Natural Gas Pipeline Safety in Pennsylvania
Two agencies are primarily responsible for regulating the safety of natural gas pipelines in Pennsylvania: (1) the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and (2) the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC).
PHMSA is the agency that administers the federal gas pipeline safety program. Its responsibilities include establishing comprehensive minimum federal safety standards for natural gas pipelines, performing inspection, compliance, and enforcement activities, and overseeing the nation’s 51 state gas pipeline safety programs. In Pennsylvania, PHMSA’s specific responsibilities include inspecting interstate gas pipelines for compliance with the federal safety standards and taking appropriate enforcement actions against operators who violate these standards.
PUC is the agency that administers the Commonwealth’s state gas pipeline safety program. Under the terms of its annual certification with PHMSA, PUC has assumed responsibility for regulating intrastate gas gathering, transmission and distribution lines. These lines are subject to the minimum federal safety standards, as well as any additional or more stringent state safety standards, and PUC has the authority to impose administrative sanctions on intrastate gas pipeline operators who commit safety violations.