 49 CFR 195.446\nwith the following comment, \"Leesburg LP remotely monitors and operates 1.8 miles of an\nNGL regulated pipeline and does not have a Control Room Management Plan. Leesburg\npersonnel are capable of remotely operating pressure influencing equipment (pump)\nlocated upstream of the pipeline system and monitor pipeline pressures.\" Leesburg\nrespectfully disagrees with the interpretation that the 4 inch pipeline is subject to this\nrequirement. Leesburg hereby requests a written interpretation regarding the applicability\nof 49 CFR § 195.446.\nControl Room Management FAQ A.20\nA.20 Does the CRM rule apply to a local control room and station personnel that monitor and control\na local operation that is completely within the fenced boundary of the local facility?\nField personnel who exclusively operate station equipment within the defined station boundaries (fence\nlines or property/map boundaries) and who are not responsible for connected pipelines beyond the\nboundaries are not considered to be remotely monitoring and controlling a pipeline. Therefore, such\npersonnel are not considered to be controllers. However, field personnel who operate station equipment\nwithin the station boundaries and also have either full-time or part-time control room operational\nresponsibility for connected regulated pipelines beyond the station boundaries are considered\ncontrollers.\nBased on the response to this FAQ, Leesburg contends that for the CRM requirement to be applicable\nthe Operator must have the ability to monitor AND control the pipeline outside of the facility\nboundaries. This is not the case in this scenario.\n3963 Maple Ave, Suite 300; Dallas, TX 75219\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nesburgLP\nWith respect to the aforementioned 4 inch NGL pipeline\n1. There are no pumps, sensors or remote controlled valves \"outside the fence\" that\naffect or could affect the 4 inch line.\n2. The SCADA system is designed to monitor the Liquids Handling Facility. The\ncomponents associated with the pipeline are dedicated to sales product delivery and all\nlocated within the facility fence line.\n3. The pump referenced in the comment above must be manually started. Although the\npump can be remotely shut down, that decision would be based on completion of the\nsales process not due to pipeline conditions.\n4. The designed maximum pressure that the pump can operate is lower than the pipeline\noperating pressure. Therefore the pump has no ability to overpressure the pipeline.\n5. In the event that abnormal operating conditions were detected on the pipeline (low or\nhigh pressure) the pump would shut down automatically.\n6. Leesburg personnel have no ability to control any portion of the pipeline outside of the\nfence line.\nBased on these circumstances, please confirm that the CRM requirements under 195.446\nwould NOT apple.\nPlease let me know if any additional information is needed. My contact information is\nbelow. Your prompt attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated.\nSincerely, _ ~\n~ ~\nDirector, Regulatory Compliance\nRepresenting Leesburg, LP\njlang@leesburglp.com\n817-312-5517\n3963 Maple Ave, Suite 300; Dallas, TX 75219","truncated":false,"body_characters":11484}