2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 35-A: PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part 4: GAS › Chapter 47: GAS UTILITIES › 35-A §4702-A. Safety jurisdiction only over certain gas utilities

§4702-A. Safety jurisdiction only over certain gas utilities
The commission may regulate certain gas utilities in accordance with this section as an agent of the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration pursuant to 49 United States Code, Section 60105.   [PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
1.  Jurisdiction.
A gas utility owning, controlling, operating or managing a central tank system or a liquefied petroleum gas system is subject to the jurisdiction of the commission solely with respect to safety if that system serves:
A. Ten or more customers;   [PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
B. More than one customer and any portion of the central tank system or liquefied petroleum gas system is located in a public place; or   [PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
C. One customer and a portion of the central tank system or liquefied petroleum gas system is located off the customer's premises in a public place.   [PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
In regulating gas utilities under this section, the commission may not interpret "public place" to include a motel room, hotel room, rented cottage or other rented or leased living space unless the commission receives written notice from the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that this exclusion is incompatible with the administration's interpretation of 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 192.1 and the commission by rule establishes a definition of "public place" consistent with that written notice. Rules adopted under this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
2.  Limitations; liquefied petroleum gas systems.
Regulation of liquefied petroleum gas systems under this section is governed by this subsection. As used in this subsection, unless the context otherwise indicates, "jurisdictional system" means a liquefied petroleum gas system subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration under 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 192.1, and "operator" means the operator of a jurisdictional system.
A. The commission may regulate liquefied petroleum gas systems only to the extent the system is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration under 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 192.1.   [PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
B. The commission shall regulate jurisdictional systems and operators under this section in accordance with the minimum standards established by the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration as adopted by reference by the commission by rule. Rules adopting by reference the minimum standards established by the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.   [PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
C. The commission may not adopt or enforce any rule governing jurisdictional systems or operators, including but not limited to rules establishing definitions or standards, except as specifically authorized in this paragraph, paragraph B or subsection 1. The commission may by rule:
(1) Identify and certify operators;
(2) Require jurisdictional systems to be registered with the commission. The commission may not impose an administrative penalty under section 1508‑A that exceeds $5,800 for failure to register a jurisdictional system;
(3) Prohibit delivery of liquefied petroleum gas to a customer if an operator has determined that piping or other equipment owned by the customer makes continued delivery unsafe. Nothing in this subparagraph permits the commission to require an operator to inspect, maintain or otherwise oversee customer-owned piping or other equipment;
(4) Require operators to participate in the underground facility damage prevention system established under Title 23, section 3360‑A;
(5) Define "combustible material";
(6) Establish reasonable requirements for operators to keep on file maps or drawings of jurisdictional systems;
(7) Establish reasonable standards for the protection of jurisdictional systems from reasonably foreseeable damages that may be caused by motorized vehicles or snow, ice or other weather-related conditions;
(8) Establish reasonable requirements for the installation of warning tape and tracer wires on plastic pipes installed by operators;
(9) Establish reasonable requirements for operators to mark containers owned by the operators and located on customer property;
(10) Establish reasonable requirements for the use of directional boring by operators for the installation of piping for jurisdictional systems;
(11) Establish reasonable odor verification requirements for liquefied petroleum gas delivered to customers by operators; and
(12) Establish enforcement procedures. The enforcement procedures must provide for informal disposition of possible violations, including procedures that allow a person to correct a violation without penalty, informal conferences to resolve disputes about violations, consent agreements to resolve enforcement actions and other means of avoiding adjudicatory proceedings and the imposition of administrative penalties when informal means of enforcement are adequate to ensure public safety.
Rules adopted under this paragraph are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.   [PL 2021, c. 318, §17 (AMD).]
D. In applying the atmospheric corrosion control standards established by the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to liquefied petroleum gas systems, the commission shall consider atmospheric corrosion to be a condition exhibiting signs of deterioration, including pitting or loss of metal. The commission may not consider surface rust or loss of paint coating to constitute atmospheric corrosion.   [PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW).]
[PL 2021, c. 318, §17 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2011, c. 197, §2 (NEW). PL 2021, c. 318, §17 (AMD).