81R5989 SMH-D
By: Burnam H.B. No. 1537
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to safety requirements applicable to gas pipelines in
certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 121, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 121.2017 to read as follows:
Sec. 121.2017. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR PIPELINES IN CERTAIN
POPULOUS COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only to a gas pipeline
located or proposed to be located in a county that:
(1) has a population of more than 1.4 million; and
(2) is located wholly or partly above a
hydrocarbon-producing geological formation in which during the
preceding year the Railroad Commission of Texas issued more than
2,000 drilling permits authorizing gas wells to be completed.
(b) A gathering or transmission pipeline may not be
constructed within 300 feet of an established permanent structure
that is used by human beings on a regular basis.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 121.252, gas produced from a
well located in a county described by Subsection (a) of this section
must be odorized at the wellhead in accordance with the methodology
prescribed by 49 C.F.R. Section 192.625 before the gas enters a
gathering pipeline.
(d) The pipe used in a gathering or transmission pipeline
must be constructed of high-grade materials.
(e) A gathering or transmission pipeline must be protected
from exterior corrosion through the use of adequate coatings and
cathodic protection.
(f) Gas produced from a well located in a county described
by Subsection (a) must be dehydrated at the wellhead before the gas
enters a gathering pipeline, or a pipeline integrity assessment by
in-line inspection or a pressure test of the gathering pipeline
transporting the gas must be conducted every two years.
(g) The railroad commission shall adopt rules to implement
this section.
(h) This section and railroad commission rules adopted to
implement this section shall be enforced in the same manner as
Section 121.201 and safety standards or other rules prescribed or
adopted under that section.
SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Railroad Commission of Texas shall adopt rules
to implement Section 121.2017, Utilities Code, as added by this
Act.
(b) Section 121.2017(b), Utilities Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to a pipeline constructed on or after the
effective date of this Act.
(c) A pipeline subject to this Act that is in existence on
the effective date of this Act is not required to be brought into
compliance with Sections 121.2017(c)-(f), Utilities Code, as added
by this Act, until January 1, 2012.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.