On October 26, 2015, Senate
Bill No. 1044, sponsored by Pennsylvania Senator Lisa
Baker, was referred to the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional
Licensure Committee. The main purpose of this Bill is to extend the Public
Utility Commission (PUC)’s safety jurisdiction over Class 1 unconventional
gathering lines located in rural areas.
Class 1 gathering lines
are located in “an offshore area or any class location unit that has 10 or
fewer buildings intended for human occupancy.”
PUC currently exercises its
jurisdiction merely over Class 2 and 4 gathering pipelines. In her co-sponsorship
memorandum, Senator Baker explained that Class 1 shale
gas gathering lines in rural areas are neither regulated by the Public Utility
Commission nor by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Therefore, it
leaves those gathering lines without safety enforcement which “could be a risk
to people, property and the environment.”
The introduced
legislation provides that PUC should have “general administrative authority to
supervise and regulate rural pipeline operators” as to pipeline marking,
reporting of incidents, construction and maintenance standards, mapping and
recordkeeping for infrastructure, leak and damage prevention, educational
pipeline programs, and participation in Pennsylvania One Class System. The Bill
also states that “any rural pipeline operator who violates this act shall be
subject to a penalty” pursuant to section 3301(c) of the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Code.
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
11/17/2015
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