PERMANENT RULES
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: Eliminate mandatory casing requirements for natural gas installations within the state highway system. Technological advancements in pipeline materials, pipeline joining and inspection techniques, cathodic protection, as well as improved construction methods have rendered casing requirements obsolete in most applications.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 468-34-210.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 47.44 RCW.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 07-11-159 on May 23, 2007.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: July 24, 2007.
John F. Conrad
Assistant Secretary
Engineering and Regional Operations
OTS-9768.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 119, filed 2/10/89)
WAC 468-34-210
Pipelines -- Encasement.
(1) Casings shall
not be required for the following conditions ((except as may
be permitted under subsection (3) of this section.)):
(a) Pipelines ((crossings under completed freeways and
other controlled access highways)) conveying natural or other
gas which meet the design, installation and cathodic
protection provisions of the Minimum Federal Safety Standards,
49 CFR part 192 and chapter 480-93 WAC Gas companies -- Safety.
(b) ((Pipeline crossings where casing is required by
appropriate industry code or special conditions.
(c))) Local service lines and connections conveying natural or other gas which meet the design, installation and cathodic protection provisions of the Minimum Federal Safety Standards, 49 CFR part 192 and chapter 480-93 WAC Gas companies -- Safety.
(2) Casings shall be required for the following conditions:
(a) Pipeline crossings where casing is required by appropriate industry practice or special conditions.
(b) Pressurized carrier pipes and carriers of transmittants other than natural gas which are flammable, corrosive, expansive, energized, or unstable.
(((d))) (c) Pipeline installations where local features,
embankment materials, construction methods or other conditions
indicate ((any possibility)) probability of damage to the
((protective coating during installation)) pipeline that will
render it unusable.
(((2))) (3) Casings may be required ((for the following
conditions.
(a) As an expediency in the insertion, removal, replacement or maintenance of carrier pipe crossings of freeways and other locations where it is necessary in order to avoid open trench construction.
(b))) as protection for carrier pipe from external loads
or shock((, either)) during existing highway improvement
projects or ((after)) new highway construction ((of the
highway.
(c) As a means of conveying leaking fluids or gases away from the area directly beneath the traveled way to a point of venting at or near the right of way line or to a point of drainage in the highway ditch or a natural drainage way.
(d) Jacked or bored installations of coated carrier pipes, except where assurance is provided the department that there will be no damage to the protective coating.
(3) Casings may or may not be required for the following conditions.
(a) Pipelines relocated in advance of highway construction, including those conveying natural or other gas which meet the design, installation and cathodic protection provisions of the Minimum Federal Safety Standards, CFR 49, Part 192 may be constructed without encasement provided the department (and the pipeline officials) agree that the lines are and will remain structurally sound and operationally safe.
(b) Uncased crossings for local service connections of one inch diameter or less carrying natural or other gas which conform to the design, installation, and cathodic protection provisions of the Minimum Federal Safety Standards, CFR 49, Part 192 may be permitted on two-lane highways at those locations where the department agrees that the embankment materials and installation methods are adequate and that complete assurance is provided against damage to the protective coating of the pipe or to the roadway structure.
(c) Pipelines installed where open cutting is allowed)).
(4) Casing pipes shall extend a minimum of six feet beyond the toe of fill slopes, or back of ditch line, or outside curb unless limited by restrictive local conditions. The casing pipe need not be continuous on freeways with or without frontage roads; however, maintenance in the median shall not be required on a routine basis.
(5) Casing pipes shall be sealed at the ends.
(6) Casing pipes shall be designed to support the load of the highway and superimposed loads thereon and, as a minimum, shall equal the structural requirements for highway drainage facilities. Casings shall be composed of materials of sufficient durability to withstand any conditions to which they may be exposed.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 47.44 RCW. 89-05-022 (Order 119), § 468-34-210, filed 2/10/89. Statutory Authority: 1977 ex.s. c 151. 79-01-033 (DOT Order 10 and Comm. Order 1, Resolution No. 13), § 468-34-210, filed 12/20/78. Formerly WAC 252-04-175.]