1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the construction and operation of certain sour gas
1-3 pipeline facilities.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Title 102, Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
1-6 Article 6053-4 to read as follows:
1-7 Art. 6053-4. SOUR GAS PIPELINE FACILITIES
1-8 Sec. 1. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
1-9 (1) "Affected party" means the owner or occupant of
1-10 real property located in the radius of exposure, as calculated in
1-11 accordance with a methodology approved by the commission, of the
1-12 proposed route of a sour gas pipeline facility.
1-13 (2) "Commission" means the Railroad Commission of
1-14 Texas.
1-15 (3) "Construction of a facility" means any activity
1-16 conducted during the initial construction of a pipeline, including
1-17 the removal of earth, vegetation, or obstructions along the
1-18 proposed pipeline right-of-way. The term does not include:
1-19 (A) surveying or acquiring the right-of-way; or
1-20 (B) clearing the right-of-way with the consent
1-21 of the owner.
1-22 (4) "Low-pressure gathering system" means a pipline
1-23 which operates at a working pressure of less than 50 pounds per
1-24 square inch.
2-1 (5) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership,
2-2 association, corporation, trust, or governmental entity.
2-3 (6) "Sour gas pipeline facility" means a pipeline
2-4 facility that contains a concentration of 100 parts per million or
2-5 more of hydrogen sulfide.
2-6 Sec. 2. APPLICABILITY. This Act does not apply to:
2-7 (1) an extension of an existing sour gas pipeline
2-8 facility that is in compliance with the commission's rules for oil,
2-9 gas, or geothermal resource operation in a hydrogen sulfide area
2-10 if:
2-11 (A) the extension is not longer than five miles;
2-12 (B) the nominal pipe size is not larger than six
2-13 inches in diameter; and
2-14 (C) the commission is given notice of the
2-15 construction of the extension not later than 24 hours before the
2-16 start of construction;
2-17 (2) a new or an extension of a low-pressure gathering
2-18 system; or
2-19 (3) an interstate gas pipeline facility, as defined by
2-20 49 U.S.C. Section 60101, that is used for the transportation of
2-21 sour gas.
2-22 Sec. 3. PERMIT APPLICATION. A person may not begin
2-23 construction of a sour gas pipeline facility before the person
2-24 obtains from the commission a permit to construct the facility.
2-25 Sec. 4. NOTICE. An applicant for a permit to construct a
2-26 sour gas pipeline facility must:
2-27 (1) publish notice of the application in a form
3-1 determined by the commission in a newspaper of general circulation
3-2 in each county that contains part of the proposed route of the sour
3-3 gas pipeline facility; and
3-4 (2) provide a copy of the application to the county
3-5 clerk of each county that contains part of the proposed route.
3-6 Sec. 5. COMMISSION AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED. (a) The
3-7 commission by order may approve an application for a permit to
3-8 construct a sour gas pipeline facility if the commission finds that
3-9 the materials to be used in and method of construction and
3-10 operation of the facility comply with the rules and safety
3-11 standards adopted by the commission.
3-12 (b) The commission may issue an order under this section
3-13 without holding a hearing unless an affected party files a written
3-14 protest with the commission not later than the 30th day after the
3-15 date notice is published under Section 4 of this article. If an
3-16 affected party files a written protest, the commission shall:
3-17 (1) hold a hearing not later than the 60th day after
3-18 the date the protest is filed; and
3-19 (2) issue an order:
3-20 (A) approving the permit application; or
3-21 (B) denying the application and stating the
3-22 reasons for the denial.
3-23 SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Article 6053-2, Revised Statutes,
3-24 is amended to read as follows:
3-25 (a) A person who violates Article 6053-1 or 6053-4, Revised
3-26 Statutes, or safety standards or regulations relating to
3-27 transportation of gas and gas pipeline facilities adopted under
4-1 those articles [that article] may be assessed a civil penalty by
4-2 the Railroad Commission of Texas.
4-3 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-8 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-9 passage, and it is so enacted.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3194 was passed by the House on May
5, 1997, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 3194 on May 28, 1997, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3194 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 1997, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor