Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-75 - Hazardous liquid pipelinesSafety › GENERAL RULES › Section 480-75-240 - Annual pipeline safety fee methodology

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
				This rule sets forth the commission's regulatory fee methodology for hazardous
				liquid pipelines as that term is defined in RCW  81.88.010, and gas pipelines,
				as that term is defined in RCW  81.88.010. For purposes of this section, these
				pipelines are called "company" or "companies" and the "commission's pipeline
				safety program" means the pipeline safety program that includes each
				program.
(2) Each company will pay
				an annual pipeline safety fee as established in the methodology set forth in
				subsection (3) of this section.
(3)
				The fee will be set by general order of the commission entered before September
				1 of each year and will be collected in four equal installments payable on the
				first day of each quarter as listed below:
1st quarter fee installment due September 1;
2nd quarter fee installment due December 1;
3rd quarter fee installment due March 1;
4th quarter fee installment due June 1.
(a) The total of pipeline safety fees will be
				calculated to recover no more than the costs of the legislatively authorized
				workload represented by current appropriations for the commission's pipeline
				safety program, less the amount received in total base grants through the
				Federal Department of Transportation. Federal grants, other than the federal
				base grant, received by the commission for additional activities not included
				or anticipated in the legislatively directed workload will not be credited
				against pipeline company safety fees, nor will the work supported by grants be
				considered a cost for purposes of calculating fees. To the extent that the
				actual base grant proceeds are different than the amount credited, the
				difference will be applied in the following year.
(b) Total pipeline safety fees as determined
				in (a) of this subsection will be calculated in two parts:
(i) The commission's annual overhead charge
				to the pipeline safety program will be allocated among companies according to
				each company's share of the total of all pipeline miles within Washington as
				reported by companies in their annual reports to the commission.
(ii) After deducting the commission's annual
				overhead charge, the remainder of the total pipeline safety fees will be
				allocated among companies in proportion to each company's share of the
				commission pipeline safety program staff hours that are directly attributable
				to particular companies. The commission will determine each company's share by
				dividing the total hours directly attributable to each company during the two
				preceding calendar years (as reflected in the program's timekeeping system) by
				the total of directly attributable hours for all companies over the same
				period.
(iii) For fee-setting
				purposes, any program hours related to a commission investigation of an
				incident found to be attributed to third-party damage that results in penalties
				collected under RCW  19.122.055 will not be directly attributed to the owner of
				the damaged pipeline.
(c) The commission general order setting fees
				pursuant to this rule will detail the specific calculation of each company's
				pipeline safety fee including the allocations set forth in (b) of this
				subsection.