§194.103. Significant and substantial harm; operator's statement. — Inbound Citations

(a) In lieu of submitting a response plan required by § 194.103, an operator may submit a response plan that complies with a state law or regulation, if the state law or regulation requires a plan that provides equivalent or greater spill protection than a plan required under this part.

(2) For each response zone which contains one or more line sections that meet the criteria for determining significant and substantial harm as described in § 194.103, a listing and description of the response zones, including county(s) and state(s).

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, unless OPS grants a request from an Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) to require an operator of a pipeline in paragraph (b) to submit a response plan, each operator of an onshore pipeline facility shall prepare and submit a response plan to PHMSA as provided in § 194.119. A pipeline which does not meet the criteria for significant and substantial harm as defined in § 194.103(c) and is not eligible for an exception under § 194.101(b), can be expected to cause substantial harm. Operators of substantial harm pipeline facilities must prepare and submit plans to PHMSA for review.

(d) For response zones of pipelines described in § 194.103(c) OPS will approve the response plan if OPS determines that the response plan meets all requirements of this part. OPS may consult with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) if a Federal on-scene coordinator (FOSC) has concerns about the operator's ability to respond to a worst case discharge.

(c) The operator of a pipeline line section described in § 194.103(c), may continue to operate the pipeline for two years after the date of submission of a response plan, pending approval or disapproval of that plan, only if the operator has submitted the certification required by § 194.119(e).