BILL ANALYSIS � 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 1937 - Gordon Hearing Date:
June 23, 2014 A
As Amended: June 11, 2014 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law requires that the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) and each gas corporation place safety of the
public and gas corporation employees as the top priority and
take all reasonable and appropriate actions to carry out this
policy priority. (Public Utilities Code � 963)
Current law requires each gas corporation to develop, adopt, and
implement a plan for the safe and reliable operation of its gas
pipeline facilities that is consistent with best practices in
the gas industry and that provides for the following:
Preventive and reactive maintenance and repair;
Effective patrol and inspection to detect leaks and
effect timely repairs;
Timely response to customer and employee reports of
leaks; and
Adequately sized, qualified, and properly trained
workforce to carry out the plan. (Public Utilities Code �
961)
This bill requires a gas corporation to provide not less than
three working day's notice to the administration of a school or
hospital prior to undertaking nonemergency gas pipeline
maintenance, testing or construction if the work is located
within 500 feet of the school or hospital and to maintain the
notices for at least five years.
Current law requires any person (excavator) planning to conduct
any excavation work to contact a regional notification center
("call before you dig") at least two working days before the
work is planned. The call triggers notification to utilities
(operators) that serve the area who are required to locate and
field mark the approximate location and, if known, the number of
subsurface installations that may be affected by the excavation
within 48 hours. (Government Code � 4216 et seq.)
This bill restates the requirements of an excavator or operator
to comply with the call before you dig program requirements.
BACKGROUND
Natural Gas Regulation - The CPUC has responsibility to ensure
compliance with federal pipeline management standards for over
108,000 miles of transmission and distribution pipeline in the
state of California most of which is owned and operated by two
gas corporations. Toward this end, the CPUC reviews utility
reports and records, responds to inquiries and complaints from
the public on issues regarding gas pipeline and electric safety,
and also investigates accidents.
The safety of gas pipelines was elevated after the September,
2010 explosion of a natural gas transmission line in a
residential neighborhood in the City of San Bruno. The rupture
caused an explosion and fire which took the lives of eight
people and injured dozens more; destroyed 37 homes and damaged
dozens more.
Call Before You Dig - To protect people who live and work near
buried pipes and cables, and to save the costs associated with
damage to underground infrastructure, state law include a
sequential system to aid excavators in locating subsurface
installations. Entities that own, operate, or maintain
subsurface installations must join a non-profit regional
notification center (RNC) to provide advance warning of
under-ground installations close to proposed excavation
projects. Except in an emergency, anyone planning to dig in an
area with underground installations must notify the appropriate
RNC at least two days before breaking ground. The potentially
affected underground installation operators must locate and
field mark the approximate location of their installations.
Excavators must then determine the exact location of the
subsurface installations by using hand tools, with limited
exceptions, to excavate within the field markings.
Despite state laws governing underground excavations, many
excavators fail to RNCs before they dig or improperly excavate
around marked underground facilities. Excavation accidents can
damage vital infrastructure, disrupt utility services, harm the
environment, impose substantial costs on underground facility
operators, and sometimes cause injuries or deaths.
COMMENTS
1. Author's Purpose . Currently, there is nothing in
statute or in CPUC regulation that requires the public
noticing of schools or hospitals in California when there
is planned gas pipeline construction/excavation/maintenance
or testing in the direct vicinity of schools or hospitals.
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, are given ample notice of a gas company's
pipeline excavation/construction 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. Disaster Planning . Proponents opine that this bill will
aid their efforts in disaster planning. However, the two
recent incidents of gas leaks at school sites which forced
evacuations would not have been affected by this bill.
Those leaks were the result of construction crews which
"dug-in" to gas pipelines and forced emergency response and
repairs by the local gas corporations.
3. Cross-Reference . This bill restates an existing
obligation in the Government Code for all individuals,
contractors or businesses to "call before you dig" to
trigger the marking of all underground lines, pipes and
cables by operators of that infrastructure. The
cross-reference is not necessary. Gas corporations are
fully aware of their responsibility to "call before you
dig." The CPUC has attempted in the past to expand their
jurisdiction to include enforcement call requirements on
contractors and others not currently regulated by the CPUC.
There is concern that this cross-reference could be
interpreted as authorizing that work. To prevent
confusion, the author and committee may wish to consider
striking this reference at page 4, lines 15 through 21.
ASSEMBLY VOTES
Assembly Floor (73-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (17-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
(12-0)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
California Hospital Association
Office of Ratepayer Advocates
Oppose:
None on file
Kellie Smith
AB 1937 Analysis
Hearing Date: June 23, 2014