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Summary of Texas Railroad Commission Rule Chapter 18 - Underground Pipeline Damage Prevention
Effective September 1, 2007 |
On May 30, 2007 the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) approved new regulations "Chapter 18 - Underground Pipeline Damage Prevention" relating to pipeline facilities under jurisdiction of the RRC Chapter 18 became effective on September 1,2007.
Following are highlights of Chapter 18-this is not the complete rule! See the complete Chapter 18 for full information.
251 Plus Rule - Chapter 251 of the Texas Utilities Code remains in effect. If you were previously subject to it, you still must comply with its terms. The new Chapter 18, however, adds requirements, in addition to those in Ch. 251, for certain pipelines, excavators and others. Exemptions under Chapter 251 may not apply under Chapter 18.
16-Inch Rule - Applies to "movement of earth" - that is more than 16 inches deep and "in the vicinity of a pipeline" in Texas.
Ticket Life Rule -Ticket life for a notification is 14 working days unless otherwise agreed to in writing by excavator and operator.
Required Records Rule - Operators and excavators must maintain certain records for 4 years.
Positive Response Rule - Excavators must tell the notification center they wish to receive positive response. Methods can include: marks at the site, fax, phone email, pager or written correspondence. Operators must give positive response by method specified by excavator. Locators must attempt to notify an excavator of a customer-owned line.
Face-to-face meeting Rule - If a project is too large to white-line or is too expansive to describe on a locate request, the excavator and operator must meet face-to-face to establish; interval between notices to notification center (refresh); scope of each locate request: life of each locate; excavation schedule and when markings are to be made.
Specific Excavator Rules - Excavators must have a copy of a locate request available within an hour; must check for unmarked pipeline facilities; must make a second call to the notification center if: they received a "no-conflict" from an operator but know of the existence of a pipeline, have a clear evidence of presence of a pipeline but received a "no-conflict", have not received a positive response, or if the positive response is unclear or erroneous.
Markings - All markings of pipelines that are 6 inches wide or more must include the nominal diameter of the line in every other locate mark. Marks should go one mark beyond the locate request.
Tolerance Zone - The tolerance zone is 18 inches on either side of the pipe, plus half the diameter of the pipe. For example, a six-inch pipeline would have a tolerance zone of 21 inches on either side of the pipe. Excavators must dig with care in the tolerance zone.
Reporting Rules - Underground pipeline operators must report all pipeline damages by excavators to RRC within 10 days using Texas Damage Report Form (TDRF). Excavators must report via TDRF for: Damage to pipelines (must be reported through notification center within 2 hours); necessity to make "second notice"; no positive response by operator.
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Title 49: Transportation - Code of Federal Regulations