HB1190 EngrossedLRB103 05716 CPF 50736 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Underground Natural Gas Storage
5Safety Act is amended by changing Section 5 and by adding
6Section 27 as follows:
 
7    (415 ILCS 160/5)
8    Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
9context otherwise requires:
10    "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.
11    "Contaminant" means gas, salt water, or any other
12deleterious substance released from an underground natural gas
13storage facility.
14    "Department" means the Department of Natural Resources.
15    "Director" means the Director of Natural Resources.
16    "Downhole" means the portion of the underground natural
17gas storage facility from the first flange attaching the
18wellhead to the pipeline equipment and continuing down the
19well casing to and including the storage reservoir.
20    "Federal Act" has the meaning given to that term in the
21Illinois Gas Pipeline Safety Act.
22    "Gas" means natural gas.
23    "Notice of probable violation" means a written notice,

 

 

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1satisfying the criteria set forth in Section 35, given by the
2underground natural gas storage safety manager to a person who
3operates an underground natural gas storage facility that
4identifies a failure of such person to comply with the
5provisions of this Act or the provisions of 49 U.S.C. Chapter
6601 concerning underground natural gas storage facilities, or
7any Department order or rule issued under this Act, and may
8include recommendations for a penalty in connection therewith,
9subject to the terms of this Act.
10    "Person" means an individual, firm, joint venture,
11partnership, corporation, company, limited liability company,
12firm, association, municipality, cooperative association, or
13joint stock association. "Person" includes a trustee,
14receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.
15    "Underground natural gas storage facility" means a gas
16pipeline facility that stores natural gas in an underground
17facility, including a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir, an
18aquifer reservoir, and a solution-mined salt cavern reservoir.
19    "Underground natural gas storage safety manager" means the
20manager of the Department's Underground Natural Gas Storage
21Safety Program or other staff of the Department assigned to
22underground natural gas storage safety issues.
23    "Verified facility release" means a suspected or known
24natural gas or contaminant release that: (i) is regulated by
25the Department; (ii) originates from a natural gas storage
26facility; and (iii) is confirmed by chemical analysis to have

 

 

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1occurred or be occurring within the perimeter of the
2underground natural gas storage facility or within one-quarter
3mile of that perimeter.
4(Source: P.A. 100-1172, eff. 1-4-19.)
 
5    (415 ILCS 160/27 new)
6    Sec. 27. Verified facility release. The owner or operator
7of an underground natural gas storage facility shall create
8procedures for a suspected natural gas leak or suspected
9unintentional release from an underground natural gas storage
10facility that is identified by either the Department or the
11owner or operator. The procedures shall contain guidance to
12direct the owner or operator to, if possible, collect the gas
13from the suspected leak or suspected unintentional release for
14purposes of testing and verifying the source of the gas.
15    Collecting and testing shall be performed by an
16independent contractor at the expense of the owner or
17operator. Testing of the gas shall be performed using either
18gas chromatography or isotopic analysis to determine if the
19gas composition has markers of thermogenic origins that are
20indicative of pipeline gas. If the quantities released are
21insufficient to perform a test or if quantities are
22insufficient to confirm a leak exists, the owner or operator
23shall notify the Department, and no further action related to
24the collection and testing of the gas is required by the owner
25or operator. Previous failed attempts to collect and test the

 

 

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1gas at the same site shall not remove the owner's or operator's
2responsibility to collect the gas and verify the source of the
3gas if a sufficient amount of gas for collection and testing is
4available later.
5    The owner or operator may acknowledge that the leak or
6unintentional release is from the underground natural gas
7storage facility and treat it as a verified facility release
8in lieu of performing collection and testing.
9    The owner or operator must have procedures to be used if
10the gas is identified or conceded to be a verified facility
11release. The procedures shall provide guidance on when
12atmospheric conditions within a dwelling resulting from a
13verified leak pose health or hazard issues. The owner or
14operator shall offer, at the owner's or operator's expense,
15reasonable lodging and accommodation as determined by the
16owner or operator to those living in the domicile for the
17duration of the health or hazard issue.
18    The owner or operator shall perform sampling at a
19frequency as determined by the owner or operator for natural
20gas in private drinking water wells in the areas determined by
21the owner or operator impacted by the leak or unintentional
22release. The owner or operator shall maintain routine
23monitoring of the areas impacted by the leak or unintentional
24release as determined by the owner's or operator's procedures.
25    If natural gas is detected at levels posing health or
26hazard issues as determined by the Department of Public

 

 

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1Health, the owner or operator shall offer and maintain gas
2water separators, at the owner's or operator's expense, in
3affected areas impacting the water supply, including
4domiciles. Where gas water separators are provided, the gas
5water separators shall be approved and installed in accordance
6with the Illinois Plumbing License Law, and any rules adopted
7thereunder, and shall be accompanied by an approved
8disinfection system or other associated water treatment device
9necessary to provide potable water to the affected area.
10    With the property owner's or occupant's consent, the owner
11or operator of an underground natural gas storage facility
12shall provide, install, and maintain natural gas detection
13devices, at the owner's or operator's expense, determined to
14be appropriate by the owner or operator in the affected areas,
15including domiciles, to monitor the presence of natural gas.
16The owner or operator shall maintain and calibrate the devices
17according to the recommendations, if any, set by the
18manufacturers of the device. The owner or operator shall
19provide the device manufacturer's specifications to the
20property owner or occupant for the specific gas detector,
21including the installed functions and the alarm levels set on
22the installed device. The alarm shall be set no higher than 25%
23of the lower explosive level for methane. If the property
24owner or occupant denies consent, the owner or operator of the
25underground natural gas storage facility shall notify the
26Department, and no further action related to the installation

 

 

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1of devices is required by the owner or operator.
2    The owner or operator shall maintain routine monitoring of
3the areas impacted by the leak or unintentional release by
4method and frequency as determined by the owner or operator
5and create a schedule to be shared with the Department of
6Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency, and
7the Department of Public Health. If the Department of Natural
8Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the
9Department of Public Health determines that the monitoring
10schedule is insufficient, then the owner or operator shall
11defer to the most rigorous recommended schedule. The owner or
12operator shall undertake a comprehensive inspection to an
13extent as determined by the owner or operator.
14    Monitoring of the area impacted shall be maintained for a
15period after corrective action is completed. The
16post-correction monitoring period shall end as prescribed in
17the owner's or operator's procedures or otherwise required by
18the Department.