Recently introduced legislation seeks to increase biogas development and natural gas pipeline safety. The CPUC sponsored three bills Feb.16 to expedite permits for natural gas pipeline inspections by cities, increase penalties for excavating in areas near pipelines, and redouble gas system inspections at mobile home parks. All three pieces of legislation were initiated in response to the Independent Review Panel that evaluated Pacific Gas &Electric’s pipeline explosion in San Bruno in September 2010. AB 1514 by Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) gives the CPUC the power to levy civil penalties on a utility or anyone else for digging without calling 911 in advance to ensure safe excavations. “There is an immediate threat to the public when subsurface facilities are damaged due to inadequate excavation practices,” according to the commission. Currently only the state Attorney General or local permitting agencies can penalize when improper excavations damage gas lines, pressurized sewage, hazardous liquids, and electric cables. Enforcement of civil penalties for excavation violations are rare because of budget constraints, noted the commission analysis. AB 1694 by Assemblymember Filipe Fuentes (D-Arleta) creates a risk-based inspection schedule for gas and propane systems. Under the measure, the CPUC is to prioritize its inspection systems in accordance with an assessment in place of the current five-year cycle, which does not rank inspections of master metered natural gas and propane systems. The other bill allows the utilities to get expedited permits from cities and counties for pipeline inspections. The measure aims to continue exploring “options for ensuring that pipeline integrity work is completed,” stated the CPUC. Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) introduced a measure Feb. 22 to increase biogas resources. “My bill would allow California producers of biogas, whether big landfills or small farmers, to sell it to utilities in the state, as long as it is demonstrably clean, pure, and safe. It would also prevent utilities from having to raise rates by allowing them to make good on their existing contracts to buy biogas from other sources,” Gatto stated. His AB 1900 requires the California Public Utilities Commission to set ground rules for utilities to sign at least five biomethane deals by Jan. 1, 2014. The CPUC is directed to develop reasonable and “minimally restrictive testing protocols for gas collected from a solid waste landfill that is to be injected’ into gas pipelines,” according to the bill. AB 1900 also requires the California Energy Commission to pre-certify proposed biogas projects.
