Draft regulatory impact assessment

2007PDFTech ReportDocket No. PHMSA-2005-21305Thermoplastic materialsNatural gas pipelinesPipelinesRegulationsCostsBenefitsPressureEconomic analysisPolyamide-11Allowable design pressureUnited StatesUnited States. Office of Pipeline SafetyJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Office of Pipeline SafetyNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYNTL-LAWS AND REGULATIONS-LAWS AND REGULATIONSVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is proposing changes to the Federal pipeline safety regulations in 49 CFR Part 192, which cover the transportation of natural gas by pipeline. Specifically, PHMSA is proposing to change the design pressure limits in Sections 192.121 and 192.123 for certain pipes made of Polyaminde-11 (PA-11), a thermoplastic material. The changes would allow new PA-11 pipelines with a nominal pipe size (IPS) of 4 inches or less and a standard dimension ratio1 (SDR) of 11 to be designed using a design factor of 0.40 (in lieu of the currently stipulated 0.32) in the plastic pipe design formulas in Section 192.121. The design pressure limit in Section 192.123 would be raised from 100 psig to 200 psig for new 4- inch IPS or less, SDR-11, PA-11 pipelines in distribution systems and in class 3 and 4 locations. This would allow design pressures up to those calculated using the formulas in Section 192.121, but not greater than 200 psig. All other design pressure limitations would remain unchanged. In this report, the benefits and costs of the proposed regulatory changes are examined. Additionally, the report includes the analyses required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act