An Act To Manage Risks Associated with the Installation of Natural Gas Pipelines
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1124
Committee Amendment CA_A_H406 (House)
Amends: 35-A MRSA §2503

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " 
to H.P. 775, L.D. 1124, Bill, "An Act To 
Manage Risks Associated with the Installation of Natural Gas Pipelines" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 3 to 5 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §2503, sub-§21, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 753, § 12, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
21. Default standards. This subsection governs standards applied by local licensing 
authorities. 
A. As used in this subsection, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following 
terms have the following meanings. 
(1) "Local licensing authority" means municipal officers or their designees or 
county commissioners. 
(2) "Underground location standards" means standards governing the location 
and depth of and distance between utility facilities, including the underground 
portion of aboveground facilities such as utility pole bases. 
B. For all state and state-aid highways within compact areas of urban compact 
municipalities as defined in Title 23, section 754, rules adopted by the Department of 
Transportation under subsection 16 serve as the minimum standard. 
C. Except within areas identified in paragraph B, a local licensing authority may 
adopt underground location standards for utility facilities within its jurisdiction as 
designated in section 2502, subsection 1, paragraph A or B, If a local licensing 
authority has not adopted underground location standards for utility facilities, the 
underground location standards adopted by the Department of Transportation under 
subsection 16 govern. 
D. A local licensing authority that has not adopted underground location standards 
for utility facilities in accordance with paragraph C may grant exceptions to the 
underground location standards adopted by the Department of Transportation under 
subsection 16 if the licensing authority [rods one of the following: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~o~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 775, L.D. 1124 
(1) 
Application of the underground location standards would present an 
exceptional hardship or unreasonable cost under the circumstances and 
altemative standards will adequately ensure public safety; 
(2) All affected palties, as determined by the local licensing authority, have 
agreed to alternative underground location standards that will adequately ensure 
public safety; 
(3) A unique situation exists that requires an adjustment of the standards in a 
manner that ensures public safety; or 
(4) The underground location standards exceed the limits of the available space 
within the right-of-way. 
E. The owners of a new, planned underground utility facility shall coordinate directly 
with owners of existing underground utility facilities in the public way during the 
design phase of the new, planned facility. Both the new and existing facility owners 
shall make reasonable accommodation for each other's facilities in accordance with 
applicable underground location standards to allow ease of access to and maintenance 
of those facilities and adequately ensure public safety. ' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment retains sections of the bill that address the application process and 
objection process relating to the regulation of facilities in the public way. This 
amendment defines "underground location standards" and specifies that a local licensing 
authority may adopt underground location standards for utility facilities within its 
jurisdiction, except along state or state-aid highways within compact areas of urban 
compact municipalities, in which case the location standards adopted by the Department 
of Transpoltation serve as the minimum standard. The amendment specifies that if a 
local licensing authority has not adopted underground location standards for utility 
facilities within its jurisdiction, the standards adopted by the Department of 
Transportation govern. This amendment allows a local licensing authority that has not 
adopted standards to grant an exception to the standards adopted by the Department of 
Transportation if it finds that applying the standards would present an exceptional 
hardship or unreasonable cost under the circumstances and altemative standards will 
adequately ensure public safety; all affected parties, as determined by the local licensing 
authority, have agreed to altemative underground location standards that will adequately 
ensure public safety; a. unique situation exists that requires an adjustment of the standards 
in a manner that ensures public safety; or the underground location standards exceed the 
limits of the available space within the right-of-way, Lastly, this amendment requires 
coordination among underground utility facility owners. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT