After 49 CFR 192.727 (g), insert:

(hw) Each operator shall have a plan in its operating and maintenance procedure for sealing off the supply of gas to all distribution facilities for which there is no planned use including service lines, mains, control lines, equipment, and appurtenances. The plan shall include all of the following provisions:

(1) If the facilities are abandoned in place, they shall be physically disconnected from the main at the service tee. The open ends of all abandoned facilities shall be capped, plugged, or otherwise effectively sealed.

(2) In cases where a main is abandoned, together with the service lines connected to it, insofar as service lines are concerned, only the customers’ end of the service lines need be sealed.

(3) Until the time a service is abandoned, it shall be treated as active for purposes of applying the regulations of 49 CFR 192. If a service line is not treated as an active line, it shall be physically disconnected at the main and purged, no later than 2 years after becoming inactive.

(4) A service line that has not been used for ten years and does not have a planned use shall be abandoned. In circumstances where there is a planned use for a service line which has not been used for ten years or it is not feasible to abandon a service line, take additional measures to protect the service from damage. Additional measures include all of the following:

(a) Ensuring the service line has a means for locating.

(b) Marking the presence of the service line by line marker or similar means if feasible.

(c) Annually notifying the customer in writing of the service line’s presence to determine if there is a planned use for the service line.

History

History: Cr. Register, October, 1999, No. 526, eff. 11-1-99; CR 21-049: am. Register March 2022 No. 795, eff. 4-1-22; CR 24-056: am. Register July 2025 No. 835, eff. 8-1-25.