{"operation":"document","citation":"PI-01-0107","title":"State of Maine Public Utilities Commission — Pipeline Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2001-04-16","effective_on":null,"summary":"PI-01-0107 response to State of Maine Public Utilities Commission concerning 192.3.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-01-0107.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-01-0107.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-pi-01-0107","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/Pipeline/2001/g01-04-16_Welch_192.3_Direct%20Sales-nlmx.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nPI-01-0107\nApril 16, 2001\nThe Honorable Thomas L. Welch\nChairman\nState of Maine Public Utilities Commission\n242 State Street\n18 State House Station\nAugusta, ME 04333-0018\nDear Chairman Welch:\nThis letter is in response to your letter of February 1, 2001, for clarification of Federal and state\nenforcement responsibilities where multiple direct sales customers are served off a lateral to an interstate\ngas transmission pipeline.\nThe relevant legal authority is the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act, codified at 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60101(a)(9). It defines “intrastate pipeline facility” as:\n(A) a gas pipeline facility and transportation of gas within a State not subject to the\njurisdiction of the [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)] under the\nNatural Gas Act ( 15 U.S.C. § 717 et seq.)\n(B) a gas pipeline facility transporting gas from an interstate gas pipeline in a State to a\ndirect sales customer in that State buying gas for its own consumption\nAnd, as noted in your letter, RSPA’s September 18, 1989, interpretation supports the concept that\npipeline facilities transporting gas within a State to a direct sales customer in that state are subject to State\nenforcement of the pipeline safety regulations at 49 CFR Part 192. A direct sales customer is one who\nreceives gas for its own consumption directly from an interstate gas pipeline company, rather than from a\ndistribution company. Therefore, a pipeline to a direct sales customer not downstream from a distribution\ncompany is subject to safety regulation by the State, i.e., it is in the intrastate jurisdiction.\nYour specific question concerns pipelines operated by the Portland Natural Gas System (PNGTS),\nan interstate pipeline company, that transports gas through a lateral line which splits into two pipelines,\neach serving a direct sales customer. The law and the interpretation cited above indicate that only the\nindividual pipelines to each direct sales customer are intrastate jurisdiction. Neither the law or\ninterpretation contemplate that an interstate pipeline serving multiple direct sales customers is subject to\nintrastate safety jurisdiction. Therefore, the lateral directly off the PNGTS mainline, which carries gas for\ntwo direct sales customers, remains in the interstate jurisdiction for purposes of enforcement of the Federal\ngas pipeline safety regulations (49 CFR Part 192).\nIf you have any further questions, please contact Richard D. Huriaux, Manager –Regulations, at\n(202)366-4565.\nSincerely yours,\nStacey L. Gerard\nAssociate Administrator\n192.3 Direct Sales 1\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\ncc: Gary Farmer, ME PUC\nRegional Directors\n192.3 Direct Sales 1","truncated":false,"body_characters":2644}