49 CFR § 195.246 - Installation of pipe in a ditch.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t49/s195.246"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "49 CFR § 195.246 - Installation of pipe in a ditch."
title_number: 49
title_name: "Transportation"
section_number: "195.246"
section_name: "Installation of pipe in a ditch."
chapter_name: "PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION"
subchapter_number: "D"
subchapter_name: "PIPELINE SAFETY"
part_number: "195"
part_name: "TRANSPORTATION OF HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS BY PIPELINE"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "30 U.S.C. 185(w)(3), 49 U.S.C. 5103, 60101  and 49 CFR 1.97."
regulatory_source: "Amdt. 195-22, 46 FR 38360, July 27, 1981, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "195"
---


# 195.246 Installation of pipe in a ditch.

(a) All pipe installed in a ditch must be installed in a manner that minimizes the introduction of secondary stresses and the possibility of damage to the pipe.

(b) Except for pipe in the Gulf of America and its inlets in waters less than 15 feet deep, all offshore pipe in water at least 12 feet deep (3.7 meters) but not more than 200 feet deep (61 meters) deep as measured from the mean low water must be installed so that the top of the pipe is below the underwater natural bottom (as determined by recognized and generally accepted practices) unless the pipe is supported by stanchions held in place by anchors or heavy concrete coating or protected by an equivalent means.

[Amdt. 195-22, 46 FR 38360, July 27, 1981, as amended by Amdt. 195-52, 59 FR 33397, June 28, 1994; 59 FR 36256, July 15, 1994; Amdt. 195-85, 69 FR 48407, Aug. 10, 2004; Amdt. 195-108, 90 FR 21436, May 20, 2025]