Department of Transportation

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

Office of Pipeline Safety

Public Workshop on Areas Unusually Sensitive to Environmental Damage

Revised Criteria/Component Discussion Points Paper

I. Introduction

In accordance with congressional mandate 49 U.S.C. 60109, the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) sponsored a public workshop on April 10-11, 1996. The objectives of the April workshop included the following:

1. Establish a set of standard criteria, components and parameters for 10 terms and concepts that are central to the Unusually Sensitive Area (USA) identification process (figure 1). These terms include:
   • significant,
   • threat of significant contamination,
   • contamination,
   • ecological areas,
   • drinking water resources
   • recreational areas,
   • economic areas,
   • cultural areas,
   • readily available, and
   • uniform.
   
   
2. Agree upon the goals, format and general content of subsequent topic-specific USA workshops in the following areas:
   • drinking water resources,
   • ecological resources,
   • cultural resources, and
   • Indian Tribal concerns.
   
   A draft discussion points paper which addressed these two objectives was prepared for the April workshop as a starting point for discussion. The present paper is a revision of the draft paper, incorporating workshop comments. A workshop summary as well as a full transcript documenting the PHMSA proceedings can be found in the docket at PHMSA. Unresolved issues associated with the ten terms and subsequent workshops are noted, where appropriate.

II. USA Terms

1. Significant:
   1. Criteria: A permanent or long-term injury to an ecological or drinking water resource.
   2. Components/Parameters: The impact on the contaminated resource may be described as (at least) one of the following:
      • permanent or long-term injury of the resources or their services (temporal considerations of what is significant are scaled for each resource),
      • irretrievable loss,
      • irreversible,
      • irreplaceable, or
      • unable to recover.
   3. Unresolved Issue: Inclusion or exclusion of cultural and recreational resources in the revised criteria.
2. Threat of Significant Contamination:
   1. Criteria: A geographically defined area that is in the trajectory or down gradient of a hazardous liquid pipeline. This area must have the ability to be contaminated from a release.
   2. Components/Parameters:
      • probability
        • space
        • time
3. Contamination:
   1. Criteria: A hazardous liquid pipeline release that results in an injury to a resource.
   2. Components/Parameters:
      • Hazardous Liquid (49 CFR 195.2): means petroleum, petroleum products, or anhydrous ammonia.
      • Pipeline (49 CFR 195.2): means all parts of a pipeline facility through which a hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide moves in transportation, including, but not limited to, line pipe, valves, and other appurtenances connected to line pipe, pumping units, fabricated assemblies associated with pumping units, metering, and delivery stations and fabricated assemblies therein, and breakout tanks.
      • Injury (43 CFR 11.14(v)): means a measurable adverse change in the chemical or physical quality or the viability of a resource resulting either directly or indirectly from exposure to a hazardous liquid release, or exposure to a product of reactions resulting from a hazardous liquid release.
      • Resource: any ecological, drinking water or, perhaps, cultural resource.
      • Time
4. Ecological:
   1. Criteria: Ecological resources are fish, wildlife, biota, and their habitats.
   2. Components/Parameters:
      • Natural resources, including:
        • Land,
        • Air, and
        • Water
      • Critical habitats for Endangered and Threatened Species as defined by 50 CFR 424.02.
      • Critical areas identified under the Clean Lakes Program.
      • Critical terrestrial breeding areas.
      • Sensitive areas identified under the National Estuary Program or Near Coastal Waters Program.
      • Spawning areas critical for maintaining fish and shellfish stocks.
      • Officially designated natural resource management areas, such as:
        • Units of the National Parks System
        • National Sanctuaries
        • National and State Wildlife Refuges
        • National and State Wildlife Management Areas
        • National Conservation Areas
        • Natural Heritage Areas
        • National Preserves and Reserves
        • Designated Federal Wilderness Areas
        • Federal or State designated Wild and Scenic River
        • State Land designated for protecting and maintaining aquatic life
5. Drinking Water Resources: (this was a new term added at the workshop):
   1. Criteria: Surface water intakes and ground water based drinking water supplies.
   2. Components/Parameters:
      • Sole Source Aquifers
      • Wellhead Protection Areas
      • Public Water Systems, including
        • Community Water Systems
        • Nontransient Noncommunity Water Systems
        • Transient Noncommunity Water Systems
6. Recreation Areas:
   1. Criteria: Any land, title to which is in the United States that has been designated by a Federal or State entity for recreational purposes.
   2. Components/Parameters : None
7. Economic Areas:
   1. Criteria: Any geographically defined area which is zoned or identified for the following purposes: commercial, industrial, agricultural, domestic livestock or mineral.
   2. Components/Parameters:
      • Commercial (43 CFR 2400.0-5): refers to the sale, exchange, or distribution of goods and services.
      • Industrial (43 CFR 2400.0-5): refers to the manufacture, processing, and testing of goods and materials, including the production of power. It does not refer to the growing of agricultural crops, or the raising of livestock, or the extraction or severance of raw materials from the land being classified, but it does include activities incidental thereto.
      • Agricultural (43 CFR 2400.0-5): refers to the growing of cultivated crops.
      • Domestic Livestock (43 CFR 2400.0-5): refers to cattle, horses, sheep, goats and other grazing animals owned by livestock operators, provided such operators meet the qualification set forth in 4111.1-1 or 4131.1-3 of this chapter. This definition includes animals raised for commercial purposes and also domestic livestock within the meaning of 4111.3-1(d)(1) of this chapter.
      • Mineral (43 CFR 2400.0-5): refers to any substances that (1) is recognized as mineral, according to its chemical composition, by the standard authorities on the subject, or (2) is classified as mineral product in trade or commerce, or (3) possesses economic value for use in trade, manufacture, the sciences, or in the mechanical or ornamental arts.
8. Cultural Areas:
   1. Proposed criteria/components/parameters for the workshop:
      1. Criteria: Any geographically defined area consisting of historic properties, historic resources, cultural parks, historic conservation districts, and archaeological resources.
      2. Components/Parameters:
         • Historic Property/Resources: (16 USC 470) - means any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion on the National Register, including artifacts, records, and material remains related to such a property or resource.
         • Cultural Parks: (16 USC 470) - means a definable area which is distinguished by historic resources and land related to such resources and which constitutes an interpretive, educational, and recreational resource for the public at large.
         • Historic Conservation Districts: (16 USC 470) - means an area which contains (1) historic properties, (2) buildings having similar or related architectural characteristics, (3) cultural cohesiveness, or (4) any combination of the foregoing.
         • Archaeological Resources: (16 USC 470bb) - Material remains of past human life or activities that are at least 100 years old and are of archaeological interest.
   2. Revised criteria/components/parameters:
      1. Revised Criteria: Was not discussed at the workshop, see 8b(3) (below).
      2. Revised Components/Parameters: Was not discussed at the workshop, see 8b(3) (below).
      3. Unresolved Issues: The location in the USA process where cultural areas should be considered. Discord amongst workshop participants on this issue resulted in a decision to table further discussions on the criteria, components and parameters associated with cultural areas. Two possibilities were identified - but not agreed upon - as to where cultural areas should be considered with respect to the entire USA process:
         1. in the primary concerns and filter criteria portion of the USA identification process (i.e., top tier of figure 1).
         2. in the risk assessment portion of the USA process (see figure 1).
9. Readily Available:
   1. Criteria: A goal for describing the accessibility, completeness and quality of data which are used in the USA identification process.
   2. Components/Parameters:
      • Data Quality
        1. periodic, consistent updating of data
        2. data completeness
        3. QA/QC of data; accessibility process
      • Data availability in a timely manner
      • Federal/State/Commercial role in data accessibility
10. Uniform:
    1. Criteria: The level of consistency employed in applying the USA identification process throughout the United States, irrespective of regional priorities.
    2. Components/Parameters:
       • National consistency is required in terms of:
       • Primary concerns/USA Candidates employed in the USA identification process.
         • Scope and accuracy of data sets used in the USA identification process.
         • Filtering criteria applied.
         • Modifications to the USA identification process.

III. USA Workshops

1. Objectives
   1. Each workshop will have a similar objective.
   2. Objective: Derive a systematic process for identifying USA Candidates (i.e., Primary Concerns) and Filtering Criteria for each subsequent workshop.
2. Workshop Format
   1. The workshop facilitator in concert with PHMSA will provide participants at each workshop with the following:
      1. Project background/history
      2. A concise discussion of the goals and objectives of the workshop.
      3. A copy of the revised Discussion Points Paper which highlights topic issues, primary concerns, USA candidates, and topic-specific filtering criteria.
   2. Presentations will be provided by appropriate technical experts. These presentations and the revised Discussion Points Paper will serve to provide a focal point for discussion on the Workshop subject matter.
   3. Comments will be solicited from the Workshop participants with respect to:
      1. USA candidates/Primary Concerns
      2. Filtering criteria.
   4. Workshop participants will be asked to review any pilot testing results and make additional suggestions to the pilot testing of the USA identification model developed for the workshop.
3. Draft list of Primary Concerns to be addressed at each workshop:
   1. Drinking Water Resources - Primary Concerns:
      1. Sole Source Aquifers
      2. Wellhead Protection Areas
      3. Public Water Systems, including:
         • Community Water Systems
         • Nontransient Noncommunity Water Systems
         • Transient Noncommunity Water Systems.
   2. Ecological Resources - Primary Concerns:
      1. Threatened/endangered/highly sensitive plants
      2. Threatened/endangered/highly sensitive fish and wildlife
      3. Threatened/endangered/highly sensitive habitats
      4. Ecological keystone species
      5. Units of the National Park Service.
   3. Cultural Resources - Primary Concerns: [The discussion of cultural resource primary concerns was tabled at the workshop. See section II, part 8b(3) of this paper for further discussion. Proposed primary concerns found in the draft Criteria/Components paper included the following (Note: inclusion of the following primary concerns does not infer general agreement by the April workshop participants):
      1. Historic properties/resources
      2. Cultural parks
      3. Historic conservation districts
      4. Archaeological districts.
   4. Indian Tribal Concerns:
      1. What actions can be taken on Tribal lands?
      2. Methods to determine when Tribal laws pre-empt Federal laws.
      3. Methods of addressing different treaties with different Indian nations.
      4. Drinking water - Primary Concerns (see above)
      5. Ecological resources - Primary Concerns (see above)
      6. Cultural resources - Primary Concerns.
4. Data Issues: Participants of these workshops will be instructed to consider data availability and data quality issues when developing a revised list of primary concerns/USA candidates and filter criteria.

IV. Unresolved Issues

1. Should all Units of the National Park Service be considered USA Candidates or automatically be designated as a USA?
2. 2. Inclusion of Cultural Areas in the USA Candidate/Filtering Criteria or in the Risk Assessment portions of the USA process?
3. 3. Inclusion or exclusion of cultural and recreational resources in the criteria aspect of the term "Significant".