ENROLLED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 400
BY REPRESENTATIVE SCHEXNAYDER
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 30:551(B) and 703 and to enact R.S. 30:4(P) and 551(C) and
3 (D), relative to the powers and duties of the commissioner of conservation; to
4 authorize the commissioner to regulate liquefied natural gas facilities in the state;
5 and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 30:551(B) and 703 are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
8 30:4(P) and 551(C) and (D) are hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 §4. Jurisdiction, duties, and powers of the assistant secretary; rules and regulations
10 * * *
11 P. The commissioner of conservation has the authority to promulgate rules
12 and regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act to regulate the location,
13 construction, operation, and maintenance of a liquefied natural gas facility within the
14 state.
15 * * *
16 §551. Regulatory designation
17 * * *
18 B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, the
19 assistant secretary shall be the authority to regulate all public and private natural gas
20 distribution systems with respect to natural gas pipeline safety, except where
21 prohibited by federal laws persons engaged in the transportation of gas or who own
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1 or operate intrastate pipeline facilities for the transportation of gas. The assistant
2 secretary shall establish by regulation minimum safety standards for pipeline
3 facilities and the transportation of gas, and those regulations shall be consistent with
4 the rules and regulations authorized by 49 USC 60101 et seq .
5 C. The assistant secretary, as permitted by 49 U.S.C.A. Section USC 1674
6 60105, may certify annually to the United States secretary of transportation
7 Department of Transportation that the state, through the office of conservation, has
8 regulatory jurisdiction over the safety standards and practices of intrastate pipeline
9 transportation pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities not otherwise regulated
10 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the transportation of gas and
11 liquefied natural gas associated with those facilities.
12 D. Except as provided in 49 USC 60104(c), nothing in this Section
13 authorizes the assistant secretary to adopt or enforce safety standards for interstate
14 gas pipeline facilities or the transportation of gas associated with those facilities.
15 * * *
16 §703. Regulatory designation
17 A. The assistant secretary shall be the authority to regulate persons engaged
18 in the transportation of hazardous liquids or who own or operate intrastate pipeline
19 facilities for the transportation of hazardous liquids. The assistant secretary shall
20 establish by regulation minimum safety standards for pipeline facilities and the
21 transportation of hazardous liquids and shall be consistent with those rules and
22 regulations authorized by 49 U.S.C.A. Section USC 2001 60101 et seq.
23 B. The assistant secretary, as permitted by 49 U.S.C.A. Section USC 2004
24 60101, et seq., may certify annually to the secretary of the United States Department
25 of Transportation that the state, through the office of conservation, has regulatory
26 jurisdiction over the safety standards and practice of intrastate pipeline facilities and
27 the transportation of hazardous liquids associated with those facilities. The assistant
28 secretary, as permitted by 49 U.S.C.A. Section USC 2001 60101 et seq., may enter
29 into an agency relationship with the United States Department of Transportation to
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1 enforce compliance with safety standards with respect to interstate pipeline facilities
2 or the transportation of hazardous liquids associated with those facilities.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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