Chapter 02. Engineering
Regulation .01 Good Engineering Practice.LinkCopy Citation
The gas plant of the utility or gas master meter operator shall be constructed, installed, maintained, and operated in accordance with accepted good engineering practice in the gas industry to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, continuity of service, uniformity in the quality of service furnished, and the safety of persons and property.
Regulation .02 Acceptable Standards.LinkCopy Citation
A.
In addition to the regulations found in this chapter, each utility or gas master meter operator shall comply with the following federal regulations, which are incorporated by reference:
(1)
49 CFR 40, “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs”, as amended;
(2)
49 CFR 191, “Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline; Annual Reports, Incident Reports, and Safety Related Condition Reports”, as amended;
(3)
49 CFR 192, “Transportation of Natural and Other Gas by Pipeline: Minimum Federal Safety Standards”, as amended;
(4)
49 CFR 193, “Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities: Federal Safety Standards”, as amended;
(5)
49 CFR 199, “Drug and Alcohol Testing”, as amended.
B.
Each utility or gas master meter operator shall use as accepted good engineering practice the applicable provisions in:
(1)
The GPTC Guide for Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems 2003, Volume One with Addenda No. 1—4, which are incorporated by reference;
(2)
The American National Standard, “National Fuel Gas Code”, ANSI Z223.1 (1988), which is incorporated by reference;
(3)
“Orifice Metering of Natural Gas”, Report No. 3 of American Gas Association Gas Measurement Committee;
(4)
The American National Standard for Gas Displacement Meters (500 Cubic Feet per Hour Capacity and Under), (ANSI B109.1 and ANSI B109.2), which is incorporated by reference;
(5)
The American National Standard for Diaphragm Type Gas Displacement Meters (Over 500 Cubic Feet per Hour Capacity), (ANSI B109.2), which is incorporated by reference;
(6)
The American National Standard for Rotary Type Gas Displacement Meters, (ANSI B109.3), which is incorporated by reference.
Regulation .03 Adequacy of Supply.LinkCopy Citation
The production or storage capacity, or both, of the utility's plant, combined with the gas supply regularly available from other sources, shall be sufficiently large to meet all reasonably expectable demands for service.
Regulation .04 Inspection of Gas Plant.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Each utility or gas master meter operator shall adopt a program of inspection of its gas plant in order to determine the necessity for replacement and repair. The frequency of the various inspections shall be based on experience and accepted good practice. Sufficient records shall be kept to give evidence of compliance with the inspection program.
B.
Each utility or gas master meter operator shall inspect its gas pipeline system to ensure that it is constructed in accordance with the applicable requirements of this subtitle.
Chapter annotations
Authority: State Government Article, §7-207(a); Public Utilities Article, §§2-121, 5-101, 5-302, 5-303, and 11-101; Annotated Code of Maryland
History: Effective date: July 1, 1964 (Order No. 55567)
History: Chapter revised effective October 21, 1974 (Order No. 60922)
History: Regulation .01 amended effective January 15, 1996 (23:1 Md. R. 35)
History: Regulation .02 amended effective May 5, 1986 (13:9 Md. R. 1032); January 15, 1996 (23:1 Md. R. 35); February 7, 2000 (27:2 Md. R. 145); March 26, 2007 (34:6 Md. R. 629)
History: Regulation .02A amended as an emergency provision effective October 30, 1985 (12:22 Md. R. 2102)(Emergency provisions are temporary and not printed in COMAR)
History: Regulation .02C amended effective December 25, 1989 (16:25 Md. R. 2715)
History: Regulation .04 amended effective January 15, 1996 (23:1 Md. R. 35); January 15, 1996 (23:1 Md. R. 35); February 7, 2000 (27:2 Md. R. 145)