Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
1. These Regulations amend the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996 by inserting regulation 13A (iron pipelines) (regulation 2).
2. Paragraphs (1), (2), (7) and (8) of regulation 13A provide for approval by the Health and Safety Executive of a programme prepared by an operator, or by itself, for the decommissioning of any description of iron (but not steel) pipe used in a pipeline.
3. Paragraph (3) provides for consultation by the Executive before approving a programme which it has modified or prepared; paragraph (4) prescribes the manner of approval and provides for its withdrawal.
4. Paragraph (5) requires an operator to comply with an approved programme.
5. Paragraph (6) provides a defence in criminal proceedings for failing to maintain a pipeline, where the operator could not have known that a pipe, awaiting replacement under a programme, required immediate attention.
6. A regulatory impact assessment has not been conducted, as the measures impose negligible cost.