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HomeMy WebLinkAboutwade kilpatrick bill THE ROLE OF NATURAL GAS IN CALIFORNIA ENERGY SERVICES This Bill shall be known as the “Wade Kilpatrick” Bill. SECTION 1. Section 4216.6 of the Government Code is amended as follows: 4216.6. (a) (1) Any operator or excavator who negligently violates this article is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000). (2) Any operator or excavator who knowingly and willfully violates any of the provisions of this article is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). (3) Any contractor that causes damage to a subsurface installation as a result of failing to provide notice of the need for a gas utility to locate and mark its subsurface installations or commencing excavation before a gas utility marks its subsurface installations is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and may have its license temporarily suspended or permanently revoked by the Contractors’ State License Board pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with section 7090) of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code if: (A) the contractor was penalized pursuant to paragraphs (1) or (2) in the five years previous to the incident, or (B) an investigation demonstrates that the contractor has a pattern and practice of failing to provide notice of the need for a gas utility to locate and mark its subsurface installations or commencing excavation before a gas utility marks its subsurface installations. (4) (3)Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article, this section is not intended to affect any civil remedies otherwise provided by law for personal injury or for property damage, including any damage to subsurface installations, nor is this section intended to create any new civil remedies for those injuries or that damage. (5) (4)This article shall not be construed to limit any other provision of law granting governmental immunity to state or local agencies or to impose any liability or duty of care not otherwise imposed by law upon any state or local agency. (b) … (c) … (d) A local governing board may enforce the provisions of this article on local agencies under the governing board’s jurisdiction. (e) Commencing July 1, 2020, the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board shall enforce the provisions of this article on persons other than those listed in subdivisions (c) and (d). The board shall not initiate an enforcement action pursuant to this subdivision for a violation that occurred prior to July 1, 2020. (f) Moneys collected as a result of penalties imposed pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (e) (a) shall be deposited into the Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund. (g) … [Tightens enforcement of dig alerts] SEC. 2. Chapter 2.2 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code is renamed as follows: CHAPTER 2.2. Natural Gas Restructuring Service SEC. 3. Section 328.3 is added to Chapter 2.2 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code as follows: 328.3. (a) The commission shall require each gas corporation to establish service within three (3) days after an initial request; to reconnect gas service terminated for any reason within three days after the conditions for reconnection have been met; to respond to any report of leakage or evidence of leakage within the timelines established by the gas corporation for leak response. (b) Each gas corporation shall report monthly to the commission concerning its compliance with subdivision (a). (c) The gas corporation shall ensure an adequately sized, qualified, and properly trained gas corporation workforce to carry out the requirements of subdivision (a). “Adequate Workforce” for purposes of this section means that the gas corporation shall employ the full number of trained and qualified workers necessary to carry out the requirements of this chapter, the requirements of the utility’s adopted safety plan, and the requirements of the utility’s operation and maintenance procedures to achieve leak reductions including timely repair according to their terms and on a timely basis, in order to promote the safety, health, comfort, and convenience of its patrons, employees and the public. This is (1) a quantitative standard that prevents utilities from undercutting their efforts to meet the Commission’s and the public’s expectations about adequate safe, reliable service delivered on a timely basis, by not employing enough regular employees to actually do the work; (2) a qualitative requirement that in California the work actually be performed by a qualified employee, not by an unqualified employee directed, observed and supervised by an individual that is qualified. [Provides for timely service connections and reconnections, preventing the lengthy delays that have occurred in some service areas, and applies the adequate workforce standard to customer service problems.] SEC. 4. Section 950 of Article 1 of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to gas pipeline safety, is amended to read: 950. (a)… ….. (d) “Adequate Workforce” for purposes of implementing Articles 2 and 3 of this chapter and for implementing General Order 112 of the Commission’s General Orders means that gas corporation shall employ the full number of trained and qualified workers necessary to carry out the requirements of this chapter, the requirements of the utility’s adopted safety plan, and the requirements of the utility’s operation and maintenance procedures to achieve leak reductions including timely repair according to their terms and on a timely basis, in order to promote the safety, health, comfort, and convenience of its patrons, employees and the public. This is (1) a quantitative standard that prevents utilities from undercutting their efforts to meet the Commission’s and the public’s expectations about adequate safe, reliable service delivered on a timely basis, by not employing enough regular employees to actually do the work; (2) a qualitative requirement that in California the work actually be performed by a qualified employee, not by an unqualified employee directed, observed and supervised by an individual that is qualified, as permitted by federal regulation . [Defines adequate workforce for purposes of PU Code 961(d)(10), PU Code 963 and PU Code 975 in terms of meeting the desired outcomes of safe and reliable service and find it/fix it leak reductions, which the Commission has refused to do.] SEC. 5. Section 951 is added to Article 1 of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to gas pipeline safety, to read: 951. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The Legislature has established that safety of the natural gas pipeline infrastructure in California is a priority for the Public Utilities Commission and gas corporations, and nothing in this article shall compromise or deprioritize safety as a top consideration. (b) It is undisputed that natural gas pipelines and infrastructure in California leak natural gas. The incidence of natural gas leaks and their repair is considered by the industry and regulators to be a significant indicator of pipeline integrity and safety. (c) The Legislature has established a policy goal to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in California. (d) There is a growing awareness of the potency of methane, the primary component of natural gas, as a greenhouse gas. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the global warming potential of methane is 28 times that of carbon dioxide over a 100-year time horizon and 84 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year time horizon. There is also a growing awareness that climate change impacts impose high social costs, including impacts upon the public health and economy. (e) Reducing methane emissions by promptly and effectively repairing or replacing the pipes and associated infrastructure that is responsible for these leaks advances both policy goals of natural gas pipeline safety and integrity and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. (f) Existing federal and state rules and regulations pertaining to the natural gas transmission and distribution system and associated infrastructure were not developed for the purpose of preventing the climate change impacts from leaks of natural gas. (g) Examining the methods used by gas corporations under existing federal and state rules to conduct and schedule leak repair and prevention based on the implications of these practices with respect to emissions of greenhouse gases, in addition to safety, will enable a more thorough evaluation of whether existing practices are commensurate with California’s goals for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. (h) Reducing leaks and repairing pipelines and associated infrastructure in California provides significant employment opportunities for California residents and for domestic fabricators of high quality pipeline materials and other equipment associated with finding and fixing leaks. (i) Providing just and reasonable rate revenues for gas corporations to find, categorize, and repair leaks promptly when discovered, including employing an adequate workforce, is in the public interest, and promotes the interests of customers and the public. [CODIFIES FINDINGS MADE AND APPROVED IN 2014 IN SENATE BILL 1371 (LENO), Stats. 2014, Chapter 525, but ignored by CPUC.] SEC. 6. Section 958.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 958.5 (a) Twice a year, or as determined by the commission, each gas corporation shall file with the division of the commission responsible for utility safety a gas transmission and storage safety report and leak report. The division of the commission responsible for utility safety shall review the reports to monitor each gas corporation’s storage and pipeline-related activities to assess whether the projects that have been identified as high risk are being carried out, and to track whether the gas corporation is spending its allocated funds on these storage and pipeline-related safety, reliability, and integrity activities for which they have received approval from the commission, and whether the gas corporation is achieving leak reductions through find it/fix it programs. (b) The gas transmission and storage safety report shall include a thorough description and explanation of the strategic planning and decisionmaking approach used to determine and rank the gas storage projects, intrastate transmission line safety, integrity, and reliability, operation and maintenance activities, and inspections of its intrastate transmission lines, including workforce adequacy. If there has been no change in the gas corporation’s approach for determining and ranking which projects and activities are prioritized since the previous gas transmission and storage safety report, the subsequent report may reference the immediately preceding report. (c) If the division of the commission responsible for utility safety determines that there is a deficiency in a gas corporation’s prioritization or administration of the storage or pipeline capital projects or operation and maintenance activities is are failing to meet the state’s policy to minimize hazards and reduce gas leaks, the division shall bring the problems to the commission’s immediate attention for formal commission action. [Provides teeth for the gas system reports in the wake of Aliso Canyon.] SEC. 7. Section 961.5 is added to Article 2 of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 or Title 1 of t Public Utilities Code as follows: 961.5. (a) For purposes of implementing sections 961(e) and 975(g) the commission shall provide for meaningful and robust participation of gas corporation employees in all aspects of plan development, plan implementation, commission review and commission enforcement, including regular ongoing consultation by the gas corporation with representatives of the union workforce designated by their collective bargaining representative. (b) The division of the commission responsible for utility safety shall provide for regular channels of communication for gas corporation employees and their collective bargaining representatives to provide information and consultation about ongoing safety and leak reduction programs, including informal channels as well as opportunities for participation in formal commission proceedings. (c) Activities covered by this section shall be a substantial contribution for purposes of Public Utilities Code sections 1802(j) and 1803. [Empowers utility employees and their unions to participate fully in developing safety and leak reduction programs.] SEC. 8. Section 962 is added to Article 2 of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 or Title 1 of t Public Utilities Code as follows: 962. (a) The commission shall review and republish the safety plans of each gas corporation required by section 961 not later than June 30, 2021, and shall include an assessment of plan compliance, including the requirement of an adequate workforce, as shown in each semi-annual report pursuant to section 958.5. [Revives the SB 705 operations safety plan and shifts the focus back to operations and physical risks , away from the financial risk focus of R.13‐11‐ 006.] SEC. 9. Section 975 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 975. (a) … (b) … … (e) (1) … (2) Provide for the repair of leaks as soon as reasonably possible after discovery, consistent with established safety requirements and the goals of reducing air pollution and the climate change impacts of methane emissions. Every leak discovered or detected shall be repaired as soon as reasonably possible after discovery with a goal of minimizing methane emissions from the leak, but in no case shall a leak remain unrepaired for more than twelve months after discovery or detection. [Eliminates Grade 3 leaks or any other unrepaired leak.] Apprenticeship provision for Utility Workers’ “Role of Natural Gas” bill: SEC. 10. The Legislature finds and declares that there is a need for each gas corporation to develop a workforce that is skilled and trained in the detection, [add work functions, if needed] , , and repair of gas leaks in the gas corporation’s gas lines and facilities [correct parlance?]. The Legislature further finds and declares that this need can and should be met through formal apprenticeship and journeyman-upgrade training programs sponsored and conducted by each gas corporation, jointly with the collective-bargaining representative of its employees if they are represented in collective bargaining. Therefore Section 976 is added to Article 3 of Chapter 4.5 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code as follows: 976. Each gas corporation shall develop, sponsor and conduct a formal apprenticeship and journeyman-upgrade training program to recruit and train employees in the skills needed to detect, [add work functions, if needed] , , and repair gas leaks in the gas corporation’s gas lines and facilities[correct parlance?]. Where the gas corporation’s employees who will perform such work are represented in collective bargaining, the program shall be developed, sponsored and conducted jointly with the labor organization representing those employees, and with the advice and assistance of the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Such programs shall be known as gas corporation journeyman and apprentice training programs and shall be governed by the Shelley-Maloney Act, Sections 3070, et seq., Division 4, Chapter 3 of the Labor Code, except that such programs shall not be subject to the provisions of Labor Code sections 3075 and 3075.5 governing programs and proposed programs in the building and construction trades or firefighting.