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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 20. Public Utilities And Telecommunications
Agency 5. State Corporation Commission
Chapter 360. Licensed Professional Engineer to Exercise Responsible Charge over Certain Natural Gas Engineering Projects
11/23/2024

20VAC5-360-20. Definitions.

Terms used in this chapter shall have the same meaning and effect as in the federal pipeline safety laws under 49 USC § 60101 et seq. and 49 CFR Parts 191, 192, 193, 195, and 199. In addition, the following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Act" means Chapter 822 of the 2020 Acts of Assembly.

"Bypass" means a pipeline connection or control mechanism installed in order to allow construction, maintenance, or repair work, thus altering the flow of gas or hazardous liquid to different facilities other than those transporting the gas prior to installation of the pipeline connection or control mechanism.

"Commission" means the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

"Commission's pipeline safety standards" means standards for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities adopted, prescribed, or enforced by the commission pursuant to §§ 56-257.2 and 56-555 of the Code of Virginia; 49 USC § 60101 et seq.; and 20VAC5-300-70, 20VAC5-307-10, and 20VAC5-308-10.

"Compressor stations" means pipeline facilities that compress natural gas, increasing the pressure and providing the energy needed to move the gas through the pipeline.

"District regulator stations" means a pressure regulating station that controls pressure to a high-pressure or low-pressure distribution main.

"Emergency work" means nonroutine maintenance or repair work, such as repairs to hazardous leaks, that should be performed immediately. Examples include third party damages, repairs, work to maintain priority service, reduce customer outages as a matter of safety, and compromises to system integrity as a cause of overpressurization.

"Engineered structures" means distribution mains vertically attached to buildings, overpasses, or water crossings.

"Gate station" means pressure regulating stations where custody of natural gas or hazardous liquid is transferred from an interstate supplier to a Virginia public service company.

"Maintenance" means any repair or rehabilitation activity performed on a pipeline facility or prescribed by 49 CFR 192, Subpart M.

"MAOP" means maximum allowable operating pressure.

"O&M Procedures" means any operations or maintenance procedures or processes prepared by the operator for conducting operations and maintenance activities or emergency response, as prescribed by 49 CFR 192, Subpart L.

"Peak shaving facilities" means pipeline storage facilities designed to house natural gas or propane gas for reintroduction into an operator's system at times of peak demand. These facilities may store liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.

"P.E. stamp" means a professional seal as prescribed by 18VAC10-20-760, pertaining to use of seal.

"Public right-of-way" means any portion of a designated interstate or limited access expressway or freeway as defined in the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Functional Classification Concepts, Criteria and Procedures. Section 3.1 (see: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/processes/statewide/related/highway_functional_classifications/fcauab.pdf).

"Professional engineer" or "P.E." means a person who is qualified to practice engineering by reason of special knowledge and use of mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design acquired by engineering education and experience, and whose competence has been attested by the Board for Architects. Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects through licensure as a professional engineer.

"PSIG" means pounds per square inch, gauge.

"Repair" means any activity on a distribution main or transmission line that calls for removing the leak by cutting out and replacing a cylindrical piece of pipe, installing a pressure-carrying full encirclement welded split sleeve of appropriate design, or any other permanent repair that is consistent with 49 CFR § 192.717.

"Tie-in" means any process of connecting a newly installed pipeline to either an existing pipeline or another newly installed pipeline by means of joining.

"Uprating" means the act of increasing maximum allowable operating pressures for pipelines.

Statutory Authority

§§ 12.1-13 and 56-257.2:1 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 37, Issue 24, eff. January 1, 2022; Errata, 38:2 VA.R. 317 September 13, 2021.

Website addresses provided in the Virginia Administrative Code to documents incorporated by reference are for the reader's convenience only, may not necessarily be active or current, and should not be relied upon. To ensure the information incorporated by reference is accurate, the reader is encouraged to use the source document described in the regulation.

As a service to the public, the Virginia Administrative Code is provided online by the Virginia General Assembly. We are unable to answer legal questions or respond to requests for legal advice, including application of law to specific fact. To understand and protect your legal rights, you should consult an attorney.