What's happening
This bill requires gas corporations in New York to classify, monitor, and report natural gas leaks using a standardized system.
Why it matters
Creates a detailed, tiered system for leak severity. By defining four distinct classes of natural gas leaks (Type 1, 2A, 2, and 3) based on risk and proximity to buildings, the bill ensures that the most dangerous leaks are prioritized for immediate action, while less hazardous leaks are monitored and scheduled for repair within set timeframes.
Mandates transparency and accountability. Gas corporations must annually report the location, classification, date identified, and date repaired for each leak to state authorities. This information must be made available to public safety officials and legislators, increasing oversight and public awareness of leak management.
Integrates gas safety into public infrastructure projects. When municipalities or the state undertake significant projects that expose gas infrastructure, gas companies are required to survey the area for leaks, schedule repairs, and ensure critical safety equipment (such as shut-off valves) is inspected and accessible—helping prevent accidents during construction.
Requires proactive oversight of aging infrastructure. The legislation instructs regulators to consider whether additional winter surveillance of vulnerable cast iron and ductile iron pipelines is needed, particularly when frost may increase risk. This could lead to stricter monitoring of older pipes, potentially reducing the likelihood of catastrophic failures.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Gas Leak Reporting
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Substituted by A467A
- Ordered to third reading cal.1756
- Reported and committed to rules
- Print number 4264a
- Amend and recommit to energy and telecommunications
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.1351
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Gas Leak Reporting
Vetoed · Sponsor Amy Paulin
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4264--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 7, 2017
Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications -- recommitted to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to reporting of natural gas leaks by gas corporations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 67-b to read as follows:
§ 67-b. Natural gas leak classifications. 1. The department shall establish a uniform natural gas leak classification system as set forth in this section.
2. All leaks shall be assessed a class based on the following system:
(a) Type 1 classification. (1) A Type 1 leak is one which, due to its location and/or relative magnitude, constitutes a potentially hazardous condition to the public or buildings. In the event of a Type 1 leak classification the following requirements apply:
(i) the leak shall require an immediate effort to protect life and property;
(ii) continuous action shall be thereafter taken until the condition is no longer hazardous; and
(iii) completion of repairs shall be scheduled on a regular day-after-day basis, or the condition kept under daily surveillance until the source of the leak has been corrected.
(2) Type 1 leaks include, but are not limited to:
(i) damage by contractors or outside sources resulting in leakage;
(ii) any indication on a combustible gas indicator (CGI) of natural gas entering buildings or tunnels;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01083-03-8
S. 4264--A 2
(iii) any reading on a CGI within five feet (1.5 meters) of a building wall;
(iv) any reading of four percent or greater gas-in-air on a CGI within manholes, vaults or catch basins (sampling will be conducted with the structure in its normal condition as nearly as physically possible); or
(v) any leak which, in the judgment of the operating personnel at the scene, is regarded as potentially hazardous.
(b) Type 2A classification. (1) A Type 2A leak does not present an immediately hazardous condition to the public or buildings, but is of a nature that requires frequent surveillance and scheduled repair. In the event of a Type 2A leak classification the following requirements apply:
(i) the leak shall be repaired within a period not to exceed six months; and
(ii) the leak shall be maintained under surveillance with a frequency not to exceed two weeks until repaired.
(2) Type 2A leaks include, but are not limited to:
(i) any reading of ten percent or greater gas-in-air in any area continuously paved from the curbline to the building wall, which is more than five feet (1.5 meters) but within thirty feet (9.1 meters) of the building and inside the curbline or shoulder of the road;
(ii) any reading, in an unpaved area, of twenty percent or greater gas-in-air which is more than five feet (1.5 meters) but within twenty feet (6.1 meters) of the building and inside the curbline or shoulder of the road; or
(iii) any leak, other than Type 1, which, under frost or other conditions, in the judgment of the operating personnel at the scene should be classified as a Type 2A.
(c) Type 2 classification. (1) A Type 2 leak does not present an immediate hazardous condition to the public or buildings, but is of a nature requiring scheduled repair. In the event of a Type 2 leak classification the following requirements apply:
(i) the leak shall be repaired within a period not to exceed one year, except that leaks classified under clause (v) of subparagraph two of this paragraph shall be repaired within six months; and
(ii) the leak shall be maintained under surveillance with a frequency not to exceed two months, except that leaks classified under clause (v) of subparagraph two of this paragraph shall be surveilled every two weeks.
(2) Type 2 leaks include, but are not limited to:
(i) any reading less than ten percent gas-in-air between the building and the curbline in any area continuously paved which is more than five feet (1.5 meters) but within thirty feet (9.1 meters) of the building and inside the curbline or shoulder of the road; or
(ii) any reading less than twenty percent gas-in-air in any unpaved area which is more than five feet (1.5 meters) but within twenty feet (6.1 meters) of a building and inside the curbline or shoulder of the road; or
(iii) any reading of thirty percent or greater gas-in-air in an unpaved area which is more than twenty feet (6.1 meters) but within fifty feet (15.2 meters) of a building and inside the curbline or shoulder of the road; or
(iv) any reading of thirty percent or greater gas-in-air in a paved area which is more than thirty feet (9.1 meters) but within fifty feet (15.2 meters) of a building and inside the curbline or shoulder of the road; or
S. 4264--A 3
(v) any reading above one percent but below four percent gas-in-air, within manholes, vaults or catch basins (sampling will be conducted with the structure in its normal condition as nearly as is physically possible).
(d) Type 3 classification. A Type 3 leak is not immediately hazardous at the time of detection and can be reasonably expected to remain that way.
(1) A Type 3 leak is any leak not classified as Type 1, 2A or 2.
(2) Type 3 leaks shall be reevaluated during the next required leakage survey or annually, whichever is less.
3. Beginning March first, two thousand nineteen, each gas corporation shall report annually to the department the location of each Type 1, Type 2A, Type 2 and Type 3 leak existing as of that date classified by the corporation, the date each Type 1, Type 2A, Type 2 and Type 3 leak was classified and the date of repair performed on each Type 1, Type 2A, Type 2 and Type 3 leak as part of its required gas surveillance program as required under its approved operations and maintenance programs. A gas corporation shall specify any reclassification of previously identified leaks in its report. Such gas leak information shall be made available to any municipal or state official with responsibility for public safety and any member of the legislature upon request to the department.
4. Upon the undertaking of a significant project exposing confirmed natural gas infrastructure, and with sufficient notice, a municipality or the state shall submit notification of the project to the relevant gas corporation. The gas corporation shall survey the project area for the presence of Type 1, Type 2A, or Type 2 leaks and set repair and replacement schedules for all known or newly detected Type 1, Type 2A, or Type 2 leaks. The gas corporation shall ensure that any shut off valve in the significant project area has a gate box installed upon it or a reasonable alternative that would otherwise ensure continued public safety and that any critical valve that has not been inspected and tested within the past twelve months is verified to be operational and accessible. The gas corporation shall provide the repair and replacement schedule of gas leaks to the municipality or the state.
5. The commission shall commence a proceeding to investigate whether New York state should require the winter surveillance and patrol of cast iron or ductile iron pipelines in the state and shall determine whether the presence of extended frost cap conditions may result in additional stress on cast iron or ductile iron pipe segments, requiring enhanced surveillance and patrol. The commission is authorized to establish minimum uniform procedures for cast iron and ductile iron surveillance and patrols. Gas corporations are authorized to establish procedures that exceed any minimum standards at their discretion.
6. The department, upon the request of a municipal or state official with responsibility for public safety, may require a reevaluation of a Type 3 leak prior to the next scheduled survey, or sooner than twelve months of the date last evaluated, if the official has a reasonable belief that the Type 3 leak poses a threat to public safety.
7. The commission shall promulgate regulations necessary to implement the uniform natural gas leak classifications as specified in this section and shall oversee and monitor each gas corporation's response and reporting.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to reporting of natural gas leaks by gas corporations
Purpose
The bill would (a) require the classification by gas companies of all reported leaks of natural gas; (b) require that each gas company report annually to the Department of Public Service (the "department") the location and classification of each reported leak, the date each such leak was classified and the date each such leak is repaired; (c) require that the department make such information available upon request to any municipal or state public safety official and to members of the legisla- ture; and (d) require the Public Service Commission (the "commission")to commence a proceeding to investigate the need for additional winter surveillance of gas pipelines due to extended frost.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill would amend the public service law by adding a new section 67-b.
Read the full memo (706 words)
Subdivision one of section 67-b would require the department to estab- lish a uniform system for classifying natural gas leaks.
Subdivision two of section 67-b would describe the system to be used to classify the leaks according to the level of hazard presented to build- ings or the public, based on location and/or relative magnitude. Leaks would be classified type 1 (which constitutes a potentially hazardous condition to the public or buildings), type 2A (which does not present an immediately hazardous condition to the public or buildings, but is of a nature that requires frequent surveillance and scheduled repair), type 2 (which does not present an immediately hazardous condition to the public or buildings, but is of a nature requiring scheduled repair), or type 3 (which is not immediately hazardous at the time of detection and can be reasonably expected to remain that way).
Subdivision 3 of section 67-b would require each gas corporation to report annually to the department, beginning March 1, 2019, the location of each Type 1, Type 2A, Type 2 and Type 3 leak, the date of classifica- tion of each such leak, and the date of repair performed on each such leak as required under such gas corporation's approved operations and maintenance programs. Subdivision 3 would also require that such gas leak information be made available to any municipal or state public safety official and any member of the legislature upon request to the department.
Subdivision 4 of section 67-b would require the department to promulgate regulations necessary to implement the uniform leak classification stan- dards, and to oversee and monitor gas company response and reporting.
Subdivision 5 of section 67-b would require the commission to investi- gate whether New York State should require winter surveillance and
patrol of cast iron or ductile iron pipelines and to determine the effect on such pipelines of extended frost cap conditions.
Section 2 of the bill provides a 90 day after enactment effective date.
Justification
Under current regulations, gas companies are required to classify leaks of natural gas according to severity, which is determined by location and the magnitude of the leak. They maintain records the leaks but are not required to report them to the DPS, which relies on periodic audits of the companies to ensure compliance with existing regulations. Because the DPS maintains no records, none are available to public safety offi- cials.
The proposed changes to current law in this bill would lead to a new level of transparency regarding the locations and classifications of leaks, which would accomplish several important public safety goals. Knowledge of existing leaks would facilitate safe, rapid response by local first responders to accidents and other emergencies that might occur at or near the locations of known gas leaks. Further, members of the public would be more likely to call 911 or their local gas company about suspected gas leaks if they believed that the information would be included in a readily accessible database that would be used to help prevent property damage, injuries or even loss of life.
Legislative history
2017 - S. 4264 - Rules Committee/A. 467 - Passed Assembly. 2015-16: S. 5206c - Rules Committee/A. 5083d - passed Assembly.
Fiscal implications
Minimal administrative costs to the Department of Public Service.
Effective date
90 days after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.