PA Environment Digest Blog: Bill Reported Out Of Senate Committee Would Allow Pipelines Like Mariner East To Apply For Waivers Of Any PUC Regulation, Law Or Policy

On April 30, Senate Bill 1174 (Stefano-R-Fayette) was reported out of the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee with unanimous Republican support that would allow any “public utility” to petition the Public Utility Commission to waive any law, regulation or policy under the Commission’s jurisdiction, if it benefits ratepayers.

While the intended purpose of the legislation is to help customers of electric, gas and telephone utilities by providing an opportunity for public utilities to reduce costs, it may have other impacts.

Pipelines like Energy Transfer/Sunoco’s troubled Mariner East Pipelines that carry hazardous liquids or natural gas have been designated as “public utilities” by the Public Utility Commission.

As a result, Energy Transfer/Sunoco or any other natural gas or hazardous liquid pipeline owner that is classified as a “public utility” would fall under the provisions of Senate Bill 1174 allowing waivers because it is written so broadly.

The construction of the Mariner East Pipeline across Pennsylvania resulted in Energy Transfer/Sunoco being convicted of criminal charges for environmental violations and an unprecedented $42 million in penalties. Read more here.

The PUC just adopted new regulations in February to strengthen state public utility safety standards related to hazardous liquid pipelines like Mariner East which could be undone by this waiver legislation. Read more here.

The PUC also regulates drinking water and wastewater systems as public utilities and under the language in the bill could also request waivers from the Commission.

While the bill includes a provision for evaluating waiver requests in terms of how “safety and reliability standards will be maintained or exceeded” if the petition is granted, there are no provisions excluding pipelines from the waiver process or specifically ensuring applicable environmental protection standards would still be met.

Could be worth clarifying the intent of the bill with respect to gas and hazardous liquid pipelines.

The bill was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee which will consider the bill before it is brought back to the Senate Floor for final action, possibly as early as May 6.

Similar To Senate Bill 832

Senate Republicans last week passed similar legislation with an even broader waiver provision-- Senate Bill 832 (Yaw-R-Lycoming)-- that would allow an applicant for any large-scale energy project to request a waiver of any regulation needed for the project. Read more here.

The bill would also bypass permit reviews for these projects by qualified state agencies allowing state “licensed professionals” to do the reviews.

Licensed professionals named in the bill include land surveyors, landscape architects, geologists, a professional engineer as well as “other licensed professional” (an undefined term).

Presumably the authors of this legislation did not mean that barbers or any of the 28 state “licensed professionals” could be the reviewers of permits covering air pollution, hazardous waste or stream channel crossings. Read more here.

In addition, states do not have the authority to waive federal environmental health and safety standards. Read more here.

NewsClip:

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Senate Committee Advances Bill To Allow Utility Companies To Request A Waiver For Any Law Or Regulation Enforced By The PUC [Senate Bill 1174]

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 27 to May 3 - Hunting Abandoned Quaker State Wells; Conventional Well Dumpster Fire; Multiple Water Withdrawal Violations [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 4 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 73 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 4 PA Bulletin [PaEN]