Authority

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire last Thursday signed into law part of a bill (HB 1634) that expands the state regulatory commission’s authority over pipeline safety in the state. Gregoire rejected a section of the legislation that would have exempted from the new law certain “consumer-owned” utilities, such as electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and public utility districts. The governor characterized the new law as including “a comprehensive damage prevention program for underground utilities.” A spokesperson with the Washington Utilitites and Transportation Commission (UTC) confirmed that the new statute will require anyone doing excavation work to subscribe to a one-number underground utility locator service and to report damage done to underground utility infrastructure to the UTC. The new law is to be effective Jan. 1, 2013. Both the head of the UTC and the Northwest Gas Association praised the new law as something both entities had been working on with state lawmakers for more than two years.

FERC has denied a request by major gas shipper groups for the agency to use its Section 5 authority to order pipelines to amend their tariffs to comply with Commission policy on the crediting of reservation charges during service outages — both planned and unplanned. But the shipper associations did not walk away empty handed.

FERC has rejected a request by associations representing major gas shippers to exercise its Section 5 authority requiring pipelines to amend their tariffs to comply with the Commission’s policy on the crediting of reservation charges during service outages — both planned and unplanned. But the association did not walk away empty handed.

In his first favorable ruling for the Interior Department, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in Louisiana rejected industry allegations that the department exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) by imposing new permitting requirements for developmental drilling in the western Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

A coalition of conservation and environmental groups wants Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to rescind a new policy requiring Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspectors to get approval before issuing notices of violation to Marcellus Shale operators. In a recent letter, 42 groups, including Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Audubon Pennsylvania and the Sierra Club, said the policy “will create unacceptable delays in resolving identified problems putting public safety and natural resources unnecessarily at risk.” The policy, described by the DEP as a three-month pilot project, requires inspectors to get all notices of violations pre-approved by DEP Secretary Michael Krancer. The DEP said the measure is a way to guarantee consistency across the state, but critics say it undermines the authority of inspectors (see Shale Daily, April 1).

In separate announcements from opposite ends of the country, the state of Washington and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) moved forward with plans to reduce, or eliminate altogether, their reliance on coal to produce energy.

In separate announcements from opposite ends of the country, the state of Washington and the Tennessee Valley Authority moved forward with plans to reduce, or eliminate altogether, their reliance on coal to produce energy.

Water samples taken from seven Pennsylvania rivers showed levels of radioactivity at or below “background levels,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Citing his authority under the federal Deepwater Port Act, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last Tuesday vetoed a proposal by Liberty Natural Gas LLC to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal 16.2 miles off the New Jersey coastline.