The Sunset Advisory Commission just released a report concerning the Texas Railroad Commission. The 10-member Commission is a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 Texas agencies every 12 years. The section concerning oversight of pipeline safety is entitled "State Regulation of Pipelines Does Not Adequately Protect the Public". Key recommendations from the report include:
- Require the Commission to develop a framework to guide decisions on bringing pipelines outside of its jurisdiction under regulation.
- Authorize the Commission to require a pipeline operator to submit an assessment or testing plan for Commission approval.
- The Commission should create an enforcement coordinating function within the Pipeline Safety Section.
Key findings include:
- The Commission does not have a consistent process for gathering information on pipeline system integrity and using special investigations to help bring pipelines, which may have safety risks, under jurisdiction.
- The Commission does not have a consistent structure to use administrative penalties for the enforcement of pipeline safety regulations.
- Other state agencies have developed processes to ensure compliance and enforcement consistency.
The report concludes:
The Railroad Commission does not have a clear process for determining which pipelines outside its scope of jurisdiction need safety regulation. As a result, the Commission may not be in a position to assess risk of all pipelines to determine where additional regulatory oversight is necessary. These recommendations would establish a framework for the Commission to determine if a pipeline should be under its regulations and if action is needed to avoid pipeline mishaps. The recommendations would also standardize the Commission ’s process for taking administrative enforcement action against pipeline operators by assessing administrative penalties. With these changes, the Commission would be in a better position to know about the risks associated with all pipelines in the state and to take needed action to reduce those risks.
The entire report can be downloaded from the Sunset Commission website at http://www.sunset.state.tx.us (Warning – the file is 1 M in size). The section that just concerns pipeline regulation can be downloaded from the RCP website at http://www.your-rcp.com/downloads/Misc/Dec2000/11-2000SunsetCommissionReport.pdf.