Notice of Public Meeting and Request for Comments

Summary: This notice announces a public meeting and an opportunity to submit written comments on the safety regulation of gas and hazardous liquid gathering lines. Congress has directed RSPA to define ``gathering line'' for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline transportation and, if appropriate, define as ``regulated gathering line'' those rural gathering lines that, because of specific physical characteristics, should be regulated. The gas pipeline regulations do not clearly distinguish gathering lines from production facilities and transmission lines. This lack of clarity has caused many disputes between government and industry over whether the regulations cover particular pipelines. The current definition of hazardous liquid gathering has worked well. We will consider all public comments in developing future proposals on gathering lines.