{"operation":"document","citation":"PI-76-063","title":"Marshall, Hawks, McKinney & Hendrix — Pipeline Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1976-09-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"PI-76-063 response to Marshall, Hawks, McKinney & Hendrix concerning 192.457.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-76-063.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-76-063.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-76-063","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1976/PI76063.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nSeptember 17, 1976\nMr. William T. Nichols\nMarshall, Hawks, McKinney & Hendrix\n810 Merchants National Bank Building\nTopeka, Kansas 66612\nDear Mr. Williams:[sic]\nThis responds to your letter of August 13, 1976, concerning gas pipeline distribution systems in\nmobile home parks.\nWith respect to a system serving individual mobile home sites, you ask whether \"the ultimate user\nof the gas is the occupant of the individual mobile home and consequently, the service line is the\nline running to a meter measuring the usage at the individual mobile home or to the piping of the\nindividual mobile home.\" In such a system, the \"ultimate user\" or consumer of the gas would be\nthe mobile home owner or tenant as long as that owner or tenant is consuming all the gas\npurchased himself and not reselling and distributing any part of the gas to others. The service line\nwould be that pipeline running between a main and the consumer's piping or a meter which\nmeasures the transfer of gas to the consumer, whichever is farther downstream. The consumer's\npiping is that piping which is within the possession of the consumer.\nSecondly, you ask whether the service lines downstream from a master meter are \"considered as\nservice lines of the gas distribution company which had also transported the natural gas up to the\npoint of the master meter, even though the lines downstream of the master meter were not initially\ninstalled by the gas distribution company.\" The service lines downstream of a master meter would\nonly be those of the gas distribution company if that company owns the line. If it does not own\nthe lines, the company may nonetheless be responsible for the compliance of those lines with Part\n192 if it operates the lines. These statements are consistent with Sec. 8 of the Natural Gas\nPipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 USC 1677) which designates persons engaged in the\ntransportation of gas or who own or operate pipeline facilities as persons responsible for\ncompliance with the Federal standards. We do not consider a person to be \"engaged in the\ntransportation of gas\" unless that person owns or operates the pipeline involved in the\ntransportation.\ndal\\192\\457\\76-09-17\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nGenerally speaking, where the owner of a mobile home park buys gas from a public utility via a\nmaster meter and then sells and distributes the gas by pipeline to others who consume the gas, the\npipeline and the park owner are subject to the jurisdiction of Part 192.\nWe trust that our response is helpful to you.\nSincerely,\nCesar DeLeon\nActing Director\nOffice of Pipeline\nSafety Operations\ndal\\192\\457\\76-09-17\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nMARSHALL, HAWKS, McKINNEY & HENDRIX\nAugust 13, 1976\nMr. Cesar DeLeon\nActing Director\nMaterials Transportation Bureau\nOffice of Pipeline Safety\n400 Seventh Street SW\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nRE: Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations,\nPart 192, Section 192.3\nInterpretation of definition of\nservice line\nDear Mr. DeLeon:\nOur firm represents the Greater Topeka Mobile Housing Association with regard to the manner in\nwhich natural gas is presently delivered to the occupants of individual mobile homes within mobile\nhome parks in Topeka. The questions we are asking your office to answer concern the\ninterpretation of the definition of service line.\nWhen natural gas service was first provided to mobile home parks some years ago, certain\nconditions were imposed before service would be provided. The most restrictive condition\nrequired the owner of the mobile home park to install, at his own expense, the distribution system\nwithin his park for delivery of the natural gas. The owner also has been required to maintain and\noperate these distribution systems, at his expense, since their installation. Service was initially\nprovided to the park at a master meter. The distribution system installed by the park owner was\nthen used to get the natural gas to the ultimate consumer, the mobile home occupant.\nNatural gas service is now being provided through distribution systems installed, owned and\nmaintained by the gas distribution companies in the newly constructed mobile home parks.\nThe definition of \"service line\" in Section 192.3 reads as follows:\n\" 'Service line' means a distribution line that transports gas from a common source of\nsupply to (1) a customer meter or the connection to a customer's piping, whichever is\nfurther downstream, or (2) the connection to a customer's piping if there is no customer\nmeter. A customer meter is the meter that measures the transfer of gas from an operator\nto a consumer.\"\ndal\\192\\457\\76-09-17\n3\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nOn May 10, 1973, the definition of \"service line\" was amended to read as above. A report was\nissued by the Office of Pipeline Safety at this time which accompanied the amendment, such\nreport appearing in the Federal Register, Volume 38, Number 68, Tuesday, April 10, 1973, at\npages 9083 and 9084.\nIn this report the Office of Pipeline Safety states that the Department of Transportation has\njurisdiction under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act to regulate the transportation of gas to the\npoint where it is used by the consumer. The report further states that the Office of Pipeline Safety\ndoes not feel that consumers owning lines that come within the definition of service line thereby\nbecome operators; that an operator means a person who engages in the transportation of gas; and\nthat transportation of gas means the gathering, transmission, or distribution of gas by pipeline or\nthe storage of gas in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce. The report also states that the\ntransportation of natural gas ends with the sale coupled with delivery of the gas to the ultimate\nconsumer so that, after the sale, the gas becomes a consumer item and is no longer in commerce.\nThe report further states that a service line is now defined as including a customer meter or the\nconnection to a customer's piping, whichever is further downstream and what constitutes a\ncustomer meter does not depend on its ownership, but rather its function which is to measure the\ntransfer of gas from an operator to an ultimate consumer. It is stated in the report that a master\nmeter is not a customer meter that measures the transfer of gas from an operator to a consumer as\nthe term is used in the amended definition of service line nor is the line upstream of a master meter\na service line.\nFurther, it is stated in the report that within a master meter system, a service line, as that term is\ndefined in the amended definition, transports gas from the distribution main to the customer meter\nmeasuring the transfer of gas to the ultimate user of the gas or to the connection to that user's\npiping if such connection is further downstream than the customer meter or if there is no customer\nmeter.\nWith regard to the situation involving our client, we interpret the definition of \"service line\", when\nconsidered with its accompanying report, to mean that when a master meter set-up exists in a\nmobile home park, a service line is that line downstream of the master meter which connects with\n(1) a sub-meter located at an individual mobile home site or (2) if no sub-meter exists, then the\nline connecting directly to the piping of the individual mobile home. It is our interpretation that\nthe ultimate user of the gas is the occupant of the individual mobile home and consequently, the\nservice line is the line running to a meter measuring the usage at the individual mobile home or to\nthe piping of the individual mobile home. We would like to be advised if the Office of Pipeline\nSafety agrees with our interpretation and if not, where the error in our interpretation lies.\nWe also need another interpretation from the Office of Pipeline Safety concerning a distribution\nsystem downstream of a master meter. It is our interpretation that the service lines downstream\nof a master meter are to be considered as service lines of the gas distribution company which had\ndal\\192\\457\\76-09-17\n4\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nalso transported the natural gas up to the point of the master meter, even though the lines\ndownstream of the master meter were not initially installed by the gas distribution company.\nPlease advise us as to the interpretation of the Office of Pipeline Safety.\nIn our opinion, to hold otherwise would require an interpretation making the owner of the mobile\nhome park, with a master meter system, to be an \"operator\" as that term is defined in Section\n192.3. This interpretation would also require the park owner to comply with all subparts of part\n192.\nThroughout the report accompanying the amendment of the definition of service line, the Office\nof Pipeline Safety premises its position in terms of protecting and watching over the public safety.\nTo be consistent with this position, we feel that the large gas distribution companies which\ntransport natural gas up to the point of entry into the mobile home parks, i.e., at the master meter,\nshould be determined to be also responsible as operators for the service lines downstream of the\nmaster meter. Because the primary business and purpose of the large gas distribution companies\nis to transport gas to the ultimate consumer, i.e., the occupant of the individual mobile home, we\nfeel it is entirely consistent to require that such companies be responsible for the public safety up\nto the point of delivery at the individual mobile home.\nWe feel it is extremely important that the members of the Association we represent be advised on\nthe questions we have presented.\nThe interpretations from the Office of Pipeline Safety concerning these questions will be greatly\nappreciated.\nThank you for your assistance in this matter.\nVery truly yours,\nMARSHALL, HAWKS, MCKINNEY & HENDRIX\nWilliam T. Nichols\ndal\\192\\457\\76-09-17\n5","truncated":false,"body_characters":9753}