March 30, 2023
Mr. Kenneth W. Grubb
Chief Operating Officer
Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Division
1001 Louisiana Street, Suite 1000
Houston, Texas 77002
Re: Docket No. PHMSA-2019-0152
Special Permit from March 30, 2023 to March 30, 2033
Dear Mr. Grubb:
On December 19, 2018, pursuant to 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 190.341, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (TGP)1 applied to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for a special permit. TGP requested a special permit to waive compliance with 49 CFR §§ 192.611(a) and (d), and 192.619(a) for Class 1 to Class 3 location changes on one (1) pipeline segment for approximately 0.536 miles of 30-inch diameter gas transmission pipeline (Pipeline) located in Barren County, Kentucky. A gas transmission pipeline operator is required by 49 CFR § 192.611 to confirm or revise the maximum allowable operating pressure of a pipeline segment where the class location has changed as defined in 49 CFR § 192.5.
On May 31, 2022, PHMSA published a Federal Register notice (87 FR 32495) announcing the Special Permit Request. The Special Permit Request letter, Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), Special Permit Analysis and Findings (SPAF), and all other pertinent documents for this special permit are available in Docket No. PHMSA-2019-0152 in the Federal Docket Management System located at www.regulations.gov.2
Subject to the stated terms and conditions, PHMSA grants this special permit (enclosed) based on the information provided by TGP and the findings set forth in the SPAF, FEA, and FONSI.
This special permit provides relief from certain provisions of the Federal pipeline safety regulations for the Pipeline and requires TGP to comply with conditions and limitations designed to maintain pipeline safety as defined in the special permit. In accordance with 49 CFR § 190.341(j), PHMSA reserves the right to revoke, suspend, or modify this special permit if circumstances occur in which its continuance would be inconsistent with safety. If TGP elects not to implement the special permit conditions, TGP must notify PHMSA within 60 days and comply with 49 CFR § 192.611 within 18 months of the date of this letter.
My staff would be pleased to discuss this special permit or any other regulatory matter with you. Mary McDaniel, Acting Director of PHMSA Engineering and Research Division, may be contacted at 210-721-7229, on technical matters; and James Urisko, Director, Office of Pipeline Safety, Southern Region, may be contacted at 404-832-1150, for operational matters specific to this special permit.
Sincerely,
Alan K. Mayberry
Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety
Enclosure: Special Permit – PHMSA-2019-0152
1. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc.
2. https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=PHMSA-2019-0152.