{"operation":"document","citation":"PI-77-0107","title":"Pipeline Safety Interpretation PI-77-0107","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1977-10-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"PI-77-0107 concerning 192.1.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-77-0107.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-77-0107.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-77-0107","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1977/g77-10-17_IRELAND_192.1-nlmx.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nPI-77-0107\nOctober 17, 1977\nHonorable Andy Ireland\n1513 Longworth House\nOffice Building\nHouse of Representatives\nWashington, D.C. 20515\nDear Congressman Ireland:\nIn response to your letter of September 12, 1977, we are stating the views of the Materials\nTransportation Bureau on Mr. Jesse R. Lowe's comments about the Federal gas pipeline safety\nregulations.\nMr. Lowe questions the benefit of the regulations in light of statistics released by the National\nTransportation Safety Board, showing that in 1976 only 82 persons died in pipeline accidents while over\n44,000 persons were killed in highway accidents. Although it is true that deaths from pipelines are\nrelatively small when compared to other modes of transportation, gas pipelines present a potential for\ncatastrophe that the public will not tolerate without proper Government regulation of safety. If left\nunattended, the many thousands of gas leaks which annually occur nationwide could lead to major\ndisasters. For example, 20 of the 82 deaths in 1976 resulted from a single incident at a hotel in Fremont,\nNebraska. Gas leaking from a 2-inch plastic pipeline seeped into the hotel beneath frozen earth and\nconcrete where it exploded, destroying the hotel and damaging nearby buildings. Based in part on an\ninvestigation of this incident, the Office of Pipeline Safety Operations is developing new safety\nstandards for the installation of plastic pipe.\nWe do not believe that Mr. Lowe's assessment of his company's cost of compliance with the safety\nstandards should be taken as an example of the impact the standards have had on the gas industry. For\nthe most part, the standards have been based on actual safety practices followed by prudent gas operators\nor on self-imposed industrial standards. Viewed in this respect, we believe the true cost of compliance\nto the industry has not been much above the cost that would have been met in the absence of the Federal\nstandards.\nI would like to suggest that you advise Mr. Lowe that our procedures under 49 CFR Part 102 (copy\nenclosed) permit interested persons line him to request changes in the safety standards that are\nconsidered too burdensome or expensive in comparison with the benefits to be achieved. Mr. Lowe is\nalso free to request a waiver from compliance with any standard which appears to be inappropriate when\napplied to a particular situation.\nSincerely,\nJohn J. Fearnsides\nActing Director","truncated":false,"body_characters":2429}