If 49 CFR 192.616(j) applies, your message needs five topics: what the pipeline does and its reliability; hazards and prevention; damage prevention; leak signs and response; and where to learn more. Check the actual piece for all five. A gas-smell warning alone may leave gaps.
By Bill Stomp · Last updated:
Primary sources: 49 CFR 192.616 · 49 CFR 192.1.
What should the writer check?
49 CFR 192.616 paragraph (j) supplies that list. Use it to check the piece customers will get. A topic stored only in your office file is not part of their message.
Ask the person who knows the system to review the facts and phone numbers. Do not make up a reliability rate. The topic list is a writing checklist, not a finished notice for your system.
Who gets it, and when?
First check 49 CFR 192.1 and whether paragraph (j) applies. That path is for qualifying master-meter and petroleum-gas operators unless gas transport is their primary activity. Other covered operators use the full program.
Paragraph (j) requires customer messages twice a year. If the system is on land you do not control, send similar messages to the people who control it twice a year too. We suggest saving a marked copy, the final piece, its list and proof of sending.
Questions owners ask
Is a leak-response paragraph the entire message?
No. It fills just one topic. Check purpose and reliability, hazards and prevention, damage prevention, and where to learn more too.
Can the required subjects be spread across our files?
No. The message provided to the audience must include them. An internal file does not supply missing customer copy.
Does the five-topic list apply to every propane account?
No. This page covers paragraph (j). Start with the system’s scope and which program applies. Review retail warnings as a separate job.
General information, not legal advice. Check your system’s rules with your pipeline regulator and your own lawyer.
Mark each topic on your draft. Then bring that marked piece to a notice review.