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OLR Bill Analysis
SB 94
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN MODIFICATIONS TO GAS
PIPELINE PROCESSES.
SUMMARY
This bill expands the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s (PURA)
authority over certain gas transportation entities (e.g., propane systems
and municipal gas distribution systems). Among other things, it does
the following:
1. gives PURA access to these entities’ facilities,
2. brings them under PURA’s investigatory powers,
3. provides whistleblower protections to their employees,
4. allows PURA to order them to make certain improvements or
repairs,
5. requires them to notify PURA about certain accidents, and
6. allows PURA to impose certain penalties on them.
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.
The bill also establishes a process by which the PURA commissioners
can stop the work on a project covered by the “Call Before You Dig” law
if there is an immediate life-threatening hazard resulting from a willful
violation of the law. 2022SB-00094-R000346-BA.DOCX
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Lastly, the bill repeals obsolete and duplicative laws that generally
require gas utility companies to submit a biennial report to PURA on
their underground facilities (§§ 12-13).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2022
§§ 1-6 & 10 — PURA JURISDICTION OVER GAS TRANSPORTATION
Current law gives PURA jurisdiction over public services companies,
which include investor-owned natural gas distribution companies (e.g.,
Eversource). The bill extends certain elements of this jurisdiction to
“persons involved in the transportation of gas,” which, under the bill,
include 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 (§ 1)
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 it owns or controls. The bill expands this access to also
include the company’s or supplier’s “plants” and 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. 2022SB-00094-R000346-BA.DOCX
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Under existing law, unchanged by the bill, the offender may be
imprisoned up to six months or both fined and imprisoned.
Investigatory Powers (§ 2)
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.
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, and the bill extends the same procedural
requirements and criteria to audits of a person involved in the
transportation of gas.
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 (§ 3)
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 people involved in the
transportation of gas. 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 2022SB-00094-R000346-BA.DOCX
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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.
PURA Authority to Order Improvements (§ 4)
Current law generally 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. It also
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 (§ 5)
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. The
persons involved in the transportation of gas 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 (§ 6)
Current law requires PURA-regulated entities to obey, observe, and 2022SB-00094-R000346-BA.DOCX
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comply with all applicable provisions of the laws for public service
companies and PURA’s applicable regulations and orders. It specifies
the process for notifying alleged violators and giving them the
opportunity for a hearing on the matter. It requires violators to be
penalized by PURA’s order under the applicable statutory penalty or, if
no penalty is prescribed, with a fine of 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
notice of violation.
Stop-work Orders (§ 10)
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.
§§ 7-9 — FEDERAL STANDARDS & PURA REGULATIONS
PURA Waivers (§ 7)
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. Additionally, 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 (§ 8)
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
and 49 C.F.R. § 199).
Penalties (§ 9) 2022SB-00094-R000346-BA.DOCX
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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)).
§§ 11 — CALL BEFORE YOU DIG STOP-WORK ORDERS
Existing law requires companies and individuals engaging in
excavation, discharge of explosions, or demolition projects to comply
with certain safety-related requirements (i.e., the “Call Before You Dig”
law).
Under the bill, if there is an immediate, life-threatening hazard
resulting from a willful violation of the Call Before You Dig laws or their
related regulations, PURA’s commissioners must 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.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Energy and Technology Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 26 Nay 0 (03/22/2022)