-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Cooper [mailto:bcfarm@starpower.net]
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2001 7:53 PM
To: Ben Cooper
Subject: PIPELINE NOTES, NO. 21



PIPELINE NOTES FROM WASHINGTON
Vol. 4, No. 21
June 1, 2001

Association of Oil Pipe Lines
(202) 408-7970
(202) 408-7983 (fax)
bcooper@aopl.org

The opinions if any expressed in these notes are the author's only and do
not represent the views of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (but they
should).

1.	FERC Commissioners confirmed by the Senate Friday May 25

	We missed the news last Friday that the Senate had confirmed the
nominations of Nora Mead Brownell of Pennsylvania and Patrick Henry Wood III
of Texas to be Commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
They are now official, and the Commission is at full voting strength.
Members need to get in to see these new Commissioners.

2.	President Announces Intent to Nominate DOT General Counsel and RSPA Head

President Bush announced this week that he intends to nominate Kirk Van Tine
to be General Counsel of the Department of Transportation.  Van Tine is
currently a Partner with the law firm of Baker and Botts in Washington,
D.C., where he is in charge of the firm's litigation process.  A former
member of the U.S. Navy, he is a graduate of the Naval Academy and the
University of Virginia Law School.
The President also announced the intention to nominate Ellen G. Engleman to
be Administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration at the
Department of Transportation.  She currently serves as President and CEO of
Electricore, Inc., a non-profit research and development consortium that
develops advanced transportation and energy technologies through federal
public/private partnerships.  From 1993 to 1994 she was the Director of
Corporate and Government Affairs for Direct Relief International and was a
Public Affairs Executive with GTE from 1987 to 1992.  A resident of
Indianapolis, Indiana, she is a graduate of Indiana University, received a
law degree from Indiana University Law School and a Master's of Public
Administration from Harvard University.

We don't know any more at this moment about these important nominees than is
in the White House press release:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05/20010531-7.html.

3.	Bush Energy Executive Orders

Here are the links so you can read the first Executive Orders issued to
implement parts of the Bush Energy Plan for yourself:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05/20010518-6.html and
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05/20010518-5.html.

4.	OPS to Host Integrity Management Workshops

Put this on your calendars.  API tells us the Office of Pipeline Safety will
be conducting two public workshops to assist operators in developing an
understanding of the integrity management rulemaking, OPS expectations
related to the rulemaking, and OPS resources that are available to
operators.  The workshops are scheduled:

August 7-8, 2001
Doubletree Post Oak Hotel
Houston, TX

October 10-11, 2001
Renaissance Greenway Plaza Hotel
Houston, TX

Logistics and an agenda for these meetings will follow in the next few
weeks.  We do know that Day 1 will focus on the rule itself and the
resources available through the National Pipeline Mapping System.   Day 2
will focus on specific portions of the rule and how operators are
approaching those portions.  OPS characterizes this as a "peer to peer"
exchange and is seeking volunteer company presenters to share ways they are
approaching aspects of the rule.  OPS does not expect a demonstration of
compliance but an exchange of meaningful ways to approach data management,
risk assessment, program development or even subsets of these broad areas.
OPS is seeking operators to make presentations on the Day 2.  If you would
like to take advantage of this opportunity, can contact Beth Callsen at OPS
at (202) 366-4572 or Beth.Callsen@RSPA.dot.gov.

5.	OPS Looking Into Right-of-Way Encroachments

The Office of Pipeline Safety is looking input in a Pipeline Rights-of-Way
Encroachment Research Project.  The response they want will take only a few
minutes of your time.  Submissions must be made no later than June 15.  To
participate in the OPS research effort, complete the questionnaire available
at
http://assn.cycla.com/cycla/trad_SvyHome.trd?&svy=19&pass=encroach&set=oil

6.	New Report on In-Line Inspections

API informs us that the National Association of Corrosion Engineers has
published a new technical committee report, "In-Line Nondestructive
Inspection of Pipelines."   The report analyzes currently available and
emerging technologies for in-line inspection tools and reviews their status
with respect to characteristics, performance, range of application, and
limitations.  It is intended as a reference tool.  The report is currently
only available in paper form by contacting NACE at (281) 228-6223 or by fax
at (281)228-639.  The item number is 24211. The price is $22 (list) or $17
(NACE members).  The document will become available in the near future
electronically from the NACE website at www.nace.org, but it is not there
now.

7.	More on ExSTARS

According to an IRS reminder notice received this week, all product terminal
operators must file their initial excise tax reports under the ExSTARS
program by May 31, 2001 covering the month of April 2001.  So if you haven't
done it yet, you're late.  Terminal operators are required to report all
bulk and non-bulk receipts of liquid products into terminals and all
disbursements by position holders using Form 720-TO and monthly inventory
reconciliation by product code using Form 720-CS.  If this is all Greek to
you and you think you are affected, check out the IRS website at
http://www.irs.gov/bus_info/excise/index.html.

8.	Texas Legislature Wraps Up

The Texas legislature finished up business this week.  Few bills passed
affecting pipelines.  However, one bill that did make it out of the
legislature requires pipeline companies to notify the public when they
change the fuels they transport and to share emergency evacuation plans with
school boards.
http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/thursday/news_2.html -- Not much
was left on their to-do list.

9.	Olympic Continues to Make Progress

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com:80/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/displa
y?slug=pipeline31m0&date=20010531 -- Pipeline to Sea-Tac reopens.
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/25584_tl301.shtml -- Olympic Pipe Line
will flow again soon.  Check out Olympic's press release and fact sheet at
"Current Press Releases" at
http://www.olypipeline.com/pressroom/presslistpp.cfm.

10.	WA State - BP-Fuel Safe Washington v. Williams

http://news.bellinghamherald.com/stories/20010530/FrontPage/54766.shtml --
BP concerned about crossing project: Georgia Strait project would run
through wetlands, near heron habitat.

11.	Comment on the Bush Energy Plan

	We thought these were interesting:
http://ja.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20010531j31opinthurkjwsdpjn
ewe.frm -- The Bush energy plan is mostly good policy;
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/18/politics/18ENER.html?pagewanted=1 --
Excessive Regulation Is Blamed for Energy Woes (The Times access is free -
you just have to register).

12.	Members of Congress Who Support Pipelines

Sometimes it happens.
http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,275007929,00.html -- Action sought
on gas lines:  Bennett, Hansen push for OKs on Utah pipelines.

13.	NTSB Has Problems With Other Modes Too

	Sometimes this happens too.
http://www.al.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?o1830_BC_Sa
fetyRecommendations&&news&newsflash-washington -- NTSB recommendations
sometimes ignored.

14.	Getting Gasoline Prices Right

	And this also sometimes it happens.
http://www.charlotte.com/observer/natwor/docs/gasprices0526.htm -- Several
hands dig in our pocket at the gas pump.

15.	Risk Management Demonstration Program Report on the OPS Website

The date on the report is December 2000, but OPS just recently placed the
report on its website at http://ops.dot.gov/ReportToCongress042501.htm --
Beyond Compliance: a Report to Congress on the Pipeline Risk Management
Demonstration Program.

16.	Not Real-Time Leak Detection

Last week we pointed you to a link to an article on leak detection at:
http://www.business2.com:80/magazine/2001/05/pipe_down.htm -- Pipe Down:
Web-linked monitors could stop pipeline problems before they
explode-literally.
We said in our title that this article describes a technology for
 "real-time" leak detection.  As an alert reader pointed out that this
characterization is not accurate, as the technology described only detects
changes in coating condition. In accomplishing that function, it may be able
to identify the occurrence of outside force damage that results from coating
damage.

17.	Change in Control of the Senate Preserves Staff Jobs for the Time Being

We erred last week in predicting that the switch in party leadership in the
Senate would mean that a large number of former Republican Senate committee
staff would have to look for new work.  The power-sharing arrangement
negotiated in the 50-50 Senate prior to the switch by Sen. Jim Jeffords
(D-VT) provided for continuation of the larger staff budget for the 107th
even if a switch occurs.  So apparently, the staff all get to keep their
jobs.

18.	Index Correction

Pipeline rates may be adjusted upwards by 2.7594% as of July 1, 2001 under
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's new rate index, but the
multiplier is not 1.27594 as we asserted last week.  It is 1.027594, which
is a bit less generous.  Hope you didn't get in trouble on our account.

 - PIPELINE NOTES6.1.01.rtf