Railroad Commission of Texas

Pipeline Safety DivisionDamage Prevention Program

History

In May 2005, the State of Texas legislature gave the Railroad Commission of Texas compliance and enforcement authority over the movement of earth near intrastate underground pipelines.

History

In May 2007, the Railroad Commission of Texas adopted Texas Administrative Code Title 16, Chapter 18 Underground Pipeline Damage Prevention rules which became effective September 2007.

Incidents per Fiscal Year

FY 08 FY 09 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 -

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

11,946 12,146

8,569

9,431

8,551 9,358

Total Incidents per Fiscal Year

Incidents per Month

September October November December January February March April May June July August3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

5500

6000

Total Incidents per Month for FY 2008-2013

Root Causes

30%

15%

15%

13%

11%

4%

4%

3%3% 3%

Top Ten Root Causes as Reported to TDRF FY 2013

No notification made to the One-Call center

Facility marking or location not sufficient

Facility was not located or marked

Other

Failure to maintain clearance

Failure to use hand tools where required

Facility could not be found or located

Other insufficient excavation practices

Failure to maintain marks

Data Not Collected

Type of Excavator

66%

13%

8%

5%

4%2%

1% 0% 0.30% 0.29%

Top Ten Types of Excavators as Reported to TDRF FY 2013

Contractor

Municipality

Utility

Unknown/Other

Home Owner

Subcontractor

Occupant

County

Developer

Data Not Collected

Type of Work Performed

23%

21%

11%

10%

10%

7%

5%

5%

4%4%

Top Ten Types of Work Performed as Reported to TDRF FY 2013

Sewer (Sanitary/Storm)

Water

Unknown/Other

Electric

Fencing

Telecommunications

Natural Gas

Landscaping

Bldg. Construction

Road Work

Type of Equipment

50%

23%

8%

5%

5%

4%2%

1% 1% 1%

Top Ten Types of Equipment as Reported to TDRF FY 2013

Backhoe/Trackhoe

Hand Tools

Unknown/Other

Trencher

Auger

Boring

Grader/Scraper

Probing Device

Drilling

Directional Drilling

Current Chapter 18 Rules

Who must comply with Chapter 18 rules?

§18.1(a) – This chapter applies to all persons engaged in or preparing to engage in the movement of earth in the vicinity of an intrastate underground pipeline containing flammable, toxic, or corrosive gas, a hazardous liquid, or carbon dioxide.

§18.1(d)This chapter does not apply to :

(2) the movement of earth that does not exceed a depth of 16 inches;

Current Chapter 18 Rules

Definition of movement of earth

§18.2(11) Movement of earth--Any operation in which earth, rock, or other material in the ground, any structure, or any mass of material is moved, removed, disturbed, or otherwise displaced by hand digging, mechanized equipment or tools of any kind, or explosives, and includes but is not limited to augering, backfilling, boring, cable or pipe plowing and driving, compressing, cutting, demolition, digging, ditching, dragging, dredging, drilling, grading, plowing-in, pulling-in, razing, rendering, ripping, scraping, tilling of earth at a depth exceeding 16 inches, trenching, tunneling, or wrecking.

Current Chapter 18 Rules

When is a locate ticket required?

§18.3(a) An excavator shall request the location of underground pipelines at each excavation site by giving notice to the notification center as required by Texas Utilities Code, Chapter 251.

Current Chapter 18 Rules

When does a locate ticket expire?

§18.1(f) Unless otherwise specified, all time periods used in this chapter shall be calculated from the time the original notification is given to the notification center.

§18.1(g) Unless otherwise specified, all time periods that are stated in days shall mean working days.

§18.1(h) Unless an excavator and an operator otherwise expressly agree in accordance with the requirements set forth in §18.3 of this title, relating to Excavator Notice to Notification Center, the life of a line locate ticket shall be 14 days.

Current Chapter 18 Rules

Tolerance Zone

§18.2(21) Tolerance zone--Half the nominal diameter of the underground pipeline plus a minimum of 18 inches on either side of the outside edge of the underground pipeline on a horizontal plane.

§18.10(b) When excavation is to take place within the specified tolerance zone, an excavator shall exercise such reasonable care as may be necessary to prevent damage to any underground pipeline in or near the excavation area. Methods to consider, based on certain climate or geographical conditions, include hand digging when practical, soft digging, vacuum excavation methods, pneumatic hand tools. Other mechanical methods or other technical methods that may be developed may be used with the approval of the underground pipeline operator. Hand digging and non-invasive methods are not required for pavement removal.

Current Chapter 18 Rules

Definition of damage

§18.2(1) Damage--Includes but is not limited to:

    (A) defacing, scraping, displacement, penetration, destruction, or partial or complete severance of an underground pipeline or of any protective coating, housing, or other protective device of an underground pipeline;

    (B) weakening of structural or lateral support of an underground pipeline that affects the integrity of the pipeline; or

    (C) failure to properly replace the backfill surrounding an underground pipeline.

Current Chapter 18 Rules

Reporting Requirements

§18.11(b) Each excavator that damages an underground pipeline shall notify the operator of the damage through the notification center immediately but not later than two hours following the damage incident. The excavator shall also submit report of the damage incident to the Commission using TDRF within 10 days of the incident.

Contact Information

David Ferguson

512-463-9119

david.ferguson@rrc.state.tx.us

Pipeline Safety Damage Prevention

512-475-0512

tdrfinfo@rrc.state.tx.us