BILL NUMBER: SB 295	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 18, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 24, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Jackson
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2015

   An act to  amend Section 51013.5 of, and to  add
Section 51015.1  to,   to  the Government
Code, relating to pipeline safety.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 295, as amended, Jackson. Pipeline safety: inspections.
   Under the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, the State
Fire Marshal exercises safety regulatory jurisdiction over intrastate
pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous or highly
volatile liquid substances. The act authorizes the State Fire Marshal
to exercise safety regulatory jurisdiction over portions of
interstate pipelines located within the state and subject to an
agreement between the United States Secretary of Transportation and
the State Fire Marshal. The act  requires those pipelines
over 10 years of age to be hydrostatically tested every 3 or 5 years,
as provided, except that high-risk pipelines, as designated by the
State Fire Marshall, are to be tested every 2 years or annually, as
provided.   authorizes the State Fire Marshal to enter,
inspect, and examine, at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner,
the records and properties of any pipeline operators that are
required to be inspected and examined to determine whether the
pipeline operator is in compliance with the act. 
   This bill would require the State Fire Marshal, or an officer or
employee authorized by the State Fire Marshal, to annually inspect
all  intrastate pipelines and  operators of intrastate
pipelines under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal. 
The bill would require pipelines over 5 years of age to be
hydrostatically tested every 2 or 3 years, as provided, and would
require all designated high-risk pipelines to be tested annually.
 The bill would require the State Fire  Marshall,
  Marshal,  to the maximum extent possible, to
become an inspection agent by entering into an agreement with the
federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, as
specified. The bill would require the State Fire  Marshall
  Marshal  to revise specified fees assessed to
cover the costs associated with this measure.  The bill would
also delete obsolete provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    Section 51013.5 of the Government
Code is amended to read:
   51013.5.  (a) Every newly constructed pipeline, existing pipeline,
or part of a pipeline system that has been relocated or replaced,
and every pipeline that transports a hazardous liquid substance or
highly volatile liquid substance, shall be tested in accordance with
Subpart E (commencing with Section 195.300) of Part 195 of Title 49
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
   (b) Every pipeline not provided with properly sized automatic
pressure relief devices or properly designed pressure limiting
devices shall be hydrostatically tested annually.
   (c) Every pipeline over five years of age and not provided with
effective cathodic protection shall be hydrostatically tested every
two years, except for those on the State Fire Marshal's list of
higher risk pipelines, which shall be hydrostatically tested
annually.
   (d) Every pipeline over five years of age and provided with
effective cathodic protection shall be hydrostatically tested every
three years, except for those on the State Fire Marshal's list of
higher risk pipelines which shall be hydrostatically tested annually.

   (e) Piping within a refined products bulk loading facility served
by pipeline shall be tested hydrostatically at 125 percent of maximum
allowable operating pressure utilizing the product ordinarily
transported in that piping if that piping is operated at a stress
level of 20 percent or less of the specified minimum yield strength
of the pipe. The frequency for pressure testing these pipelines shall
be every five years for those pipelines with effective cathodic
protection and every three years for those pipelines without
effective cathodic protection. If that piping is observable, visual
inspection may be the method of testing.
   (f) The State Fire Marshal shall study indicators and precursors
of serious pipeline accidents, and, in consultation with the Pipeline
Safety Advisory Committee, shall develop criteria for identifying
which hazardous liquid pipelines pose the greatest risk to people and
the environment due to the likelihood of, and likely seriousness of,
an accident due to corrosion or defect. The study shall give due
consideration to research done by the industry, the federal
government, academia, and to any other information which the State
Fire Marshal shall deem relevant, including, but not limited to,
recent leak history, pipeline location, and materials transported.
Beginning January 1, 1992, using the criteria identified in that
study, the State Fire Marshal shall maintain a list of higher risk
pipelines, which exceed a standard of risk to be determined by the
State Fire Marshal, and which shall be tested as required in
subdivisions (c) and (d) as long as they remain on the list.
   (g) In addition to the requirements of subdivisions (a) to (e),
inclusive, the State Fire Marshal may require any pipeline subject to
this chapter to be subjected to a pressure test, or any other test
or inspection, at any time, in the interest of public safety.
   (h) Test methods other than the hydrostatic tests required by
subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e), including inspection by
instrumented internal inspection devices, may be approved by the
State Fire Marshal on an individual basis. If the State Fire Marshal
approves an alternative to a pressure test in an individual case, the
State Fire Marshal may require that the alternative test be given
more frequently than the testing frequencies specified in
subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e).
   (i) The State Fire Marshal shall adopt regulations to establish
what the State Fire Marshal deems to be an appropriate frequency for
tests and inspections, including instrumented internal inspections,
which, when permitted as a substitute for tests required under
subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), do not damage pipelines or require
them to be shut down for the testing period. That testing shall in no
event be less frequent than is required by subdivisions (b), (c),
and (d). Each time one of these tests is required on a pipeline, it
shall be approved on the same individual basis as under subdivision
(h). If it is not approved, a hydrostatic test shall be carried out
at the time the alternative test would have been carried out, and
subsequent tests shall be carried out in accordance with the time
intervals prescribed by subdivision (b), (c), or (d), as applicable.

   SEC. 2.   SECTION 1.   Section 51015.1
is added to the Government Code, to read:
   51015.1.  (a) The State Fire Marshal, or an officer or employee
authorized by the State Fire Marshal, shall annually inspect all 
intrastate pipelines and  operators of intrastate pipelines
under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal to ensure compliance
with applicable laws and regulations.
   (b) For portions of interstate pipelines that are not under the
jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 51010.6,
the State Fire Marshal shall, to the maximum extent possible, become
an inspection agent through entering into an interstate inspection
agent agreement with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration.
   (c) The State Fire  Marshall   Marshal 
shall revise the fee assessed pursuant to Section 51019 to a level
sufficient to cover the costs associated with the implementation of
this  section and Section 51013.5, as amended by the act
adding this  section.