Plan de mejora para el curso 2020-21

The operating authority shall take all reasonable steps to bring the following conditions to the attention of relevant parties and to enforce their imposition upon activities near pipelines:

(a) A minimum of 48 working hours notice of intended activities near a pipeline should be given to the operating authority or operators so that arrangements can be made to have an operating authority’s representative on site during the work.

(b) Where third party works are to be conducted in the proximity of a pipeline so that the integrity of the pipeline is potentially under threat, the site shall be inspected, and where determined necessary, a work plan shall be specified and approved.

(c) A representative from the operating authority shall be present during machine excavation that exposes a pipeline, to minimize the risk of pipeline damage.

(d) No mechanical equipment shall be used within 1 m of the pipeline in any radial direction, even after the pipeline location has been proven, except when approved by, and under explicit ‘on-site’ direction from the operating authority’s inspector. Under no circumstances is mechanical equipment to be used closer than 0.3 m to the pipeline. Exposure of the pipeline shall be performed by hand digging, to minimize the risk of pipeline or coating damage.

(e) The minimum clearance from a pipeline for any buried structure shall be 0.3 m.

The minimum clearance for parallel installation shall be such that future maintenance can be conducted, but shall not be less than 0.5 m.

The operating authority shall consider the following when determining appropriate separation distances of pipeline to other buried structures:

(i) Corrosion protection interference (ii) Penetration resistance.

(iii) Rupture or explosion interaction.

(iv) Access for maintenance.

(v) Additional third party activity.

NOTE: Separation distances from the metallic structure forming part of electrical power generation, transmission and distribution systems should be determined on an individual basis as large currents can be discharged into the ground under fault conditions.

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(f) Any accidental damage to the pipeline, which affects the integrity of the pipeline in accordance with this Standard, shall be advised to the operating authority and, where legally required, to the regulatory authority.

(g) All backfill within 150 mm around the pipeline shall be in accordance with AS 2885.1.

(h) Where boring is to take place under or over a pipeline, approved measures shall be employed to ensure that the pipeline or its coating will not be damaged and a separation of at least 0.3 m between the pipe and bore is maintained.

6.5.2 Addition of fill on or near the pipeline

Fill should not be added on or near the pipeline, as increased depth increases the cost of excavation and the poor stability of the fill increases the risk of cave-in during subsequent excavation.

Where fill has to be added, the depth and quality shall be advised, prior to placement, for agreement by the operating authority. Any landscaping should be level within the easement or a minimum of 3 m (but preferably 6 m) each side of the pipeline, to permit excavating equipment to operate without having to destroy the adjacent landscaping.

The addition of fill on or near the pipeline shall only be clean (preferably the same as the natural soil in that area) and shall not contain ash, salt or chemicals, which could have a deleterious affect on the pipeline.

6.5.3 Power and telegraph poles, fencing, seismic and land disturbance activities The operating authority should ensure adequate liaison so that parties undertaking such works adjacent to the pipeline advise the operating authority not less than 48 hours prior to commencement. This allows marking out the prohibited area and enables the operating authority to supervise, where appropriate, to prevent damage to the pipeline.

The following activities need operating authority approval:

(a) The location of proposed new or replacement power and communications services poles and fencing across or along the easement or pipeline route.

NOTE: Holes are only to be drilled and poles or posts placed after the operating authority has marked the exact pipeline location.

(b) Land disturbance activities deeper than 300 mm, such as deep ripping, and the installation of drainage systems on the pipeline easement, or where no easement exists, a minimum of 3 m (but preferably 6 m) each side of the pipeline.

(c) Any seismic activities near the pipeline, which need to be planned, and crossings designed to ensure that these activities do not affect the pipeline.

NOTES:

1 The operating authority should advise seismic contractors of restrictions on working near the pipeline and the advance notice required to enable calculations and designs to be produced for actions to protect the pipeline during seismic work.

2 The operating authority should ensure that it is able to respond within a reasonable time to requests for seismic crossings.

6.5.4 Explosives

The operating authority should ensure adequate liaison so that any person intending to use explosives does not do so within 30 m of the pipeline without the approval of the operating authority. Any use of explosives in the vicinity of the pipeline should be fully evaluated prior to granting approval.

6.5.5 One-call-services

Operating authorities shall register their assets with One-Call (or Dial Before You Dig) services, where available, for the benefit of members of the public seeking the location of buried assets prior to excavation.

Third parties excavating in areas for which ‘One Call’ or ‘Dial Before You Dig’ services are available should be encouraged to seek from that service information about buried assets, at least 48 hours prior to excavating.

6.5.6 Operating Authority activities

The operating authority shall, prior to undertaking activities that may affect the integrity of the pipeline, carry out measures to identify and mitigate threats to the pipeline. The types of activities that should be considered are as follows:

(a) Coating assessment and repairs.

(b) Pipe wall assessment and repairs.

(c) Joint assessment and repair.

(d) Loss of cover repair.

(e) Pigging.

(f) Venting.

(g) Purging.

(h) High capacity utilization.

(i) Incident reporting and response.

(j) In-service pipeline modifications.

NOTE: Apart from incident reporting to the regulatory authority where required by legislation, the circumstances of any incident, as defined in the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) Pipeline Operators Database, should be reported to APIA to enable statistics of pipeline incidents to be gathered.

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S E C T I O N 7 S A F E T Y A N D E N V I R O N M E N T

7.1 GENERAL

The operating authority shall ensure that the activities associated with operation and maintenance of the pipeline do not cause harm to personnel, contractors, the public or the environment.