Z-1393.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 6358
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State of Washington 55th Legislature 1998 Regular Session
By Senators Rossi, Finkbeiner, Brown and Jacobsen; by request of Utilities & Transportation Commission
Read first time 01/16/98. Referred to Committee on Energy & Utilities.
AN ACT Relating to utilities and transportation commission intrastate pipeline safety jurisdiction and penalties; adding new sections to chapter 81.88 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 81.88 RCW to read as follows:
Every person, copartnership, corporation, or other association with pipeline facilities and transporting gas, oil, carbon dioxide, or other hazardous liquids such as, but not limited to, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, butane, propane, or anhydrous ammonia by pipeline, or having for one or more of its principal purposes the design, construction, maintenance, or operation of pipelines, for transporting oils, gas, gasoline, hazardous liquids, or other petroleum products as defined by 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101 et seq., or specified under 49 C.F.R. Sec. 195.1 (1996) in this state, even though the person or corporation is not a public service company or common carrier under chapter 81.28 RCW, and even though the person or corporation does not deliver, sell, or furnish these products to a person or corporation within this state, is subject to rules adopted by the commission insofar as the design, construction, and operation of the facilities affect matters of public safety. Every person, copartnership, corporation, or other association must design, construct, and maintain the facilities to be safe and efficient. The commission has the authority to prescribe rules to carry out the purposes of chapter . . ., Laws of 1998 (this act). Every person, officer, agent, or employee of a corporation who, as an individual or as an officer or agent of such a corporation, violates or fails to comply with this section, or who procures, aids, or abets another person or entity in the violation of or noncompliance with this section or a rule of the commission adopted under this section, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. However, the provisions of this section do not apply to distribution systems owned and operated under franchise for the sale, delivery, or distribution of natural gas at retail.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 81.88 RCW to read as follows:
A person, copartnership, corporation, or other association that violates a provision of section 1 of this act, or a rule adopted thereunder, is subject to a civil penalty to be directly assessed by the commission. The level of the penalty must be set by rule by the commission and shall not exceed the penalties specified in federal pipeline safety laws, 49 U.S.C. Sec. 60101 et seq., in effect on the effective date of this section. Any civil penalty may be compromised by the commission. In determining the amount of the penalty, or the amount agreed upon and compromised, the following issues must be considered: The appropriateness of the penalty in relation to the size of the business, the position of the person charged with the violation, the gravity of the violation, and the good faith of the person or company charged in attempting to achieve compliance after notification of the violation. 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.
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