Mehlville Fire Protection District — Pipeline Safety Interpretation

Page 1PI-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 2Mehlville 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#