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Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Jobs Creation Act of 2011
Michael T. Joyner, Sr.
Liaison Director Utilities Protection Center, Vidalia, Georgia Chair, APWA Utility and Public Right-of-Way Committee
n December 15, 2011, Congress passed the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Jobs Creation Act (hereafter the PSRCJC). On January 3, 2012, President Obama signed it into law. Citing such pipeline accidents as those that occurred in San Bruno, Calif., and Allentown, Penn., DOT’s Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) had requested such action by Congress.
There are today over 2.5 million miles of pipeline in the United States operated by over 3,000 companies according to PHMSA. Deaths due to pipeline accidents rose in the years 2008-2010. There are three main causes of pipeline accidents: excavation damage, corrosion, and material failure.
Most of the PSRCJC is devoted to steps to be taken by pipeline operators to address corrosion and material failure. But one section of the bill has far wider implications for everyone involved with America’s rights-of-way. Title 49, Subtitle 111, Chapter 61, section 6103 establishes “minimum standards for state one-call notification.” One-call notification systems are the first line of defense in preventing excavation damage.
Today in the United States the states are anything but united when it comes to one-call prevention laws. Most states, in fact, have some exemptions to the process built into their law. These exemptions often include state and local governments, railroads, and in some cases specific types of buried utility facilities. That may soon change. Section 6103 includes the following language: (a) Minimum Standards –
(1) In General – In order to qualify for a grant under section 6106, a state one-call notification shall, at a minimum, provide for –(A) appropriate participation by all underground facility operators, including government operators (B) appropriate participation by all excavators, including government and contract excavators and (C) flexible and effective enforcement under state law with respect to in, and use of, one-call notification systems. (2) Exemptions Prohibited – In order to qualify for a grant under 6106, a state one-call notification program may not exempt municipalities, state agencies, or their contractors from its one-call system requirements.
To use the State of Georgia as an example of the possible implications to this new law, let us look at the current law in Georgia (O.C.G.A. 26-9-1, as of February 2012). Included elsewhere in the Official Code of Georgia is the provision that any law passed by the State Legislature is not applicable to state agencies unless it specially includes them. Thus the first change that would be required would be the inclusion of all state agencies that would qualify. Currently some of these already participate in the state’s onecall notification system voluntarily, but many do not.
The other major change that would seemingly be required would be the inclusion of traffic control and information systems which are currently not considered “utility facilities.” This exemption was added to the Georgia Law in 2005, it is generally supposed, at the request of the railroads in the state. The larger local jurisdictions in Georgia would not be impacted since they already protect the traffic control systems within their city or county limits. This would primarily impact the railroads and the Georgia DOT. DOT is not only responsible for traffic signals on state highways, but has a complex traffic monitoring system in Metro Atlanta has well as electronic message boards on all Interstate highways. Two major railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern, crisscross Georgia with significant buried electrical wiring involved.
PSRCJC requires that not later than two years after the enactment of the legislation that the Secretary of DOT conducts a study of the impact of excavation damage on pipeline safety. This study is to include a review of the frequency and severity of excavation damage, an analysis of types of exemptions present in the various state laws, a comparison of the exemptions in state laws to the types of excavation damage, and an analysis of the potential benefits of and adverse consequences of the complete removal of exemptions to state one-call notification laws. The results of this study are to be reported to the appropriate Committees of both the House and Senate.
Michael T. Joyner can be reached at (912) 538-8957 or mjoyner@gaupc.com.
