May 17, 2022
Mr. Kenneth W. Grubb
Chief Operating Officer
Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Division
1001 Louisiana Street, Suite 1000
Houston, Texas 77002
Re: Docket No. PHMSA-2019-0150
Special Permit from May 17, 2022, to May 17, 2032
Dear Mr. Grubb:
On December 19, 2018, pursuant to the 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 190.341, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, LLC (NGPL)1 applied to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for a special permit. NGPL 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 of approximately 0.232 miles of the 30-inch and 36-inch diameter pipelines (Pipelines). The Pipelines are in Muscatine County, Iowa, and Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. 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 March 5, 2021, PHMSA published a Federal Register notice (86 FR 13016), 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-2019-0150 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 NGPL 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 Pipelines and requires NGPL to comply with conditions and limitations designed to maintain pipeline safety as defined in the special permit. Note that 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 pipeline safety. If NGPL elects not to implement the special permit conditions, NGPL must notify PHMSA and comply with 49 CFR § 192.611 within 18 months of the special permit grant date.
My staff would be pleased to discuss this special permit or any other regulatory matter with you. Sentho White, Director of PHMSA Engineering and Research Division, may be contacted at (202) 366-2415, 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
1. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc.
2. https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=PHMSA-2019-0150.