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PIPA Recommended Practice ND02

ND02 "Gather Information for Design of Property Development near Transmission Pipelines"

Practice Statement In designing a proposed property development the property developer/owner should use all reasonable means to obtain information about transmission pipeline facilities in the area of the proposed development.

Audience(s): Property Developer and Owner, Transmission Pipeline Operator

Practice Description

During the planning phase of a property development project, property developers/owners should seek available information about existing and possible future transmission pipeline facilities.

If the one-call center has a process for receiving and transmitting requests for meetings between developers and/or excavators and pipeline facility operators, the property developer/owner should utilize this service to request a consultation with the transmission pipeline operator. A meeting request through the one-call center can inform an affected transmission pipeline operator (and other underground facility operators) of the requestor's need to meet and discuss the proposed design. Or, it can provide a listing of affected transmission pipeline operators (and other underground facility operators) to the requestor so that a call to each operator can be made to request a meeting.

In response to requests for information, transmission pipeline operators may locate and mark their underground facilities or identify the locations of their underground facilities to the designer by other means, such as by marking-up design drawings or providing facility records to the designer. The property developer/owner should request maps of existing, abandoned and out-of-service facilities, cathodic protection and grounding systems, as-built drawings of facilities in the area if the maps are not current, future proposed project designs, and schedules of other pipeline-related work in the area. Information gathered when evaluating different design possibilities relative to the needs of the developer, community, and the transmission pipeline operator may include information such as easement widths, pipeline contents, and pipe diameter.

Transmission pipeline operators may use this opportunity to provide the property developer/owner a copy of the company's development guidelines and procedures, if they exist. Other methods of gathering information available to the property developer/owner may include contacting coordinating committees/councils, other designers, engineering societies, and governmental agencies as a means of identifying underground facility owners/operators in an excavation area. Gathering information may also include a review of the site for above ground indications of underground facilities (i.e. permanent signs or markers, manhole covers, vent pipes, pad mounted devices, riser poles, power and communication pedestals and valve covers).

Another reference source for determining the general location of transmission pipelines is the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS). Developers may access the NPMS online.

References