Amendment #29 to H4377

Recording and repair of the most wasteful natural gas leaks

Representatives Provost of Somerville, Atkins of Concord, Balser of Newton, Cariddi of North Adams, Devers of Lawrence, Garballey of Arlington, Garlick of Needham, Gentile of Sudbury, Gonzalez of Springfield, Heroux of Attleboro, Keefe of Worcester, Khan of Newton, Kocot of Northampton, Livingstone of Boston, Rogers of Cambridge and Sannicandro of Ashland move to amend the bill by adding the following two sections:-

"Section XX. Section 144(e) of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:

(e) As part of the annual service quality standards report required by section 1I, each gas company shall

(1)report to the department the location of each Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 leak existing as of the date of the report, the date each Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 leak was classified and the dates of repairs performed on each Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 leak. A gas company shall specify any reclassification of previously identified leaks in its annual report.

(2)report to the department each reported leak ranked by size and specify the age, material and size of the pipeline or infrastructure for each reported leak. A gas company shall estimate the size and rank of a leak using the best information, methodology, and measurement devices available to it, including but not limited to area of ground saturation and its experience with and history of the leak. A gas company shall schedule and complete within twelve months of reporting the repair or elimination of the top ten percent of the leaks ranked by size, starting with the largest size leaks, giving priority to any Grade 1 leaks in the top ten percent. The ranking shall be updated every six months, and the updated ranking shall be reported to the department.

(3)report to the department the age, material and size of each pipeline in its service area by street location and city or town and range of operating pressure by geographic area as part of the gas leak information.

Gas leak information shall be made available to any municipal or state public safety official upon written request to the department.

(f) The difference between the actual quantity in cubic feet of natural gas delivered to or acquired by a gas company and the actual quantity of natural gas sold, interchanged or consumed by a gas company for its own use shall be reported every six months on a calendar half year basis to the department. Any adjustments to the difference due to measuring or monitoring inaccuracies, variations of temperatures or pressures and any other variants shall be disclosed in the report. The report shall identify the leakage by service area, division and by city and town. A gas company shall maintain and be able to make available all records of acquisition by purchase or otherwise, sales and internal usage which reflect information as to such difference, including but not limited to all records of acquisition by purchase or otherwise, sales and internal usage. The foregoing gas leak information shall be made available to any municipal or state public safety official upon written request to the department. The volume of leaked natural gas shall be included in and reported by a gas company to the city or town as the volume in cubic feet of all natural gas transported into a city or town for delivery to users in that city or town minus the volume of total natural gas sold through meters in the city or town.

Section XX. Section 145(i)of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:

A gas company shall report to the DPW, Fire Department, Chief Law Enforcement Officer, and the Department of Health for the city or town and the chemical components of the natural gas and the concentrations of those components, including but not limited to (i) any substance listed as a volatile organic compound or hazardous air pollutant according to the EPA or the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection such as but not limited to methane, benzene, formaldehyde, acrolein, (ii) naturally occurring radioactive materials or their decay products such as but not limited to polonium, lead, radium, radon, and (iii) any other components of natural gas that may be toxic to humans and animals in any amount or concentration, which information shall be made available to the public. Determination of natural gas composition must be from within the prior year. Natural gas composition must be measured using samples taken from pipeline laterals or more local natural gas distribution pipelines. Natural gas composition determined from natural gas wellhead, collection pipeline system, or interstate transmission pipeline samples shall not be acceptable for reporting natural gas composition.

A gas company shall report to the DPW, Fire Department, Chief Law Enforcement Officer, and the City Department of Health any incidents of illness requiring work stoppage or medical observation or medical treatment of persons working in or with pipelines or infrastructure where natural gas is emitted."