AGO 97037.

• Court: Nebraska

Nebraska Attorney General Opinions 1997. AGO 97037. DATE: July 2, 1997SUBJECT: Does Federal Law Regulating Interstate Natural Gas and Gasoline Pipelines Preempt State Electrical Inspection Requirements of Pipeline Company Property Located in the State of Nebraska? REQUESTED BY: Terry Carlson, Executive Director Nebraska State Electrical BoardWRITTEN BY: Don Stenberg, Attorney General Timothy J. Texel, Assistant Attorney General You have requested the opinion of this office regarding whether federal preemption applies and prevents inspections of natural gas and/or gasoline pipeline property by Nebraska electrical inspectors to ensure compliance with Nebraska's State Electrical Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 81-2101 to 81-2145 (1994 and Cum. Supp. 1995), when the natural gas and/or gasoline pipeline companies' pipelines, property, buildings, and electrical equipment are located in Nebraska. In the opinion request, you explained that the Board's concern stems from a situation where one of the Board's electrical inspectors stopped electrical work being performed on a pipeline company's compressor station project located in Nebraska. The electrical contractor had not obtained a wiring permit for temporary electrical service for construction activities, as required by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2124 (1994). The electrical contractor has since applied for inspection, but the situation may arise again. After the inspector stopped the work, the Board received a letter from the pipeline company's legal counsel, who asserted that the company is not required to comply with Nebraska's State Electrical Act because federal law controlling interstate pipelines preempts State Electrical Acts. We believe that federal law controlling interstate pipelines does in fact preempt state electrical inspection requirements regarding interstate natural gas or gasoline company pipelines, property, buildings, and electrical equipment, provided that the property is part of the interstate gas pipeline facility. 49 U.S.C., Chapter 601 sets out federal safety standards for gas pipelines. 49 U.S.C. § 60104(c) (1994) states, "A State authority may not adopt or continue in force safety standards for interstate pipeline facilities or interstate pipeline transportation." Prior to 1994 there were two Acts controlling the area of interstate pipeline safety - the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (NGPSA) and the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 (HLPSA). The NGPSA and the HLPSA were combined and recodified without substantial change at 49 U.S.C. §§ 60101 to 60125 in 1994. See P.L. 103-272, 108 Stat. 1371 (July 5, 1994). The two similar provisions from each Act pertaining to preemption were consolidated into what is now 49 U.S.C. § 60104(c). Compare 49 U.S.C. § 60104(c) with 49 U.S.C. § 1672(a)(1) (NGPSA) and 49 U.S.C. § 2002(d) (HLPSA). For purposes of Chapter 601, the term "gas pipeline facility" is defined to include "a pipeline, a right of way, a facility, a building, or equipment used in transporting gas or treating gas during its transportation." 49 U.S.C. § 60101(3) (1996). It is our understanding that compressor stations are placed along the length of extended pipelines to repressurize the line, ensuring the continual flow of gas through the pipeline. They consist of a small...