FILED ON: 12/20/2018

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 5005

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act ensuring the safety and soundness of the commonwealth’s natural gas infrastructure.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to require that professional engineers approve engineering plans developed by or on behalf of gas companies, which is immediately necessary to ensure the safe construction, operation and maintenance of gas infrastructure and to accomplish other important public purposes, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Subsection (l) of section 81R of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “corporation”, in line 86, the following words:- ; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to engineering work or services that could pose a material risk to public safety, as determined by the department of public utilities, performed by or on behalf of a gas company, as defined by section 1 of chapter 164, that distributes and sells gas within the commonwealth.

SECTION 2. Chapter 164 of the General Laws shall be amended by adding the following section:-

Section 148. Any engineering plans or specifications for engineering work or services that could pose a material risk to public safety, as determined by the department pursuant to subsection (l) of section 81R of chapter 112, developed by or on behalf of a gas company shall bear the stamp of approval of a professional engineer certified under section 81E of said chapter 112; provided, however, that any such plan or specification shall be housed within the applicable gas company subject to review and audit by the department and shall be deemed to be filed with a public authority within the meaning of section 81M of said chapter 112.  The department may promulgate regulations as necessary to implement this section and applicable provisions of subsection (l) of section 81R of said chapter 112.