AN ACT Relating to oil and gas pipeline safety; amending RCW 81.88.040, 19.122.020, 19.122.030, 19.122.040, and 19.122.070; adding a new section to chapter 48.48 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 19.122 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; prescribing penalties; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The intent of this act is to protect the health and safety of the citizens of the state of Washington and the quality of the state's environment by developing and implementing environmental and public safety measures applicable to persons transporting hazardous liquids and gas by pipeline within the state of Washington. The legislature finds that public safety and the environment may best be protected by adopting standards that are equal to, or more stringent than, those adopted by the federal government.

(2) It is the further intent of this act to ensure that the state of Washington fully activate the authority it is currently provided under the federal pipeline safety act (49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101 et seq., as amended). In addition, it is the intent of this act to provide policy direction for the development of state pipeline safety programs in the event of a delegation of authority, or the provision of direct authority, to the state for inspection of interstate pipelines and enforcement of state and federal pipeline safety requirements.

(3) It is also the intent of the legislature that the governor work with the state congressional delegation in seeking the following improvements to the federal pipeline safety act when it is being reauthorized:

(a) The elimination of federal preemption; or

(b) Amendments that direct the federal office of pipeline safety to delegate authority to qualified states for:

(i) The regulation of interstate hazardous liquid and gas pipelines using standards equal to or more stringent than federal standards; and

(ii) The enforcement of state and federal requirements related to pipeline safety.

(4) In working with the state congressional delegation on reauthorization of the federal pipeline safety act, it is the intent of the legislature that the governor also seek the following:

(a) Requirements for rapid shutdown of ruptured hazardous liquid pipelines;

(b) Periodic inspection and testing of pipelines; and

(5) In addition, it is the intent of the legislature that the governor work with the state congressional delegation in seeking higher levels of funding for state pipeline safety activities.

(6) While the legislature acknowledges that serious accidents have occurred for hazardous liquid and gas pipelines in this nation and elsewhere, it recognizes that there are fundamental differences between hazardous liquid pipelines and gas pipelines and that a different system of safety regulations must be applied for each kind of pipeline.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Commission" means the utilities and transportation commission.

(2) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(3) "Failsafe system" means a system or device that prevents a pipeline from exceeding its maximum operating pressure.

(4) "Gas" means natural gas, flammable gas, or toxic or corrosive gas.

(5) "Hazardous liquid" means: (a) Petroleum, petroleum products, or anhydrous ammonia as those terms are defined in 49 C.F.R. Part 195 in effect March 1, 1998; and (b) carbon dioxide. The department by rule may incorporate by reference other substances designated as hazardous by the secretary of transportation under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101(a)(4).

(6) "Local government" means a subdivision of the state or a city or town.

(7) "Person" means an individual, partnership, franchise holder, association, corporation, a state, a city, a county, or any subdivision or instrumentality of a state, and its employees, agents, or legal representatives.

(8) "Pipeline" or "pipeline system" means all parts of a pipeline facility through which hazardous liquid or gas moves in transportation, including, but not limited to, line pipe, pumping units, fabricated assemblies associated with pumping units, metering and delivery stations and fabricated assemblies therein, breakout tanks, and excluding process pipelines and transfer pipelines as defined in chapter 173-180A WAC, as it exists on the effective date of this act.

(9) "Pipeline company" means a person or entity constructing, owning, or operating a pipeline for transporting hazardous liquid or gas. For the purposes of this act, a pipeline company does not include: (a) Distribution systems owned and operated under franchise for the sale, delivery, or distribution of natural gas at retail; or (b) excavation contractors or other contractors that contract with a pipeline company.

(10) "Reportable release" means a spilling, leaking, pouring, emitting, discharging, or any other uncontrolled escape of a hazardous liquid in excess of one barrel, or forty-two gallons.

(11) "Safety management systems" means management systems that include coordinated interdisciplinary evaluations of the effect of significant changes to a pipeline system before such changes are implemented.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The hazardous liquid pipeline safety account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from the federal office of pipeline safety and any other state or federal funds provided for hazardous liquid pipeline safety must be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for funding the pipeline safety program within the department of ecology. Only the director of the department or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The department is responsible for the administration and enforcement of all laws related to hazardous liquid pipeline safety to the extent not prohibited by federal law. Hazardous liquid process pipelines and transfer pipelines will continue to be regulated by the utilities and transportation commission. The department shall immediately seek federal certification in order to administer and enforce all laws related to hazardous liquids pipeline safety. When federal certification is received by the department, authority for the hazardous liquid pipeline safety program as authorized under RCW 81.88.040 shall transfer from the commission to the department. When the department becomes certified to regulate intrastate hazardous liquid pipeline safety, it shall apply the existing federal pipeline safety standards. Upon exercising delegated or direct authority to regulate interstate pipeline safety, the department shall ensure that intrastate and interstate pipelines are regulated to the same safety standards.

(2) By December 1, 2000, the department shall develop for the review of the legislature in the 2001 session a pipeline safety program that promotes protection of public health and the environment. This program shall include the following elements:

(a) Requirements for operators of pipelines to develop and implement structural integrity management plans;

(b) A schedule of inspection and testing within the pipeline system of:

(i) All mechanical components;

(ii) All electronic components; and

(iii) The structural integrity of all pipelines as determined through either pressure testing, internal inspection tool surveys, or a combination of techniques;

(d) Safety management systems;

(e) Requirements related to the rapid location and isolation of all reportable releases from pipelines;

(f) Emergency response procedures and emergency response training;

(g) Reporting requirements related to emergency situations, including emergency shutdowns;

(h) Requirements related to the training and certification of personnel who operate pipelines and pipeline systems;

(i) Measures aimed at the prevention of third-party excavation damage to pipelines through the establishment and required use of a one-number locator system and through development of a training program available to municipal workers and construction workers employed by a pipeline company or employed by a construction company working under contract to a pipeline company.

(j) Recommendations for funding and potential fund sources for implementing the entire program and each program element.

(3) In providing this program to the legislature for review as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department shall clearly indicate whether federal authority for each program element exists or must be delegated. The department shall also develop a legislative proposal for consideration by the legislature that authorizes the state to implement the program elements for which it has received delegation of authority from the federal office of pipeline safety or direct authority under the federal pipeline safety act. Upon review of the department's program by the legislature in the 2001 session, the department shall implement the program elements for which it has authority.

(4) After the state has received delegation of authority or direct authority to regulate interstate pipeline safety, the program elements in subsection (2) of this section shall be implemented through operations safety plans submitted by operators of pipelines to the department for approval. The department shall approve such plans after they have been deemed fit for service. A plan shall be deemed fit for service when it results in pipelines that are designed, developed, constructed, operated, and periodically modified to provide protection of public safety and the environment.

(5) The department shall serve as the single point of contact within the state for information related to hazardous liquid pipeline safety and shall provide technical assistance on hazardous liquid pipeline safety to local government authorities upon request.

(6) The department shall evaluate proposals developed by the federal office of pipeline safety and other agencies and organizations related to methods and technologies for testing the integrity of hazardous liquid pipeline structure, leak detection, and other elements of pipeline operation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The department and the commission shall jointly support the governor in seeking delegation of federal authority to inspect hazardous liquid and gas interstate pipelines and enforce state and federal pipeline safety requirements. The department and the commission shall establish and submit to the United States secretary of transportation an inspection program that complies with requirements for delegated interstate agent authority. If the secretary of transportation delegates authority to the state as provided in this subsection, the department and the commission, at a minimum, shall do the following to carry out the delegated federal authority:

(a) Inspect hazardous liquid and gas pipelines periodically as specified in the inspection program;

(b) Provide for the testing of hazardous liquid and gas pipelines as authorized by federal law and regulation; and

(2) In addition, the department and commission shall inspect any record, map, or written procedure required by federal law to be kept by a pipeline company concerning reportable releases of hazardous liquid, or of gas releases as defined under state regulation, and the design, construction, testing, or operation and maintenance of pipelines.

Sec. 6. RCW 81.88.040 and 1998 c 123 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) "Pipeline company" means a person or entity constructing, owning, or operating an intrastate pipeline for transporting hazardous liquid or gas, whether or not such a person or entity is a public service company otherwise regulated by the commission. For the purposes of this section, a pipeline company does not include: (i) Distribution systems owned and operated under franchise for the sale, delivery, or distribution of natural gas at retail; or (ii) excavation contractors or other contractors that contract with a pipeline company.

(b) "Hazardous liquid" means: (i) Petroleum, petroleum products, or anhydrous ammonia as those terms are defined in 49 C.F.R. Part 195 in effect March 1, 1998; and (ii) carbon dioxide. The commission by rule may incorporate by reference other substances designated as hazardous by the secretary of transportation under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101(a)(4).

(2) The commission shall adopt by rule intrastate pipeline safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities that: (a) Apply to pipeline companies transporting hazardous liquids or gas; (b) cover the design, construction, and operation of pipelines transporting hazardous liquids or gas; and (c) require pipeline companies to design, construct, and maintain their pipeline facilities so they are safe and efficient. The commission shall only adopt rules pertaining to interstate pipeline safety standards if it is delegated authority or provided direct authority by the federal government to adopt such rules.

(3) A person, officer, agent, or employee of a pipeline company who, as an individual or acting as an officer, agent, or employee of such a company, violates or fails to comply with this section or a rule adopted under this section, or who procures, aids, or abets another person or entity in the violation of or noncompliance with this section or a rule adopted under this section, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

(4)(a) A pipeline company, or any person, officer, agent, or employee of a pipeline company that violates a provision of this section, or a rule adopted under this section, is subject to a civil penalty to be assessed by the commission.

(b) The commission shall adopt rules: (i) Setting penalty amounts, but may not exceed the penalties specified in the federal pipeline safety laws, 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101 et seq.; (ii) establishing procedures for mitigating penalties assessed; and (iii) incorporating by reference other substances designated as hazardous by the secretary of transportation under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101(a)(4).

(c) In determining the amount of the penalty, the commission shall consider: (i) The appropriateness of the penalty in relation to the position of the person charged with the violation; (ii) the gravity of the violation; and (iii) the good faith of the person or company charged in attempting to achieve compliance after notification of the violation.

(d) The amount of the penalty may be recovered in a civil action in the superior court of Thurston county or of some other county in which the violator may do business. In all actions for recovery, the rules of evidence shall be the same as in ordinary civil actions. All penalties recovered under this section must be paid into the state treasury and credited to the public service revolving fund.

(5) Nothing in this section duplicates the authority of the energy facility site evaluation council under chapter 80.50 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Upon receipt of federal certification for hazardous liquids and natural gas pipeline safety, all powers, duties, and functions of the utilities and transportation commission pertaining to hazardous liquid pipeline safety are transferred to the department of ecology. Responsibilities for the safety of gas pipelines shall remain with the commission. Such powers, duties, and functions transferred to the department of ecology do not include rate setting as provided in chapters 80.28, 80.24, and 81.24 RCW. All references to the commission or the utilities and transportation commission in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the director or the department of ecology when referring to the functions transferred in this section.

(2)(a) All reports, documents, surveys, books, records, files, papers, or written material in the possession of the utilities and transportation commission pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be delivered to the custody of the department of ecology. All cabinets, furniture, office equipment, motor vehicles, and other tangible property employed by the utilities and transportation commission in carrying out the powers, functions, and duties pertinent to hazardous liquid pipeline safety transferred shall be made available to the department of ecology. All funds, credits, or other assets held in connection with the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be assigned to the department of ecology.

(b) Any appropriations made to the utilities and transportation commission for carrying out the powers, functions, and duties pertinent to hazardous liquid pipeline safety transferred shall, on the effective date of this section, be divided proportionally based on program responsibilities and shared with the department of ecology.

(c) Whenever any question arises as to the transfer of any personnel, funds, books, documents, records, papers, files, equipment, or other tangible property used or held in the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties and functions transferred, the director of financial management shall make a determination as to the proper allocation and certify the same to the state agencies concerned.

(3) All employees of the utilities and transportation commission engaged in performing the powers, functions, and duties relative to hazardous liquid pipeline safety are transferred to the jurisdiction of the department of ecology. All employees classified under chapter 41.06 RCW, the state civil service law, are assigned to the department of ecology to perform their usual duties upon the same terms as formerly, without any loss of rights, subject to any action that may be appropriate thereafter in accordance with the laws and rules governing state civil service.

(4) All rules and all pending business before the utilities and transportation commission pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties pertinent to hazardous liquid pipeline safety transferred shall be continued and acted upon by the department of ecology. All existing contracts and obligations shall remain in full force and shall be performed by the department of ecology.

(5) The transfer of the powers, duties, functions, and personnel of the utilities and transportation commission shall not affect the validity of any act performed before the effective date of this section.

(6) If apportionments of budgeted funds are required because of the transfers directed by this section, the director of financial management shall certify the apportionments to the agencies affected, the state auditor, and the state treasurer. Each of these shall make the appropriate transfer and adjustments in funds and appropriation accounts and equipment records in accordance with the certification.

(7) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to alter any existing collective bargaining unit or the provisions of any existing collective bargaining agreement until the agreement has expired or until the bargaining unit has been modified by action of the personnel board as provided by law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) A pipeline safety committee is established to advise the department, the commission, and other appropriate federal, state, and local government agencies and officials on matters relating to hazardous liquid and gas pipeline safety, routing, construction, operation, and maintenance. The committee shall not exceed fifteen members, exclusive of nonvoting state agency representatives. Members of the committee shall be appointed by the governor to staggered three-year terms and shall consist of members of the general public, elected officials from cities and counties in which pipelines are located, and the hazardous liquid and gas pipeline industry. A representative of the department of ecology and of the utilities and transportation commission shall each sit on the committee as nonvoting members. The governor may designate other nonvoting representatives of state agencies to serve on the committee as needed. The chair of the committee shall be appointed by the governor from among the members of the general public. The committee shall review and comment on proposed rules and on the operation of the state pipeline safety program.

(2) All necessary staff support for the committee shall be provided by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 48.48 RCW to read as follows:

(1) In consultation with the emergency management program within the state military department, the department of ecology, the commission, and local emergency services organizations, the chief of the Washington state patrol, through the director of fire protection or his or her authorized deputy, shall:

(a) Evaluate the preparedness of local first responders in meeting emergency management demands under subsection (2) of this section; and

(b) Conduct an assessment of the equipment and personnel needed by local first responders to meet emergency management demands related to pipelines.

(2) The chief of the Washington state patrol, through the director of fire protection or his or her deputy, shall develop curricula for training local first responders to deal with pipeline accidents. The curricula shall be developed in conjunction with pipeline companies and local first responders, and shall include a timetable and costs for providing training as defined in the curricula to all communities housing pipelines. Separate curricula shall be developed for hazardous liquid and gas pipelines so that the differences between pipelines may be recognized and appropriate accident responses provided. The need for a training program for regional incident management teams shall also be evaluated.

(3) In consultation with other relevant agencies, the chief of the Washington state patrol, through the director of fire protection or his or her deputy, shall identify the need and means for achieving consistent application of the national interagency incident management system.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "local first responders" means police, fire, emergency medical staff, and volunteers.

Sec. 10. RCW 19.122.020 and 1984 c 144 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter:

(1) "Business day" means any day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a legal local, state, or federal holiday.

(2) "Damage" includes the substantial weakening of structural or lateral support of an underground facility, penetration, impairment, or destruction of any underground protective coating, housing, or other protective device, or the severance, partial or complete, of any underground facility to the extent that the project owner or the affected utility owner determines that repairs are required.

(3) "Emergency" means any condition constituting a clear and present danger to life or property, or a customer service outage.

(4) "Excavation" means any operation in which earth, rock, or other material on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by any means, except the tilling of soil less than twelve inches in depth for agricultural purposes, or road and ditch maintenance that does not change the original road grade or ditch flowline.

(5) "Excavator" means any person who engages directly in excavation.

(6) "Identified facility" means any underground facility which is indicated in the project plans as being located within the area of proposed excavation.

(7) "Identified but unlocatable underground facility" means an underground facility which has been identified but cannot be located with reasonable accuracy.

(8) "Locatable underground facility" means an underground facility which can be field-marked with reasonable accuracy.

(9) "Marking" means the use of stakes, paint, or other clearly identifiable materials to show the field location of underground facilities, in accordance with the current color code standard of the American public works association. Markings shall include identification letters indicating the specific type of the underground facility.

(10) "Person" means an individual, partnership, franchise holder, association, corporation, a state, a city, a county, or any subdivision or instrumentality of a state, and its employees, agents, or legal representatives.

(11) "Pipeline" or "pipeline system" means all parts of a pipeline facility through which hazardous liquid or gas moves in transportation, including, but not limited to, line pipe, pumping units, fabricated assemblies associated with pumping units, metering and delivery stations and fabricated assemblies therein, and breakout tanks, and excluding process pipelines and transfer pipelines as defined in chapter 173-180A WAC, as it exists on the effective date of this act.

(12) "Pipeline company" means a person or entity constructing, owning, or operating a pipeline for transporting hazardous liquid or gas. For the purposes of this section, a pipeline company does not include: (a) Distribution systems owned and operated under franchise for the sale, delivery, or distribution of natural gas at retail; or (b) excavation contractors or other contractors that contract with a pipeline company.

(13) "Reasonable accuracy" means location within twenty-four inches of the outside dimensions of both sides of an underground facility.

((~~(12)~~)) (14) "Underground facility" means any item buried or placed below ground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, electronic, telephonic or telegraphic communications, cablevision, electric energy, petroleum products, gas, gaseous vapors, hazardous liquids, or other substances and including but not limited to pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments, and those parts of poles or anchors below ground. This definition does not apply to hazardous liquid or gas pipelines as defined in subsection (11) of this section.

((~~(13)~~)) (15) "One-number locator service" means a service through which a person can notify utilities and request field-marking of underground facilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 19.122 RCW to read as follows:

(1) By December 31, 2000, the utilities and transportation commission shall establish or cause to be established a single state-wide toll-free telephone number to be used for referring excavators to the appropriate one-number locator service.

(2) The utilities and transportation commission, in consultation with the Washington utilities coordinating council, shall establish minimum standards and best management practices for one-number locator services consistent with the recommendations of the governor's fuel accident prevention and response team issued in December 1999. By December 31, 2000, the commission shall provide its recommendations to the appropriate standing committees of the house of representatives and the senate.

(3) One-number locator services shall be operated by nongovernmental agencies.

Sec. 12. RCW 19.122.030 and 1988 c 99 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Before commencing any excavation, excluding agricultural tilling of soil as defined in RCW 19.122.020, the excavator shall provide notice of the scheduled commencement of excavation to all owners of underground facilities and to all pipeline companies through a one-number locator service. All owners of underground facilities and all pipeline companies within a one-number locator service area shall subscribe to the service. One number locator service rates for cable television companies will be based on the amount of their underground facilities. If no one-number locator service is available, notice shall be provided individually to those owners of underground facilities and to those pipeline companies known to or suspected of having underground facilities or pipelines within the area of proposed excavation. The notice shall be communicated to the owners of underground facilities and to pipeline companies not less than two business days or more than ten business days before the scheduled date for commencement of excavation, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

Upon receipt of the notice provided for in this section, the owner of the underground facility and the pipeline company shall provide the excavator with reasonably accurate information as to its locatable underground facilities and the pipeline by surface-marking the location of the facilities or pipeline. If there are identified but unlocatable underground facilities or pipeline, the owner of such facilities and the pipeline company shall provide the excavator with the best available information as to their locations. The owner of the underground facility and the pipeline company providing the information shall respond no later than two business days after the receipt of the notice or before the excavation time, at the option of the owner or pipeline company, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. Excavators shall not excavate until all known facilities and pipelines have been marked. Once marked by the owner of the underground facility and pipeline company, the excavator is responsible for maintaining the markings. Excavators shall have the right to receive compensation from the owner of the underground facility or the pipeline company for costs incurred if the owner of the underground facility or the pipeline company does not locate its facilities in accordance with this section.

The owner of the underground facility and the pipeline company shall have the right to receive compensation for costs incurred in responding to excavation notices given less than two business days prior to the excavation from the excavator.

An owner of underground facilities ((is)) and the pipeline company are not required to indicate the presence of existing service laterals or appurtenances if the presence of existing service laterals or appurtenances on the site of the construction project can be determined from the presence of other visible facilities, such as buildings, manholes, or meter and junction boxes on or adjacent to the construction site.

Emergency excavations are exempt from the time requirements for notification provided in this section.

If the excavator, while performing the contract, discovers underground facilities which are not identified, the excavator shall cease excavating in the vicinity of the facility and immediately notify the owner or operator of such facilities, or the one-number locator service. If the excavator, while performing the contract, discovers an underground pipeline which is not identified, the excavator shall cease excavating in the vicinity of the pipeline and immediately notify the pipeline company and the one-number locator service.

Sec. 13. RCW 19.122.040 and 1984 c 144 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Project owners shall indicate in bid or contract documents the existence of underground facilities and pipelines known by the project owner to be located within the proposed area of excavation. The following shall be deemed changed or differing site conditions:

(a) An underground facility or pipeline not identified as required by this chapter or other provision of law; and

(b) An underground facility or pipeline not located, as required by this chapter or other provision of law, by the project owner or excavator if the project owner or excavator is also a utility.

(2) An excavator shall use reasonable care to avoid damaging underground facilities and pipelines. An excavator shall:

(a) Determine the precise location of underground facilities and pipelines which have been marked;

(b) Plan the excavation to avoid damage to or minimize interference with underground facilities and pipelines in and near the excavation area; and

(c) Provide such support for underground facilities and pipelines in and near the construction area, including during backfill operations, as may be reasonably necessary for the protection of such facilities and pipelines.

(3) If an underground facility or pipeline is damaged and such damage is the consequence of the failure to fulfill an obligation under this chapter, the party failing to perform that obligation shall be liable for any damages. Any clause in an excavation contract which attempts to allocate liability, or requires indemnification to shift the economic consequences of liability, different from the provisions of this chapter is against public policy and unenforceable. Nothing in this chapter prevents the parties to an excavation contract from contracting with respect to the allocation of risk for changed or differing site conditions.

(4) In any action brought under this section, the prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. By September 1, 2000, the utilities and transportation commission and the department of ecology shall jointly provide notice to all appropriate contractors about new hazardous liquid and gas pipeline safety and excavation requirements.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) After a pipeline company has been notified by an excavator pursuant to RCW 19.122.030 that excavation work will uncover any portion of the pipeline, the pipeline company shall ensure that the pipeline section in the vicinity of the excavation is examined for damage prior to being reburied.

(2) An excavator who, in the course of excavation, contacts or damages a hazardous liquid or gas pipeline, shall immediately notify the pipeline company and the one-number locator service. The notice shall also specify, to the best of the excavator's knowledge, whether the damage has resulted in a release of hazardous liquid or gas. If the damage causes an emergency condition, the excavator causing the damage shall also immediately alert the appropriate local public safety agencies and take all appropriate steps to ensure the public safety. No damaged hazardous liquid or gas pipeline may be buried until it is repaired or relocated by the pipeline operator.

(3) Immediately upon receiving information of third-party damage to a hazardous liquid or gas pipeline that does not result in a reportable release of hazardous liquid or gas release as defined in state regulation, the company that owns or operates the pipeline shall immediately conduct a visual inspection of the damaged pipeline to determine whether flow through the pipeline should be terminated. After visual inspection, a pipeline company shall determine whether the damaged pipeline section should be replaced or repaired, or whether pipeline operation may be safely resumed. A record of the company's inspection report and test results shall be provided to the department or the commission consistent with reporting requirements under 49 C.F.R. 195 Subpart B.

(4) Immediately upon receiving information of third-party damage to a hazardous liquid pipeline that results in a reportable release of hazardous liquid release as defined in state regulation, the company that owns or operates the pipeline shall immediately terminate the flow of hazardous liquid until it has visually inspected the damaged pipeline, determined and addressed the cause of the release, and determined that pipeline operation may be safely resumed. Pipeline companies shall immediately notify local first responders and the department of any reportable release of a hazardous liquid from a pipeline. Pipeline companies shall immediately notify first responders and the commission of any gas release as defined in state regulation from a pipeline.

Sec. 16. RCW 19.122.070 and 1984 c 144 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, and which violation results in damage to underground facilities, is subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation. All penalties recovered in such actions shall be deposited in the general fund.

(2) Any excavator who wilfully or maliciously damages a field-marked underground facility shall be liable for treble the costs incurred in repairing or relocating the facility. In those cases in which an excavator fails to notify known underground facility owners or the one-number locator service, any damage to the underground facility shall be deemed wilful and malicious and shall be subject to treble damages for costs incurred in repairing or relocating the facility.

(3) This chapter does not affect any civil remedies for personal injury or for property damage, including that to underground facilities, nor does this chapter create any new civil remedies for such damage.

(4) This section does not apply to damages to a hazardous liquid or gas pipeline. Damages to a hazardous liquid or gas pipeline are subject to the provisions of section 17 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 19.122 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Any excavator, except a person engaged in the agricultural tillage of soil as defined in RCW 19.122.020, who fails to notify a one-number locator service as required by RCW 19.122.030 and causes damage to a hazardous liquids pipeline or gas pipeline is subject to a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars for the first violation. The maximum civil penalty under this section for multiple violations may not exceed ten thousand dollars for each violation. In determining the amount of the penalty for multiple violations, the department shall consider:

(a) The appropriateness of the penalty in relation to the position of the person charged with the violation;

(b) The gravity of the violation; and

(2) All penalties under this section shall be deposited into the hazardous liquid pipeline safety account established in section 3 of this act.

(3) Any person who willfully or maliciously damages a hazardous liquids pipeline or gas pipeline, or any person who fails to notify a one-number locator service as required by RCW 19.122.030 and causes damage to a hazardous liquids pipeline or gas pipeline, is liable for treble damages for costs incurred in repairing or relocating the pipeline.

(4) This section does not affect any civil remedies for personal injury or for property damage.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. Upon receiving delegated or direct authority for pipeline safety, the department shall adopt rules: (1) Setting penalty amounts not in excess of the penalties specified in the federal pipeline safety laws, 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101 et seq.; (2) establishing procedures for mitigating penalties assessed; and (3) incorporating by reference other substances designated as hazardous by the secretary of transportation under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101(a)(4).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. This act may be known and cited as the Washington state pipeline safety act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. Sections 1 through 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, and 18 through 20 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.