# Arizona Corporation Commission — Pipeline Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** PI-92-025
- **title:** Arizona Corporation Commission — Pipeline Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 1992-07-09
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** PI-92-025 response to Arizona Corporation Commission concerning 192.451.
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-92-025.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-92-025.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-92-025
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1992/PI92025.pdf
**body:**

<<<PAGE 1>>>

Mr. Dan H. Weaklend
Chief, Pipeline Safety Utilities Division
Arizona Corporation Commission
1200 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear Mr. Weaklend:
Thank you for your letter of June 5, 1992, suggesting regulatory actions to improve operators'
corrosion control programs. Specifically, you suggested we drop the generic specification
approach found in Appendix D of Part 192, and adopt instead a system-specific approach. Under
this alternative, operators would (1) include corrosion control criteria and procedures in their
operating and maintenance plans, and (2) determine the cause of each corrosion leak and take
corrective action.
Because corrosion continues to be a major cause of pipeline accidents, we support your desire to
see that operators do as much as possible to correct the problem. We are concerned, though, that
deleting Appendix D, as suggested, would not solve the problem. Corrosion control is a complex
science, the principles of which do not vary from system to system. So we see no good reason to
allow variations in control criteria. In fact, lack of uniform criteria has been a problem in
enforcing corrosion control under Part 195, which specifies no corrosion control criteria. Non-
uniform criteria under Part 192 could further increase the enforcement workload by requiring
inspectors to verify the legitimacy of criteria operators put in their plans.
The Appendix D criteria were based on the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE)
Standard RP-01-69. NACE recently revised this standard, and we expect it will petition us to
adopt the revised version. The pipeline industry's use of this new standard should assure
consistent and correct corrosion control.
As for procedures and leak investigations, these topic are already regulated. Section 192.453
requires gas operators to follow procedures in applying corrosion control. Similar requirements
are in §193.2625 and §195.402(c)(3). Determining the cause of corrosion leaks is covered by
§§192.617, 193.2515, and 195.402(c). We agree that operators with numerous corrosion leaks
should be asked to explain their actions or lack of action, but the rules needed to require
operators to take proper corrective actions are already in the regulations.
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<<<PAGE 2>>>

If you have any further concern, please call Jim Thomas, Director, SouthWest Region at (703)
750 1746.
Sincerely,
/signed/
Cesar DeLeon, Director
Office of Pipeline Safety
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