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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 858
AN ACT CONCERNING CALL BEFORE YOU DIG PROGRAM
VIOLATIONS AND CERTAIN MODIFICATIONS TO GAS PIPELINES
PROCESSES.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes in the laws related to gas pipelines
and underground utility facilities. It requires that penalties for
violations of the “Call Before You Dig” law’s marking requirements be
directly paid by the entity being penalized by the Public Utilities
Regulatory Authority (PURA), without recovering the penalty from a
third party (e.g., a contractor working for the penalized entity). It also
establishes a process by which the PURA commissioners can stop the
work on a Call Before You Dig project if there is an immediate life-
threatening hazard resulting from a willful violation of the law.
The bill expands PURA’s authority over certain gas transportation
entities (e.g., propane systems and municipal gas distribution
systems). Among other things, it (1) gives PURA access to these
entities’ facilities, (2) brings them under PURA’s investigatory powers,
(3) allows PURA to order them to make certain reasonable
improvements or repairs, (4) requires them to notify PURA about
certain accidents (5) allows PURA to impose certain penalties on them,
and (6) provides whistleblower protections to their employees.
It aligns PURA’s authority over gas transportation entities with
applicable federal standards by (1) explicitly citing the federal
regulations that the state adopts as its safety standards for pipeline
facilities and the transportation of gas and (2) capping the maximum
penalties at the maximum amount allowed under federal regulations,
rather than federal law.
Lastly, the bill repeals obsolete and duplicative laws that generally
require gas utility companies to submit a biennial report to PURA on 2021SB-00858-R000282-BA.DOCX
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their underground facilities (§§ 13-14).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021, except that provisions repealing
obsolete statutes are effective October 1, 2021.
§§ 1 & 12 — CALL BEFORE YOU DIG
Penalties (§ 1)
Existing law requires companies and individuals engaging in
excavation, discharge of explosions, or demolition projects to comply
with certain requirements (i.e., “Call Before You Dig”). Anyone who
fails to comply with these requirements must pay a civil penalty up to
$40,000.
Under the bill, the penalty for a violation involving a public utility’s
failure to properly or timely mark an underground facility’s
approximate location must be paid by the public utility to whom the
notice from PURA is addressed. However, the bill exempts an owner
or operator of a municipal utility from this requirement. Additionally,
if the penalized public utility recovers any portion of the penalty from
a third party (e.g., a contractor that failed to make the markings), the
bill also allows PURA to direct the public utility to forfeit the
recovered amount, as provided in the notice.
Stop-Work Orders (§ 12)
If there is an immediate life-threatening hazard resulting from a
willful violation of the Call Before You Dig laws or their related
regulations, the bill requires PURA’s commissioners to immediately
notify the entity responsible for the project about the hazard and
violation. Upon receiving the notification, the responsible entity must
promptly abate the hazard and violation. If it does not do so in a
reasonable time frame, the bill authorizes the commissioners to stop
the project immediately until the hazard and violation have been
abated.
§§ 2-7 & 11 — pura jurisdiction over gas transportation
Current law gives PURA jurisdiction over public services
companies, which includes investor-owned natural gas distribution 2021SB-00858-R000282-BA.DOCX
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companies (e.g., Eversource). The bill extends certain elements of this
jurisdiction to “persons involved in the transportation of gas,” which,
under the bill, includes a wider array of gas transporting entities, such
as municipal gas distribution systems and propane systems.
Under the bill:
1. “persons” are any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership,
corporation, limited liability company, association,
municipality, or cooperative association, including any of their
trustees, receivers, assignees, or personal representatives;
2. “gas” is natural gas, flammable gas, or toxic or corrosive gas;
and
3. “transportation of gas” is the gathering, transmission, or
distribution of gas by pipeline or its storage.
PURA Access to Facilities (§ 2)
Current law allows PURA, or its designees, to access a public utility
company’s or retail electric supplier’s premises, buildings, or other
places that they own or control. The bill expands this access to also
include their “plants” and to those of persons involved in the
transportation of gas. By law a company’s “plants” include all real
estate, buildings, tracks, pipes, mains, poles, wires, and other fixed or
stationary construction and equipment, wherever located, used in the
conduct of the company’s business (CGS § 16-1).
The bill also increases the maximum fine that may be imposed on
someone who obstructs or hinders PURA’s access from $200 to
$10,000. Under existing law, unchanged by the bill, the offender may
be imprisoned up to six months or both fined and imprisoned.
Investigatory Powers (§ 3)
Current law allows PURA to summon witnesses and require the
production of various documents related to a public service company’s
affairs. The bill expands this authority to also cover the affairs of
persons involved in the transportation of gas. 2021SB-00858-R000282-BA.DOCX
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The bill similarly expands PURA’s authority to have management
audits performed on the operating procedures or other internal
workings of a person involved in the transportation of gas, including
the relationship between the person and a related holding company or
subsidiary. Existing law already gives PURA this authority over public
service companies.
As under the current law for auditing public service companies, if
the audit finds that the operating procedures or internal workings of
the person involved in the transportation of gas are inefficient,
improvident, unreasonable, negligent, or in abuse of discretion, the bill
allows PURA to order the person to adopt new or altered practices and
procedures.
Whistleblower Protections (§ 4)
The bill extends PURA’s whistleblower protections to employees of
(1) persons involved in the transportation of gas and (2) entities that
directly or indirectly provide goods to them. It does this by, among
other things:
1. prohibiting these employers from taking any retaliatory actions
against their employees for disclosing the substantial
malfeasance of a person involved in the transportation of gas;
2. allowing their employees to inform PURA about any prohibited
retaliatory actions or malfeasance in management;
3. allowing PURA to investigate and issue orders, impose civil
penalties, award attorney’s fees and order payment for back
pay;
4. voiding any agreement between the employees and employers
if it discourages the employee from presenting a written
complaint or testifying about the malfeasance; and
5. requiring a notice to be posted in these employees’ workplaces,
in accordance with PURA’s regulations, informing them about
the whistleblower protections. 2021SB-00858-R000282-BA.DOCX
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PURA Authority to Order Improvements (§ 5)
Current law generally (1) requires PURA to keep fully informed
about the conditions of a public service company’s plant, equipment,
and operations, in respect to its adequacy, suitability, and safety, and
(2) authorizes PURA to order a company to make reasonable
improvements, repairs, or alterations in its plants, equipment, or
operations, that may be reasonably necessary for the public interest.
The bill extends this requirement and authority to include persons
involved in the transportation of gas.
Accident Reporting (§ 6)
As current law requires for public service companies and retail
electric suppliers, the bill requires persons involved in the
transportations of gas to notify PURA, as soon as reasonably possible,
about any accident, other than a minor accident, that (1) was, or may
have been, connected with or due to the operation of their property
and (2) involved personal injuries or public safety.
As under current law, if the notice is given in a nonwritten form, it
must be confirmed in writing within five days after the accident. They
must also submit a monthly written report on minor accidents to
PURA. A failure to comply with these requirements is subject to a fine
up to $500 per offense.
Enforcement (§ 7)
Current law requires PURA-regulated entities to obey, observe, and
comply with all applicable provisions of the laws for public service
companies and PURA’s applicable regulations and orders. It requires
violators to be penalized, by PURA’s order, under the applicable
statutory penalty or, if no penalty is prescribed, with a fine up to
$10,000, restitution, or a combination of both for each offense. The bill
expands these provisions to also cover persons involved with the
transportation of gas.
The bill also specifies that the maximum civil penalty PURA may
impose is the maximum allowed by law, not the penalty stated in the 2021SB-00858-R000282-BA.DOCX
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notice of violation.
Stop-work orders (§ 11)
The bill authorizes PURA’s commissioners to order any work
performed by a person involved in the transportation of gas to stop
immediately if the work may endanger someone.
§§ 8-10 — FEDERAL STANDARDS & PURA REGULATIONS
PURA Waivers (§ 8)
Existing state law requires persons involved in the transportation of
gas or the maintenance of gas pipelines to follow federal safety
standards, but it also generally allows PURA to adopt regulations that
are more specific than the federal standards under certain
circumstances. Current law generally allows PURA to waive the
federal standards in individual cases when warranted by local
circumstances or conditions. The bill allows PURA to also do this for
the regulations it adopts.
Federal Standards (§ 9)
Current law adopts the federal safety standards applicable to
pipeline facilities and the transportation of gas. The bill limits their
application to the transportation of gas and explicitly cites the
applicable federal regulations for these standards (49 C.F.R. 191 to 49
C.F.R. 193).
Penalties (§ 10)
Under current law, violators of the federal law or regulations on
natural gas pipeline safety (49 U.S.C. Chapter 601) or state law or
regulations on natural gas pipelines are subject to a civil penalty up to
the maximum allowed under the federal law. The bill instead allows
the penalty to be up to the higher of the maximum allowed under (1)
the federal law or (2) federal regulations on pipeline safety (49 C.F.R.
190.223(a)).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Energy and Technology Committee 2021SB-00858-R000282-BA.DOCX
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Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 26 Nay 0 (03/18/2021)