Iowa Utilities Board — State Waiver

2013-0159stateofiowastatewaiver8-6-13.pdf, page 1Official PDFU.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington. DC 20590 Materials Safety Pipeline and Hazardous Administration AUG 6 2013 Mr. Donald J. Stursma, P. E. Manager, Safety and Engineering Section Iowa Utilities Board 1375 E. Court Avenue, Room 69 Des Moines, lowa 50319-0069 PHMSA-2013-0159 WRU-2013-0013-0776 WRU-2013-0016-0717 Dear Mr. Stursma: The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) reviewed your letter of July 2, 2013, notifying us that the lowa Utilities Board, approved, pending PHMSA's acceptance, a state waiver to the Cities of Alton and Mapleton, Iowa. The waiver grants modification of compliance with 49 CFR §192.285(c) as adopted by lowa pursuant to 49 USC 60105. This regulation requires a person making plastic pipe joints to be re-qualified under an applicable procedure if that person has not made any joints under that procedure during the preceding 12-month period, or has 3 joints or 3 percent of the joints made, whichever is greater, found unacceptable by testing under 49 CFR $192.513. The Cities of Alton and Mapleton requested this waiver to allow for flexibility in scheduling the qualification tests for city employees who make plastic pipe joints. The waiver would allow requalification tests to be conducted during the time of year when few joints are made, minimizing the impact of any delays prior to the construction season. Also, the "window" of time for action is consistent with the requirements of other regulations that require periodic action. PHMSA does not object to the waiver of 49 CFR $ 192.285(c) provided that the Cities of Alton and Mapleton, Iowa, each establish alternate qualification procedures for their respective employees as described below. This waiver is conditioned on certain actions to be taken by the Iowa Board. These conditions include requiring the Cities of Alton and Mapleton, Iowa, to establish written alternative qualification procedures to qualify a person making plastic pipe joints under an applicable procedure once each calendar year at intervals not exceeding 15 months, regardless of whether or not the person has made a plastic pipe joint within the calendar year; and to re-qualify a person after any production joint is found unacceptable by testing under $192.513.#

2013-0159stateofiowastatewaiver8-6-13.pdf, page 2Page 2 PHMSA-2013-0159 WRU-2013-0013-0776 WRU-2013-0016-0717 Mr. Donald Stursma, P.E. Iowa Utilities Board If you wish to discuss this or any other pipeline safety matter, my staff would be pleased to assist you. Please call John Gale, Director of Regulations at 202-366-0434 for regulatory matters or Kenneth Lee, Director of Engineering and Research, at 202-366-2694 for technical matters. Thank you for your continued efforts in pipeline safety. Sincerely Eviese Jeffrey D. Wiese Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety#