Engineering practice.

19.5(1) Requirement for good engineering practice. The gas plant of the utility shall be constructed, installed, maintained, and operated in accordance with accepted good engineering practice in the gas industry to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, continuity of service, uniformity in the quality of service furnished, and the safety of persons and property.#

19.5(2) Standards incorporated by reference.#

a.The design, construction, operation, and maintenance of gas systems and liquefied natural gas facilities shall be in accordance with the following standards where applicable:#

(1)49 CFR Part 191, "Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline; Annual Reports, Incident Reports, and Safety-Related Condition Reports."#

(2)49 CFR Part 192, "Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline: Minimum Federal Safety Standards."#

(3)49 CFR Part 193, "Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities: Federal Safety Standards."#

(4)49 CFR Part 199, "Drug and Alcohol Testing."#

(5)ASME B31.8 - 2022, "Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems," published December 22, 2022.#

(6)NFPA 59 - 2024, "Utility LP-Gas Plant Code," published January 1, 2023.#

(7)At railroad crossings, the engineering standards for pipelines rule in 199-Chapter 42.#

b.The following publications are adopted as standards of accepted good practice for gas utilities:#

(1)ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54 - 2024, "National Fuel Gas Code," published January 26, 2024.#

(2)NFPA 501A - 2021, "Standard for Fire Safety Criteria for Manufactured Home Installations, Sites, and Communities," published January 1, 2021.#

19.5(3) Adequacy of gas supply. The natural gas regularly available from supply sources supplemented by production or storage capacity must be sufficiently large to meet all reasonable demands for firm gas service.#

19.5(4) Gas transmission and distribution facilities. The utility's gas transmission and distribution facilities shall be designed, constructed and maintained as required to reliably perform the gas delivery burden placed upon them. Utilities will be capable of emergency repair work on a scale consistent with its scope of operation and with the physical conditions of its transmission and distribution facilities.#

In appraising the reliability of the utility's transmission and distribution system, the commission will consider, as principal factors, the condition of the physical property and the size, training, supervision, availability, equipment and mobility of the maintenance forces.#

19.5(5) Inspection of gas plant. Utilities will adopt and follow a program of inspection of its gas plant in order to determine the necessity for replacement and repair. The frequency of the various inspections shall be based on the utility's experience and accepted good practice. Utilities will keep sufficient records to give evidence of compliance with its inspection program.#

Source history[ARC 9351C, IAB 6/11/25, effective 7/16/25]#