Bill Text: CA SB879 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Natural gas pipelines: safety.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 523, Statutes of 2011. [SB879 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB879-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 879	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 11, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

    An act to add Section 795.5 to the Public Utilities Code,
relating to natural gas.   An act to add Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 950) to Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to public utilities. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 879, as amended, Padilla. Natural gas pipelines: 
accounts.   safety. 
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as
defined. The Public Utilities Act authorizes the commission to
establish a system of accounts to be kept by public utilities and to
prescribe the manner in which accounts are kept, the records and
memorandum to be kept, as well as the receipts and expenditures of
moneys, and any other forms, records, and memoranda that in the
judgment of the commission may be necessary to carry out any of the
provisions of the act. The act requires the commission to require a
public utility to establish and maintain a reserve account reflecting
any positive or negative balance whenever the commission authorizes
any change in rates reflecting and passing specific changes in costs
through to customers, and requires the commission to take any
positive or negative balance remaining into account by appropriate
adjustment or other action at the time of any subsequent rate
adjustment.
   This bill would require that in any ratemaking proceeding in which
the commission authorizes a gas corporation to recover expenses for
the inspection, maintenance, or repair of transmission pipelines,
that the commission require the gas corporation to establish and
maintain a one-way balancing account for the recovery of those
expenses. 
   Existing federal law requires the United States Department of
Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA) to adopt minimum safety standards for pipeline
transportation and for pipeline facilities, including an interstate
gas pipeline facility and an intrastate gas pipeline facility, as
defined. Existing law authorizes the United States Secretary of
Transportation to prescribe or enforce safety standards and practices
for an intrastate pipeline facility or intrastate pipeline
transportation to the extent that the safety standards and practices
are regulated by a state authority that annually submits to the
secretary a certification for the facilities and transportation or,
alternatively, authorizes the secretary to make an agreement with a
state authority authorizing it to take necessary action to meet
certain pipeline safety requirements. Existing federal law prohibits
a state authority from adopting or continuing in force safety
standards for interstate pipeline facilities or interstate pipeline
transportation, but permits a state authority that has submitted a
specified certification to adopt additional or more stringent safety
standards for intrastate pipeline facilities and intrastate pipeline
transportation only if those standards are compatible with the
minimum standards prescribed by PHMSA.  
   This bill would designate the commission as the state authority
responsible for regulating and enforcing intrastate gas pipeline
transportation and pipeline facilities pursuant to federal law,
including the development, submission, and administration of a state
pipeline safety program certification for natural gas pipelines.

   Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
   Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require
action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation
of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by
creating a new crime.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section
950) is added to Part 1 of Division 1 of the   Public
Utilities Code   , to read:  
      CHAPTER 4.5.  GAS PIPELINE SAFETY



      Article 1.  General


   950.  For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Commission-regulated gas pipeline facility" means an
intrastate gas pipeline facility as defined in Section 60101 of Title
49 of the United States Code, that is subject to the safety
regulatory authority of the commission, including each of the
following pipelines:
   (1) An intrastate distribution line, which is a pipeline that is
not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission pursuant to Section 717(b) of Title 15 of the United
States Code because it is used for the local distribution of natural
gas.
   (2) An intrastate transmission line, which is a transmission
pipeline that the commission, pursuant to Section 717(c) of Title 15
of the United States Code, has certified to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission as being subject to the regulatory jurisdiction
of the commission over rates and service. For these purposes, a
transmission pipeline means a pipeline other than a gathering line
that: (A) transports gas from a gathering line or storage facility to
a distribution center, storage facility, or large volume customer
that is not downstream from a distribution center, (B) operates at a
hoop stress of 20 percent or more of specified maximum yield
strength, or (C) transports gas within a storage field.
   (3) An intrastate gathering line, which is a pipeline that
transports gas from a current production facility to a transmission
line or main.
   (4) A mobilehome park master-metered natural gas distribution
system that is subject to the commission's safety inspection and
enforcement program pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
4351) of Division 2.
   (5) A propane distribution system that is subject to the
commission's safety inspection and enforcement program pursuant to
Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 4451) of Division 2.

      Article 2.  Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011


   955.  (a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011.
   (b) The commission is the state authority responsible for
regulating and enforcing intrastate gas pipeline transportation and
pipeline facilities pursuant to Chapter 601 (commencing with Section
60101) of Subtitle VIII of Title 49 of the United States Code,
including the development, submission, and administration of a state
pipeline safety program certification for natural gas pipelines
pursuant to Section 60105 of that chapter.
   (c) The State Fire Marshal shall exercise exclusive safety
regulatory and enforcement authority over intrastate hazardous liquid
pipelines pursuant to the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of
1981 (Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 51010) of Part 1 of
Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code) and Section 13107.5 of
the Health and Safety Code.
   962.  In any ratemaking proceeding in which the commission
authorizes a gas corporation to recover expenses for the inspection,
maintenance, or repair of transmission pipelines, the commission
shall require the gas corporation to establish and maintain a one-way
balancing account for the recovery of those expenses.  

  SECTION 1.    Section 795.5 is added to the Public
Utilities Code, to read:
   795.5.  In any ratemaking proceeding in which the commission
authorizes a gas corporation to recover expenses for the inspection,
maintenance, or repair of transmission pipelines, the commission
shall require the gas corporation to establish and maintain a one-way
balancing account for the recovery of those expenses. 
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.