State Corporation Commission — Pipeline Safety Interpretation

Page 1Mr. Eddie Abeyta Director, Pipeline Division State Corporation Commission P. O. Drawer 1269 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 Dear Mr. Abeyta: This refers to your telephone inquiry of August 30, 1979, and follow-up letter of September 4, 1979, concerning a leak underneath a building located over a service line which was installed in 1955. You have asked whether under section 192.13(b), replacement on August 22, 1878, of a portion of the service line between the main and customer property line makes the entire service line subject to the design and construction requirements of 49 CFR Part 192. To confirm our earlier answer, the purpose of section 192.13(b) is to make the design and construction requirements of Part 192 apply to segments of existing pipelines (existing as of November 12, 1970, in the case of a service line) that are subsequently replaced, relocated, or otherwise changed. Accordingly, any segment of an existing pipeline that is not so changed need not meet the design and construction requirements. The portion of the service line that was replaced constitutes a "segment of pipeline" within the meaning of section 192.13(b) and the definition of "pipeline" under section 192.3 Thus, the remaining segment of the service line between the property line and gas meters need not meet the design and construction requirements of Part 192 because it was installed prior to November 12, 1970, and has not since been replaced, relocated, or otherwise changed. Sincerely, /signed/ Cesar DeLeon Associate Director for Pipeline Safety Regulation Materials Transportation Bureau DB C:\WP51\INTERPRT\192\13\79-10-24 1#