NTO - Update to T-4 Requirements

In response to amendments to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 192, regarding Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline, all T-4 shapefiles with NGG (Natural Gas Gathering) lines are required to include several new attribute fields. The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) held an educational webinar in January 2024 to review these new shapefile requirements.

The original deadline to begin reporting these attributes to the RRC was January 24, 2024. To give operators more time to prepare the required shapefile data, this deadline has been extended to June 1, 2024. Pending the deadline, the RRC will allow operators to omit the new attributes for NGG lines. The RRC highly encourages all operators to submit amendments with the new requirements as the data is finalized, with a goal of having all NGG permits amended by June. All shapefiles submitted on or after June 1, 2024, will be required to have the new NGG attributes.

Additionally, unique values for each pipeline segment will no longer be required for the PLINE_ID attribute. Splitting lines at the county is also no longer required. It is important to note that the definition of the PLINE_ID attribute has been updated in the A Guide to Shapefile Submissions.

Visit our website to access the most recent versions of the Form C-LTR, POPS Cover Letter, ; A Guide to Shapefile Submissions; and sample Renewal Overview Map. All three of these documents were updated in February 2024. The most recent version of the POPS Cover Letter is required as of January 24, 2024. Also, all overview maps must meet the standards illustrated in our sample overview maps as of January 24, 2024. These documents are available on the RRC website at https://www.rrc.texas.gov/pipeline-safety/permitting-and-mapping/.

If there are any questions, please contact the RRC’s Pipeline Support and Administration Section at POPS@rrc.texas.gov or 512-463-6802.

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