The Railroad Commission of Texas adopts amendments to §§14.2007, 14.2010, 14.2019, 14.2020, 14.2034, 14.2043, 14.2049, 14.2052, and 14.2310, relating to Definitions; LNG Report Forms; Certification Requirements; Employee Transfers; Self-Insurance Requirements; Temporary Installations; Report of LNG Incident/Accident; Application for an Exception to a Safety Rule; and Emergency Refueling. The Commission also adopts the repeal of §14.2021, relating to LNG Continuing Education Requirements, and new §14.2021, relating to Requests for LNG Classes, without changes to the versions published in the March 17, 2006, issue of the Texas Register (31 TexReg 1858).

The Commission adopts the amendments in part as a result of House Bill (HB) 1162, 79th Legislature, Regular Session (2005). HB 1162 amended Texas Natural Resources Code, §116.034, to provide that the Commission may adopt rules establishing training and seminar attendance requirements for persons required or who wish to be licensed or registered to perform liquefied natural gas (LNG) activities, but is not required to do so. Additional amendments to these rules are non-substantive and include changes in wording, punctuation, or organization to provide clarity and accuracy.

The specific rule affected by HB 1162 is §14.2021, relating to LNG Continuing Education Requirements, which the Commission has repealed and replaced with new §14.2021, Requests for LNG Classes. Previously, §14.2021 provided for continuing education requirements for persons holding an LNG license or their representatives. In general, licensees and their representatives were to attend a continuing education class once every four years. Due to budget and staff limitations, the Commission has no LNG continuing education classes, and because as of January 2006 there are only nine LNG licensees and about 41 individual LNG certificate holders, the Commission finds that its training and continuing education resources are more efficiently and effectively employed elsewhere. In addition, most LNG licensees are large companies with highly trained staff, as required by the technology used in LNG installations.

The Commission offers training courses on LNG activities under the Commission's jurisdiction through the Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division (AFRED). Under the wording in new §14.2021, requests for Commission staff to conduct an LNG class should be submitted to AFRED, which may schedule and conduct the class at its discretion. The non-refundable fee is $250 for a class where no overnight expenses are incurred by AFRED staff, or $500 if overnight expenses are incurred. AFRED may waive the fee in cases where the Commission recovers the cost of the class from another source, such as a grant.

The Commission adopts amendments to §14.2019, relating to Certification Requirements, to make the rule and procedures consistent with the same procedures for the Commission's liquefied petroleum gas (LP-gas) certification requirements. In addition, some of the amendments clarify that AFRED is the Commission division that offers the examinations, as indicated by the amendments in subsection (a)(4). In subsection (a)(5), AFRED will notify individuals of their examination results within 15 days, rather than 30 days of the date of the examination. The only change in the Table in §14.2019 is the deletion of the row referring to the Category 35 course of instruction, which is no longer offered.

The Commission adopts other amendments that are non-substantive and result in no changes to current requirements or procedures. In §14.2007, relating to Definitions, the Commission adopts a new definition for "AFRED." The Commission deletes the definitions for "Administrative Procedure Act," "primary component," "PSF," "PSI," "PSIA," "right-of-way," and "TEMA" because those terms are not used in Chapter 14. The Commission amends the definition of "company representative" to delete the reference to "courses" because there are no required LNG courses. The Commission deletes the definition of "division" because LNG activities are divided among AFRED, the Gas Services Division, and the Safety Division; in each substantive rule that refers to "a division," the specific division is noted. The Commission amends the definition of "final approval" to replace the reference to "the Commission" with "a division." The Commission amends the definitions for "licensed," "licensee," and "tentative approval" to change "the Commission" to "the Gas Services Division" to be more specific. The remaining amendments in this rule renumber the unchanged definitions as necessary.

Amendments in §14.2010, relating to LNG Report Forms, change the order of two forms so that the form numbers are in numerical order.

In §14.2020, relating to Employee Transfers, the Commission adds a reference to AFRED and deletes the requirement that the LNG Form 2016A be received by the Commission within a specific time.

The Commission amends §14.2034(g) to update and correct the citation to the Texas Workers' Compensation Act.

In §14.2043, relating to Temporary Installations, in subsections (b), (c), and (g), the Commission adopts amendments to identify the pertinent division, rather than referring generally to "the Commission." In subsection (h), "Pipeline Safety Section" is now "Safety Division."

Amendments in §§14.2049, 14.2052, and 14.2310, relating to Report of LNG Incident/Accident; Application for an Exception to a Safety Rule; and Emergency Refueling, respectively, provide specific references to the Safety and Gas Services Divisions for clarity.

The Commission received no comments on the proposal.

Subchapter A. GENERAL APPLICABILITY AND REQUIREMENTS