D.C. Mun. Regs. r. 15-2305

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 33, August 16, 2024

Rule 15-2305 - SAFETY

2305.1

Gas leak detection surveys, including all service lines up to the exterior building wall, regardless of meter placement, shall be made as follows:

(a) Business Districts. A gas corporation shall conduct an annual survey in business districts, involving tests of the atmosphere in gas, electric, telephone, sewer, and water system manholes, at cracks in pavements and sidewalks, and at other locations providing an opportunity for finding gas leaks;

(b) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of these rules, the gas corporation shall provide the Commission with a map of the District of Columbia showing Business Districts and shall update the map whenever changes are made;

(c) Places of Public Assembly. A gas corporation shall conduct an annual survey of service lines to places of public assembly using Hydrogen Flame Ionization (HFI) or Combustible Gas Indicator (CGI) or other comparable methods.;

(d) Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of these rules, the gas corporation shall provide the Commission with a list of Places of Public Assembly in the District of Columbia and shall update the list whenever changes are made;

(e) Each gas corporation or small gas operator shall conduct a survey of its entire distribution system not less than once every three (3) years;

(f) Leakage tests by HFI or by CGI and bar hole or other comparable approved method shall be conducted within the immediate area of each new, repaired or replaced gas line after backfilling and after a reasonable period of gas pressurizing when the line is being placed into service;

(g) Whenever a steel pipe or tubing is used in the attachment of a service line to a cast iron main, it shall be protected against external corrosion using an anode and test station, except in the case of a malleable fitting when use of an anode only is sufficient;

(h) A pipeline no longer meeting cathodic protection criteria shall be remediated promptly. Prompt, as used in this section, is defined as resolving the loss of cathodic protection within the next monitoring cycle. Records showing when the pipeline was discovered to have lost cathodic protection and when the loss was remedied, along with annual test records, must be kept for as long as the pipeline remains in service; and

(i) Records of Surveys

(1) Each gas corporation or small gas operator shall maintain a record of each leak survey showing by location and date:

(A) Leaks detected; and

(B) Severity of each leak; and

(2) These records shall be kept as long as the segment of pipeline involved remains in service.

2305.2

Pipeline Location

(a) Burial. Pipelines shall be buried a minimum of twenty four inches (24 in.) or eighteen inches (18 in.) in solid rock, where the term solid rock indicates the necessity of blasting or the use of pneumatic equipment.

(b) Exceptions. Burial depths less than that specified but not less than twelve inches (12 in.) will be allowed if underground obstructions preclude these depths, and if special line protection is provided and accepted by the Office of Engineering, after submission of documentation justifying the exception;

(c) As-built drawings shall be made after installation, but before the pipelines are covered;

(d) Identification.

(1) Tracer wire shall be installed with all plastic pipes; and

(2) When the open trenching method of pipeline construction is used, suitable identification tape shall be installed at a minimum of twelve inches (12 in.) above the top of the pipe and at least six inches (6 in.) below the final grade after completion of installation

(e) Each gas corporation or small gas operator shall maintain all relevant documentation of plastic pipe joining qualifications, all Operator Qualification documentation, up-to-date manuals, and copies of relevant procedures. Access to this documentation shall be available at each job site, either in hard copy or electronically;

(f) Each gas corporation or small gas operator shall provide adequate supervision for its construction crews;

(g) Each gas corporation or small gas operator shall submit a report of damage to the gas pipeline system, including appropriate codes indicating the cause of the damage. This report shall be filed every other month, no later than the tenth (10^th) of the month; and

(h) Each gas corporation shall notify the Office of Engineering in writing at least ten (10) days before the estimated start date of any construction project scheduled for completion in five (5) or more working days, or before the estimated start date of work related to an Integrity Management Program.

D.C. Mun. Regs. r. 15-2305

Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 7 (January 4, 2013)

Authority: Unless otherwise noted, the authority for this chapter is Paragraph 21 of § 8 of An Act Making appropriations to provide for the expenses of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and fourteen, and for other purposes, approved March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 977); as amended by § 2 of the Public Utilities Amendment Act of 1989, D.C. Law 8-47, D.C. Code § 43-501 (1990 Repl. Vol.).