§ 60101. Definitions

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)General.— In this chapter—

(1)“existing liquefied natural gas facility”—

(A)means a liquefied natural gas facility for which an application to approve the site, construction, or operation of the facility was filed before March 1, 1978, with—

(i)the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (or any predecessor); or

(ii)the appropriate State or local authority, if the facility is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.); but

(B)does not include a facility on which construction is begun after November 29, 1979, without the approval;

(2)“gas” means natural gas, flammable gas, or toxic or corrosive gas;

(3)“gas pipeline facility” includes a pipeline, a right of way, a facility, a building, or equipment used in transporting gas or treating gas during its transportation;

(4)“hazardous liquid” means—

(A)petroleum or a petroleum product;

(B)nonpetroleum fuel, including biofuel, that is flammable, toxic, or corrosive or would be harmful to the environment if released in significant quantities; and

(C)a substance the Secretary of Transportation decides may pose an unreasonable risk to life or property when transported by a hazardous liquid pipeline facility in a liquid state (except for liquefied natural gas);

(5)“hazardous liquid pipeline facility” includes a pipeline, a right of way, a facility, a building, or equipment used or intended to be used in transporting hazardous liquid;

(6)“interstate gas pipeline facility” means a gas pipeline facility—

(A)used to transport gas; and

(B)subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.);

(7)“interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility” means a hazardous liquid pipeline facility used to transport hazardous liquid in interstate or foreign commerce;

(8)“interstate or foreign commerce”—

(A)related to gas, means commerce—

(i)between a place in a State and a place outside that State; or

(ii)that affects any commerce described in subclause (A)(i) of this clause; and

(B)related to hazardous liquid, means commerce between—

(i)a place in a State and a place outside that State; or

(ii)places in the same State through a place outside the State;

(9)“intrastate gas pipeline facility” means a gas pipeline facility and transportation of gas within a State not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.);

(10)“intrastate hazardous liquid pipeline facility” means a hazardous liquid pipeline facility that is not an interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility;

(11)“liquefied natural gas” means natural gas in a liquid or semisolid state;

(12)“liquefied natural gas accident” means a release, burning, or explosion of liquefied natural gas from any cause, except a release, burning, or explosion that, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, does not pose a threat to public health or safety, property, or the environment;

(13)“liquefied natural gas conversion” means conversion of natural gas into liquefied natural gas or conversion of liquefied natural gas into natural gas;

(14)“liquefied natural gas pipeline facility”—

(A)means a gas pipeline facility used for transporting or storing liquefied natural gas, or for liquefied natural gas conversion, in interstate or foreign commerce; but

(B)does not include any part of a structure or equipment located in navigable waters (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796));

(15)“municipality” means a political subdivision of a State;

(16)“new liquefied natural gas pipeline facility” means a liquefied natural gas pipeline facility except an existing liquefied natural gas pipeline facility;

(17)“person”, in addition to its meaning under section 1 of title 1 (except as to societies), includes a State, a municipality, and a trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative of a person;

(18)“pipeline facility” means a gas pipeline facility and a hazardous liquid pipeline facility;

(19)“pipeline transportation” means transporting gas and transporting hazardous liquid;

(20)“State” means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico;

(21)“transporting gas”—

(A)means—

(i)the gathering, transmission, or distribution of gas by pipeline, or the storage of gas, in interstate or foreign commerce; and

(ii)the movement of gas through regulated gathering lines; but

(B)does not include gathering gas (except through regulated gathering lines) in a rural area outside a populated area designated by the Secretary as a nonrural area;

(22)“transporting hazardous liquid”—

(A)means—

(i)the movement of hazardous liquid by pipeline, or the storage of hazardous liquid incidental to the movement of hazardous liquid by pipeline, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce; and

(ii)the movement of hazardous liquid through regulated gathering lines; but

(B)does not include moving hazardous liquid through—

(i)gathering lines (except regulated gathering lines) in a rural area;

(ii)onshore production, refining, or manufacturing facilities; or

(iii)storage or in-plant piping systems associated with onshore production, refining, or manufacturing facilities;

(23)“risk management” means the systematic application, by the owner or operator of a pipeline facility, of management policies, procedures, finite resources, and practices to the tasks of identifying, analyzing, assessing, reducing, and controlling risk in order to protect employees, the general public, the environment, and pipeline facilities;

(24)“risk management plan” means a management plan utilized by a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility owner or operator that encompasses risk management;

(25)“Secretary” means the Secretary of Transportation; and

(26)“underground natural gas storage facility” means a gas pipeline facility that stores natural gas in an underground facility, including—

(A)a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir;

(B)an aquifer reservoir; or

(C)a solution-mined salt cavern reservoir.

(b)Gathering Lines.—

(A)Not later than October 24, 1994, the Secretary shall prescribe standards defining the term “gathering line”.

(B)In defining “gathering line” for gas, the Secretary—

(i)shall consider functional and operational characteristics of the lines to be included in the definition; and

(ii)is not bound by a classification the Commission establishes under the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.).

(A)Not later than October 24, 1995, the Secretary, if appropriate, shall prescribe standards defining the term “regulated gathering line”. In defining the term, the Secretary shall consider factors such as location, length of line from the well site, operating pressure, throughput, and the composition of the transported gas or hazardous liquid, as appropriate, in deciding on the types of lines that functionally are gathering but should be regulated under this chapter because of specific physical characteristics.

(i)The Secretary also shall consider diameter when defining “regulated gathering line” for hazardous liquid.

(ii)The definition of “regulated gathering line” for hazardous liquid may not include a crude oil gathering line that has a nominal diameter of not more than 6 inches, is operated at low pressure, and is located in a rural area that is not unusually sensitive to environmental damage.

(Pub. L. 103–272, §§ 1(e), 4(s), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1301, 1371; Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(90), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3398; Pub. L. 104–304, §§ 3, 20(f), Oct. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 3793, 3805; Pub. L. 109–468, § 7, Dec. 29, 2006, 120 Stat. 3491; Pub. L. 112–90, § 14, Jan. 3, 2012, 125 Stat. 1914; Pub. L. 114–183, § 12(a), June 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 522.)

In this chapter, the words “liquefied natural gas” are substituted for “LNG” for clarity. The word “authority” is substituted for “agency” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. The words “gas” and “hazardous liquid” are added where applicable because of the restatement.

In subsection (a), before clause (1), the text of 49 App.:1671(10) and 2001(11) is omitted because the complete name of the Secretary of Transportation is used the first time the term appears in a section. The words “As used” are omitted as surplus. In clause (1)(A), the words “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission” and “Commission” are substituted for “Department of Energy” because under 42:7171(a) and 7172(a)(1) the Commission is statutorily independent of the Department and has the responsibility for siting, construction, and operating applications. In clauses

(3)and (5), the words “without limitation, new and existing” are omitted as surplus. In clause (4)(B), the words “or material” are omitted as surplus. In clause (6), before subclause (A), the word “pipeline” is substituted for “transmission” for clarity and consistency. In clause (8)(A), before subclause (i), the words “trade, traffic, transportation, exchange, or other” are omitted as surplus. In subclause (ii), the words “trade, transportation, exchange, or other” are omitted as surplus. In clause (8)(B), the word “place” is substituted for “point” for clarity and consistency in the revised title. In clause (9), before subclause (A), the word “facility” is substituted for “transportation” for clarity and consistency. In clause (12), the words “resulting from” and the text of 49 App.:1671(16)(A)–(D) are omitted as surplus. In clause (13), the words “(liquefaction or solidification)” and “(vaporization)” are omitted as surplus. In clauses

(14)and (16), the word “pipeline” is added for clarity. In clause (15), the words “city, county, or any other” are omitted as surplus. In clause (17), the words “in addition to its meaning under section 1 of title 1 (except as to societies)” are substituted for “any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association . . . cooperative association, or joint stock association” to eliminate unnecessary words, for clarity, and for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. Clauses

(18)and

(19)are added because of the restatement. In clause (20), the words “of the United States” are substituted for “of the several” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. In clause (21)(B), the words “outside a populated area” are substituted for “which lie outside the limits of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, village, or any other designated residential or commercial area such as a subdivision, a business or shopping center, a community development, or any similar populated area” to eliminate unnecessary words. In clause (22)(B)(i), the word “area” is substituted for “locations” for consistency.

Section 4(s) reflects an amendment to the restatement required by sections 109(a) and 208(a) of the Pipeline Safety Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–508, 106 Stat. 3294, 3303).

Pub. L. 104–287

This amends 49:60101 for consistency with the style of title 49.

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