# Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission — Pipeline Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** PI-93-014
- **title:** Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission — Pipeline Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 1993-04-01
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** PI-93-014 response to Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission concerning 192.3.
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-93-014.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-93-014.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-93-014
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/1993/PI93014.pdf
**body:**

<<<PAGE 1>>>

April 1, 1993
Mr. Paul Curl
Secretary
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive
P.O. Box 47250
Olympia, WA 98504-7250
Dear Mr. Curl:
We have considered your letter of December 30, 1992, notifying us the Washington Utilities and
Transportation Commission (WUTC) waived the definition of "main" in 49 CFR 192.3 for the
Washington Natural Gas Company. The waiver permits no more than two adjoining residential-
building customers to be supplied gas from a common pipeline without classifying that pipeline as
a "main."
We have no objection to the waiver from a safety standpoint. The circumstance are comparable
to those of previous waivers we approved that were granted in 1989 and 1990 by the Arizona
Corporation Commission and the Public Service Commission of Nevada.
As you know, WUTC did not have a certification or agreement in effect under Section 5 of the
Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, as amended (NGPSA), when the waiver was granted.
Because the authority of state agencies to waive a safety standard established under the NGPSA
depends on the existence of such certifications or agreements (49 App. U.S.C. 1674), we are
concerned about the legitimacy of the waiver. We believe this problem would be corrected if
WUTC would reissue the waiver to the Washington Natural Gas Company. WUTC need not
resubmit the waiver to us for further consideration after it is reissued.
Sincerely,
George W. Tenley, Jr.
Associate Administrator for
Pipeline Safety
dal\192.3\93-04-01
- **truncated:** false
- **body characters:** 1534
