S-0426

AN ACT Relating to technical and clarifying amendments to the pipeline safety act of 2000; amending RCW 81.88.010, 81.88.060, 81.88.070, 81.88.090, 19.122.055, 19.122.070, and 80.01.080; repealing RCW 81.88.050 and 81.88.130; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 81.88.010 and 2000 c 191 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

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" means a design feature that will maintain or result in a safe condition in the event of malfunction or failure of a power supply, component, or control device.

((~~(4)~~)) (3) "Gas" means natural gas, flammable gas, or toxic or corrosive gas.

((~~(5)~~)) (4) "Gas pipeline" means all parts of a pipeline facility through which gas moves in transportation, including, but not limited to, line pipe, valves, and other appurtenances connected to line pipe, pumping units, fabricated assemblies associated with pumping units, metering and delivery stations and fabricated assemblies therein, and breakout tanks. "Gas pipeline" does not include process or transfer pipelines.

((~~(6)~~)) (5) "Gas pipeline company" means a person or entity constructing, owning, or operating a gas pipeline for transporting gas. A "gas 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 gas pipeline company.

((~~(7)~~)) (6) "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.

((~~(8)~~)) (7) "Local government" means a political subdivision of the state or a city or town.

((~~(9)~~)) (8) "Person" means an individual, partnership, franchise holder, association, corporation, a state, a city, a county, or any political subdivision or instrumentality of a state, and its employees, agents, or legal representatives.

((~~(10)~~)) (9) "Pipeline," "pipeline system," or "hazardous liquid pipeline" means all parts of a pipeline facility through which a hazardous liquid moves in transportation, including, but not limited to, line pipe, valves, and other appurtenances connected to line pipe, pumping units, fabricated assemblies associated with pumping units, metering and delivery stations and fabricated assemblies therein, and breakout tanks. "Pipeline" or "pipeline system" does not include process or transfer pipelines.

((~~(11)~~)) (10) "Pipeline company" or "hazardous liquid pipeline company" means a person or entity constructing, owning, or operating a pipeline for transporting hazardous liquid. 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.

((~~(12)~~)) (11) "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.

((~~(13)~~)) (12) "Safety management systems" means management systems that include coordinated and interdisciplinary evaluations of the effect of significant changes to a pipeline system before such changes are implemented.

((~~(14)~~)) (13) "Transfer pipeline" means a buried or aboveground pipeline used to carry oil between a tank vessel or transmission pipeline and the first valve inside secondary containment at the facility provided that any discharge on the facility side of that first valve will not directly impact waters of the state. A transfer pipeline includes valves, and other appurtenances connected to the pipeline, pumping units, and fabricated assemblies associated with pumping units. A transfer pipeline does not include process pipelines, pipelines carrying ballast or bilge water, transmission pipelines, or tank vessel or storage tanks.

((~~(15)~~)) (14) "Transmission pipeline" means a gas pipeline that transports gas within a storage field, or transports gas from an interstate pipeline or storage facility to a distribution main or a large volume gas user, or operates at a hoop stress of twenty percent or more of the specified minimum yield strength.

Sec. 2. RCW 81.88.060 and 2000 c 191 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A comprehensive program of hazardous liquid pipeline safety is authorized by RCW 81.88.010, 81.88.040, ((~~81.88.050,~~)) 81.88.090, 81.88.100, ((~~81.88.130,~~)) 48.48.160, and this section to be developed and implemented consistent with federal law. ((~~Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section,~~)) The commission shall administer and enforce all laws related to hazardous liquid pipeline safety.

(2) The commission shall adopt rules for pipeline safety standards for hazardous liquid pipeline transportation that:

(a) Require pipeline companies to design, construct, operate, and maintain their pipeline facilities so they are safe and efficient;

(b) Require pipeline companies to rapidly locate and isolate all reportable releases from pipelines, that may include:

(i) Installation of remote control shut-off valves; and

(ii) Installation of remotely monitored pressure gauges and meters;

(d) Require reporting of emergency situations, including emergency shutdowns and material defects or physical damage that impair the serviceability of a pipeline; and

(e) Require pipeline companies to submit operations safety plans to the commission once every five years, as well as any amendments to the plan made necessary by changes to the pipeline system or its operation. The safety plan shall include emergency response procedures.

(3) The commission shall approve operations safety plans if they have been deemed fit for service. A plan shall be deemed fit for service when it provides for pipelines that are designed, developed, constructed, operated, and periodically modified to provide for protection of public safety and the environment. Pipeline operations safety plans shall, at a minimum, include:

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

(i) All mechanical components;

(ii) All electronic components; and

(iii) The structural integrity of all pipelines as determined through pressure testing, internal inspection tool surveys, or another appropriate technique;

(b) Failsafe systems;

(d) Emergency management training for pipeline operators.

(4) The commission shall coordinate information related to pipeline safety by providing technical assistance to local planning and siting authorities.

(5) The commission shall evaluate, and consider adopting, proposals developed by the federal office of pipeline safety, the national transportation safety board, and other agencies and organizations related to methods and technologies for testing the integrity of pipeline structure, leak detection, and other elements of pipeline operation.

(((6) The authorities of RCW 81.88.010, 81.88.040, 81.88.050, 81.88.090, 81.88.100, 81.88.130, 48.48.160, and this section relating to hazardous liquid pipeline safety shall be transferred from the commission to the department pursuant to RCW 81.88.130 upon the occurrence of either:

~~(a) Amendments to federal pipeline safety laws to eliminate preemption of state authority to regulate safety requirements for such pipelines; or~~

~~(b) The granting of federal authority to the state to enforce or adopt any safety requirements for interstate hazardous liquid pipelines.~~))

Sec. 3. RCW 81.88.070 and 2000 c 191 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The commission shall develop, in consultation with representatives of hazardous liquid pipeline companies, gas pipeline companies, local governments, and the excavation and construction industries: (a) A ((~~curricula~~)) curriculum aimed at the prevention of third-party excavation damage to hazardous liquid pipelines and gas pipelines; and (b) a plan for distribution of the ((~~curricula~~)) curriculum.

(2) The ((~~curricula~~)) curriculum shall include training on:

(a) Prevention of damage to hazardous liquid and gas pipelines;

(b) The danger involved if a hazardous liquid or gas pipeline is damaged;

(d) The importance of immediately reporting damage to a hazardous liquid or gas pipeline and the importance of immediately repairing a damaged hazardous liquid or gas pipeline.

Sec. 4. RCW 81.88.090 and 2000 c 191 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The commission ((~~and the department~~)) shall apply for federal delegation for the state's program for the purposes of enforcement of federal hazardous liquid pipeline safety requirements. If the secretary of transportation delegates inspection authority to the state as provided in this subsection, the ((~~department~~)) commission, at a minimum, shall do the following:

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

(b) Collect fees;

(d) File reports with the United States secretary of transportation as required to maintain the delegated authority.

(2) The commission ((~~and the department~~)) shall also seek federal authority to adopt safety standards related to the monitoring and testing of interstate hazardous liquid pipelines.

(3) Upon delegation under subsection (1) of this section or under a grant of authority under subsection (2) of this section, to the extent authorized by federal law, the ((~~department~~)) commission shall adopt rules for interstate pipelines that are no less stringent than the state's laws and rules for intrastate hazardous liquid pipelines.

Sec. 5. RCW 19.122.055 and 2000 c 191 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person who fails to notify the one-number locator service and causes damage to a hazardous liquid or gas pipeline is subject to a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation.

(2) All civil penalties recovered under this section ((~~relating to hazardous liquid pipelines~~)) shall be deposited into the ((~~hazardous liquid pipeline safety account~~)) public service revolving fund created in RCW ((~~81.88.050. All civil penalties recovered under this section relating to gas pipelines shall be deposited in the general fund~~)) 80.01.080 and expended for the purpose of enforcement of ((~~gas~~)) pipeline safety laws.

Sec. 6. 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~~)) public service revolving fund created under RCW 80.01.080.

(2) Any excavator who willfully 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 willful 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.

Sec. 7. RCW 80.01.080 and 1961 c 14 s 80.01.080 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~The transportation revolving fund and the public utilities revolving fund are abolished as of April 1, 1949, and as of such date~~)) There is created in the state treasury a (("))public service revolving fund((" to which shall be transferred all moneys which then remain on hand to the credit of the transportation revolving fund and the public utilities revolving fund, subject, however, to outstanding warrants and other obligations chargeable to appropriations made from such funds. From and after April 1, 1949,)). Regulatory fees payable by all types of public service companies and civil penalties recovered under RCW 19.122.055 shall be deposited to the credit of the public service revolving fund. All expense of operation of the Washington utilities and transportation commission shall be payable out of the public service revolving fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 81.88.050 (Hazardous liquid pipeline safety account) and 2000 c 191 s 4; and

(2) RCW 81.88.130 (Transfer of powers, duties, and functions of commission to department--Delegation of federal authority--Determination by office of financial management) and 2000 c 191 s 13.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. 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 July 1, 2001.