BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1937
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
AB 1937 (Gordon) - As Amended: April 3, 2014
SUBJECT : Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011: school and
hospital notification of maintenance and testing of gas
pipelines.
SUMMARY : This bill would require a gas corporation to provide
not less than 3 working days' notice, as specified, to the
administration of a school or hospital prior to undertaking
nonemergency gas pipeline maintenance or testing when the work
is located within 500 feet of the school or hospital.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a gas corporation to provide not less than a three
working day's notice to the administration of a school or
hospital prior to undertaking nonemergency gas pipeline
maintenance or testing if the work is located within 500 feet
of the school or hospital.
2)Requires the notification to include:
a) The name, address, telephone number, and emergency
contact information for the gas corporation.
b) The specific location of the gas pipeline where the
maintenance or testing work will be performed.
c) The date and time the maintenance or testing is to be
conducted and when the work is expected to be completed.
d) An invitation and a telephone number to call for further
information on what the school or hospital should do in the
event of a leak.
1)Requires the gas corporation to maintain a record of the date
and time of any notification provided to the administration of
a school or hospital and any subsequent contacts with the
administration and actions taken, if any, in response to those
subsequent contacts.
EXISTING LAW
a)Federal law requires the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA) within the United States
AB 1937
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Department of Transportation, to adopt minimum safety
standards for pipeline transportation and for pipeline
facilities, including an interstate gas pipeline facility and
intrastate gas pipeline facility, as defined.
b)Authorizes the United States Secretary of Transportation to
prescribe or enforce safety standards and practices for an
intrastate pipeline facility or intrastate pipeline
transportation to the extent that the safety standards and
practices are regulated by a state authority that submits to
the secretary annually a certification for the facilities and
transportation.
c)Authorizes a state authority that has submitted a current
certification to adopt additional or more stringent safety
standards for intrastate pipeline facilities and intrastate
pipeline transportation only if those standards are compatible
with the minimum standards prescribed by the PHMSA.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement. "An increasing number of significant
natural gas pipeline accidents in California have received
attention throughout the country over the past several years.
The most visible of those took place in San Bruno in late
2010, and additional natural gas accidents in Cupertino and
Roseville at the end of 2011 also highlight exactly how
pervasive our problems really are.
There are numerous locations throughout California where a gas
pipeline exists on or adjacent to school and hospital
property. There have been an increasing number of instances
where schools are being evacuated due to gas pipelines being
struck when maintenance or excavations are being performed,
and these circumstances have resulted in the public's safety
being put at risk. As such, there are currently no public
noticing requirements to schools (or hospitals) in statute or
CPUC regulations, regarding noticing when maintenance or
pipeline testing is being performed, and AB 1937 will be a
tool to improve the safety of the public.
Undoubtedly, it is in the public's best interest to ensure
that public gathering places, such as schools and hospitals,
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are given ample notice of a gas company's pipeline maintenance
or testing, especially when the work is located in the direct
vicinity of some of California's most precious, and
potentially vulnerable, human resources."
2)Gas leaks as a result of excavation damage . In January 2014,
a gas line ruptured on the campus of Mira Mesa middle school,
forcing the shutdown of nearby roads and sent emergency crews
rapidly to contain the leak.<1> San Diego Gas & Electric
crews examined the size of the leak and stopped the flow of
gas. The ruptured line was also in the vicinity of nearby
Walker Elementary School and Miramar College. Investigators
concluded that construction crews on campus hit the line with
a backhoe.
In 2011, Century High School was evacuated and closed due to a
gas leak.<2> It was determined construction workers accidently
severed a 4-inch gas line. The leak was detrimental enough to
close the school. The gas company sealed the leak within a
few hours.
3)Non-excavation gas line work. This bill requires gas
corporations to provide not less than 3-days' notice for
non-emergency maintenance or survey work to the administration
of a school or hospital. According to the California Hospital
Association, AB 1937 is a responsible bill which helps ensure
patient and health care worker safety and will assist
hospitals with their disaster planning and the scheduling of
some services. The Office of Ratepayer Advocates opine the
bill will "improve public safety by allowing school and
hospital administrators lead time to make preparations, if
necessary, in advance of non-emergency pipeline maintenance or
testing."
However, it is not clear if providing notice for non-emergency
field activities is efficient or effective. Field activities
such as pipeline patrol, locate and mark, leak survey and
valve inspection do not necessarily pose safety risk to
customers before or while being conducted. Sempra Energy
utilities oppose this provision stating, "the 3-day
--------------------------
<1>
http://www.cbs8.com/story/24452133/gas-leak-near-miramar-college
<2> http://www.ocregister.com/news/school-291431-leak-gas.html
AB 1937
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requirement would cause unnecessary and costly steps to our
existing processes without increasing safety for our
customers."
In contrast, excavation construction often requires heavy
machinery and significant, invasive work around the utilities
pipeline system. It seems more appropriate to require advance
notice prior to commencing this type of excavation work,
increasing safety risk.
Therefore, the author and this committee may wish to strike
the term "non-emergency gas pipeline maintenance or testing"
and insert "excavation construction". This would direct the
notice activity to work for which scheduling could be
accommodating and increase awareness for schools and hospital
populations.
4)Suggested amendments.
SECTION 1. Section 955.5 is added to the Public Utilities
Code, to read:
955.5. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "Gas pipeline" means an intrastate distribution line as
described in paragraph (1) of, or an intrastate transmission
line as described in paragraph (2) of, Section 950.
(2) "Hospital" means a licensed general acute care hospital as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(3) "School" means a public or private preschool, elementary,
or secondary school.
(b) A gas corporation shall provide not less than three
working day's notice to the administration of a school or
hospital prior to undertaking nonemergency gas pipeline
maintenance or testing excavation construction if the work is
located within 500 feet of the school or hospital. The
notification shall include all of the following:
(1) The name, address, telephone number, and emergency contact
information for the gas corporation.
(2) The specific location of the gas pipeline where the
maintenance or testing work will be performed.
(3) The date and time the maintenance or testing is to be
conducted and when the work is expected to be completed.
(4) An invitation and a telephone number to call for further
AB 1937
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information on what the school or hospital should do in the
event of a leak.
(c) The gas corporation shall maintain a record of the date
and time of any notification provided to the administration of
a school or hospital and any subsequent contacts with the
administration and actions taken, if any, in response to those
subsequent contacts.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Hospital Association
Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA)
Opposition
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) (unless amended)
Sempra Energy utilities (SEu) (unless amended)
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) (unless amended)
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083