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Pipeline Companies

Ark. Code Ann. tit. 23, ch. 15
in effect

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-101 Common carriers — Eminent domain.

(a) All pipeline companies operating in this state are given the right of eminent domain and are declared to be common carriers, except pipelines operated for conveying natural gas for public utility service. (b) The procedure to be followed in the exercise of the right shall be the same as prescribed in § 18-15-1201 et seq. relating to railroad companies, telegraph companies, and telephone companies.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-103 Gas rates.

(a)(1) A gas line or company operating in this state that renders a domestic or general service to the public in the furnishing and sale of gas is required to buy or furnish from the lowest or most advantageous market. (2) Failure to comply with subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall deprive a gas line or company of the difference in price between the market price and the price at which the purchase is made. (3) In determining the lowest or most advantageous market as described in subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the Arkansas Public Service Commission may take into consideration various factors, including without limitation: (A) Price; (B) Methodology of production; (C) Reliability of supply; (D) Impact on customer choice; and (E) Conditions associated with transportation or storage. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the commission may allow a gas line or company reasonable purchases of natural gas or natural gas alternatives, including without limitation renewable natural gas and hydrogen, as an operating expense if the purchase of natural gas or natural gas alternatives is in the public interest.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-104 Rates and charges of natural gas utilities — Determination.

In determining and regulating the rates and charges of a natural gas utility company, the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall allow as an operating expense of the natural gas utility company, for natural gas produced by it, the fair value or reasonable market price of the natural gas at the point at which the gas is delivered into the transmission system of the natural gas utility company in or within the vicinity of the field or fields where produced.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-105 Pipeline companies authorized to transport ammonia and other components of fertilizer.

(a) Pipeline companies operating in this state as common carriers and companies operating pipelines in this state for conveying natural or artificial gas for public utility service may transport by pipeline ammonia and other substances and materials composing commercial fertilizer, or used in manufacturing commercial fertilizer, when specifically authorized to so do by the Arkansas Department of Transportation. (b)(1) Applications for authority to operate under subsection (a) of this section shall be heard and determined by the department. (2) Appeals from the department's orders in such matters shall be granted pursuant to § 23-2-211. (c) The department shall make such reasonable rules as may be necessary to administer this section. (d) All companies authorized by the department to operate under subsection (a) of this section are given the right of eminent domain. The procedure to be followed in the exercise of this right shall be the same as prescribed in § 18-15-1201 et seq. relating to railroad companies, telegraph companies, and telephone companies.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-202 Purpose.

It is the purpose of this subchapter to empower the Arkansas Public Service Commission to submit a satisfactory certification pursuant to Section 5 of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, Pub. L. No. 90-481, and to otherwise protect the public peace, health, and safety of the citizens of this state.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-203 Definitions.

As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) “Commission” means the Arkansas Public Service Commission; (2) “Gas” means natural gas, flammable gas, or gas which is toxic or corrosive; (3) “Interstate transmission facilities” means pipeline facilities used in the transportation of gas which are subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 717 — 717z; (4) “Municipality” means a city, county, or any other political subdivision of a state; (5) “Person” means an individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, state, municipality, cooperative association, or joint-stock association and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof; (6) “Petroleum refinery” means an industrial or manufacturing facility or plant primarily engaged in producing gasoline, kerosene, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, or other products through the processing of petroleum crude oil that is subject to: (A) The United States Environmental Protection Agency Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources set forth in 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart GGG or successor regulations; (B) The United States Environmental Protection Agency chemical accident prevention provisions set forth in 40 C.F.R. Part 68, Subparts A, B, D, E, F, G, and H or successor regulations; and (C) The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations governing process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 1910.119 or successor regulations; (7) “Pipeline facilities” includes, without limitation, pipe, pipe rights-of-way, and any equipment facility or building used in the transportation of gas or the treatment of gas during the course of transportation of gas, but rights-of-way as used in this subchapter does not authorize the commission to prescribe the location or routing of any pipeline facility; (8) “Production facilities” includes, without limitation, piping or equipment used in the production, extraction, recovery, lifting, stabilization, separation, or treatment of natural gas or associated storage or measurement from the wellhead to a meter where the gas is transferred to a custodian other than the well operator for gathering or transport, commonly known as a “custodial transfer meter”; (9) “Production process” means the extraction of gas from the geological source of supply to the surface of the earth, thence through the lines and equipment used to treat, compress, and measure the gas between the wellhead and the meter where it is either sold or delivered to a custodian other than the well operator for gathering and transport to a place of sale, sometimes called a “custodial transfer meter”; and (10)(A) “Transportation of gas” means the gathering, transmission, or distribution of gas by pipeline or the storage of gas in or through any pipeline facilities other than interstate transmission facilities as defined in this section. (B) “Transportation of gas” shall not include production facilities or the production process. (C) “Transportation of gas” shall include the gathering, transmission, or distribution of natural gas containing one hundred (100) or more parts per million of hydrogen sulfide from the custodial transfer meter through any pipeline, rural or nonrural, to and through any pipeline facility that removes hydrogen sulfide, except that portion of such a pipeline or pipeline facility that is located within the fenced boundary of a petroleum refinery.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-204 General powers of commission.

The Arkansas Public Service Commission may: (1) Advise, consult, contract, and cooperate with any agency of the federal government, the State of Arkansas, or any other state in projects of common interest of the regulations of safety of pipeline facilities and transportation of gas and administer the authority delegated to the commission by contract with the federal government or any agency thereof including the authority to participate in the enforcement of federal standards applicable to interstate transmission facilities, as defined in § 23-15-203, as an agent of any agency of the state or federal government; and (2) Accept, receive, apply for, or administer grants or other funds or gifts from public or private agencies, including the federal government, or from any other person.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-205 Safety standards.

(a) The Arkansas Public Service Commission by order may promulgate, amend, enforce, waive, and repeal minimum safety standards for the transportation of gas and pipeline facilities. (b)(1) These standards may apply to the design, installation, inspection, testing, construction, extension, operation, replacement, and maintenance of pipeline facilities. (2) The state safety standards shall be practicable and designed to meet the needs for pipeline safety. (c) In prescribing the safety standards, the commission shall consider: (1) Relevant available pipeline safety data; (2) Whether such standards are appropriate for the particular type of pipeline transportation; (3) The reasonableness of any proposed standard; and (4) The extent to which such standards will contribute to the public safety. (d) Safety regulations promulgated for gas pipeline facilities or the transportation of gas shall be consistent with federal law and with rules and regulations promulgated under authority of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, Pub. L. No. 90-481, as amended. (e) Standards affecting the design, installation, construction, initial inspection, and initial testing shall not be applicable to pipeline facilities in existence on the date such standards are adopted. (f) Whenever the commission finds a particular facility to be hazardous to life or property, it shall be empowered to require the person operating the facility to cease such operation or to take steps necessary to remove the hazards.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-206 Reports, records, etc., to be maintained — Access by commission.

(a) The Arkansas Public Service Commission may require persons subject to this subchapter to maintain record maintenance, reporting, and inspection. (b) Each person who engages in the transportation of gas or who owns or operates pipeline facilities shall establish and maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such information as the commission may reasonably require to enable it to determine whether the person has acted or is acting in compliance with this subchapter and the standards established under this subchapter. (c) Each person who engages in the transportation of gas or who owns or operates pipeline facilities upon request of an officer, employee, or agent authorized by the commission shall permit such officer, employee, or agent to inspect books, papers, records, and documents, relevant to determining whether such person has acted or is acting in compliance with this subchapter and the standards established pursuant to this subchapter.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-207 Inspections and investigations generally.

(a)(1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission may make inspections and investigations consistent with this subchapter and conduct investigations of pipeline failures whenever needed, and in connection therewith, enter private or public property at all reasonable times. (2) The results of investigations shall be reduced to writing if any enforcement action is contemplated and a copy thereof furnished to the operator of the pipeline facilities or transportation of gas facilities inspected or investigated before any enforcement action is initiated. (b) The commission is authorized to conduct inspections and investigations other than those in § 23-15-206 as may be necessary to aid in the enforcement of the provisions of this subchapter and the standards established pursuant to this subchapter. In doing so, it may obtain possession of any pipe or any part of a pipeline facility for analysis, inspection, or testing. (c) For purposes of enforcement of this subchapter, officers, employees, or agents authorized by the commission, upon presenting appropriate credentials to the individual in charge, are authorized: (1) To enter upon pipeline facilities at reasonable times; and (2) To inspect such facilities at reasonable times and within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner. (d) Each inspection shall be commenced and completed with reasonable promptness. (e) The commission may furnish the appropriate prosecuting attorney or the Attorney General any information obtained indicating noncompliance with such standards for appropriate action.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-208 Inspection and maintenance plans.

(a) Each person who engages in the transportation of gas or who owns or operates pipeline facilities not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Natural Gas Act shall file with the Arkansas Public Service Commission a plan for inspection and maintenance of each pipeline facility owned or operated by the person and any changes in the plan in accordance with rules prescribed by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. (b) The Arkansas Public Service Commission by rule may also require persons who engage in the transportation of gas or who own or operate pipeline facilities subject to the provisions of this subchapter to file such plans for approval. (c) If at any time the Arkansas Public Service Commission finds that the plan is inadequate to achieve safe operation, the Arkansas Public Service Commission after notice and opportunity for a hearing shall require the plan to be revised. (d) The plan required by the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall be practicable and designed to meet the need for pipeline safety. (e) In determining the adequacy of the plan, the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall consider: (1) Relevant available pipeline safety data; (2) Whether the plan is appropriate for the particular type of pipeline transportation; (3) The reasonableness of the plan; and (4) The extent to which the plan will contribute to public safety.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-209 Compliance and waiver.

(a) Each person who engages in the transportation of gas or who owns or operates pipeline facilities shall: (1) At all times after the date any applicable safety standard established under this subchapter takes effect, comply with the requirements of such standard; (2) File and comply with a plan of inspection and maintenance required by § 23-15-208; and (3) Permit access to or copying of records, make reports or provide information, and permit entry or inspection, as required under §§ 23-15-206 and 23-15-207. (b) The Arkansas Public Service Commission, pursuant to the provisions of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, Pub. L. No. 90-481, may waive compliance with a safety standard.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-210 Confidentiality of information obtained by commission — Exception.

(a) All information reported to or otherwise obtained by the Arkansas Public Service Commission or its representative pursuant to the provisions hereof, which information contains or relates to a trade secret referred to in 18 U.S.C. § 1905, shall be considered confidential for the purpose of that section, except that the information may be disclosed to other officers or employees concerned with carrying out this subchapter or when relevant in any proceeding under this subchapter. (b) Nothing in this section shall authorize the withholding of information by the commission, or any officer, employee, or agent under its control, from the duly authorized committees of the General Assembly.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-211 Civil penalty — Compromise — Proceedings.

(a) A person who violates a provision of § 23-15-209 or a rule issued under this subchapter is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed: (1) Two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for each day that the violation persists; and (2) Two million dollars ($2,000,000) for any related series of violations. (b) Any such civil penalty may be compromised by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. (c) In determining the amount of the penalty or the amount agreed upon in compromise, the appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the business of the person charged, the gravity of the violation, and the good faith of the person charged in attempting to achieve compliance, after notification of a violation, shall be considered. (d) Proceedings under this section shall be subject to the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq. (e) Any penalty imposed under this section, if not promptly paid to the commission, shall be recovered with interest thereon from the date of the order in a civil action brought by the commission. (f) Any civil penalty collected and imposed under this section shall be paid to the secretary of the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-212 Injunction and jurisdiction.

(a)(1) The Arkansas Public Service Commission pursuant to the provisions of Acts 1935, No. 324, shall have the right to file suit to restrain violations of this subchapter, including the restraint of transportation of gas or the operation of a pipeline facility, or to enforce standards established hereunder upon petition by the commission or by the appropriate prosecuting attorney or the Attorney General on behalf of the State of Arkansas. (2) Whenever practicable, the commission shall give notice to any person against whom an action for injunctive relief is contemplated and afford him or her an opportunity to present his or her views and, except in the case of a knowing and willful violation, shall afford him or her reasonable opportunity to achieve compliance. However, the failure to give such notice and afford such opportunity shall not preclude the granting of appropriate relief. (b) Actions under subsection (a) of this section and § 23-15-211 may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction in any county wherein any act or transaction constituting the alleged violation occurred or in the county wherein is located the principal place of business of any defendant. Process in such cases may be served in any manner provided by law.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-213 Tort liability.

Nothing in this subchapter shall affect the common law or statutory tort liability of any person.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-214 Fees — Definition.

(a)(1) There is levied and charged and shall be collected by the Arkansas Public Service Commission an annual assessment fee against each natural gas pipeline transporter, owner, or operator subject to the provisions of this subchapter to provide for the cost of operating the pipeline safety program of the commission. (2) Each natural gas pipeline transporter, owner, or operator shall pay the annual assessment fee authorized in this section for the pipeline safety program, which shall be in addition to any assessment fee authorized by § 23-3-110. This annual assessment, together with any assessment fee charged under § 23-3-110, shall not exceed in any year an amount in excess of that which could be charged and collected pursuant to § 23-3-110. (3) All annual assessment fees levied under this section shall be in addition to all property, franchise, license, or other taxes, fees, or charges prescribed by law. (4)(A) Except for natural gas pipeline facilities consisting of fewer than fifty (50) miles, the annual assessment fee shall be levied and charged in an amount which shall be equivalent to that proportion of the total pipeline safety program's costs that each natural gas pipeline transporter's, owner's, or operator's miles of natural gas pipeline in Arkansas, not including service lines in distribution systems, bear to the total number of miles of natural gas pipeline in Arkansas of all natural gas pipeline transporters, owners, or operators who are subject to the provisions of this section. (B) Each natural gas transporter, owner, or operator of natural gas pipeline facilities totaling fewer than fifty (50) miles shall pay an annual assessment fee equal to fifteen ten-thousandths (.0015) times the total cost of operating the pipeline safety program of the commission for the assessment year. (b) Each natural gas pipeline transporter, owner, or operator ceasing to engage in activities subject to the provisions of this subchapter during any calendar year shall pay to the commission within fifteen (15) days of ceasing such activities all assessments then owing, and shall at the same time file with the commission a statement of the number of its miles of natural gas pipeline in Arkansas for the current year and for the previous year if it has not theretofore been filed. (c)(1) The calculation of annual assessment fees will be based on the pipeline miles reported to the Office of Pipeline Safety of the Arkansas Public Service Commission on or before March 15 of each year. (2) After determining the amount of the annual assessment imposed by this section, the commission, annually on or before June 1, shall prepare and transmit to each natural gas pipeline transporter, owner, or operator a statement of the assessment due for the cost of operating the pipeline safety program of the commission. (3) Thereafter, on or before June 30, each natural gas pipeline transporter, owner, or operator who was billed under subdivision (c)(2) of this section shall pay to the secretary of the Arkansas Public Service Commission any annual assessment fee due under this section. (4) In the event any natural gas pipeline transporter, owner, or operator shall fail or refuse to pay the annual assessment fee provided for in this section on or before June 30, the commission shall add to the annual assessment fee a penalty of twenty-five percent (25%) thereof and certify the amount of the delinquent tax and penalty to the Attorney General for collection. (d) For purposes of this section, the term “natural gas pipeline transporter, owner, or operator”: (1) Shall mean any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, state, municipality, cooperative association, joint-stock association, or any business segment thereof, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative who engages in the transportation of natural gas in Arkansas or who owns or operates natural gas pipeline facilities in Arkansas; and (2) Shall not include the owner or operator of a master-metered facility.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-215 Legislative intent concerning § 23-15-214.

(a) It is the purpose and intent of the General Assembly in enacting § 23-15-214 to specifically authorize the Arkansas Public Service Commission to make assessments upon interstate pipelines operating within this state and to provide funds to initiate and carry out an effective gas pipeline safety inspection program in order to properly protect the public health and safety of the citizens of this state. (b) In enacting this section, the General Assembly is aware that: (1) Recent federal court decisions have specifically upheld the right of states to impose safety assessments upon interstate pipelines; (2) The United States Department of Transportation has recently designated the commission as its agent for inspection of interstate pipeline facilities located in Arkansas; (3) The Sixty-Ninth General Assembly, in House Concurrent Resolution No. 95, specifically recognized and declared that the commission can provide effective public safety inspections of interstate gas transmission facilities at far less cost than this service can be provided by federal inspectors and that the future safety of the residents of the State of Arkansas requires the support of the General Assembly to ensure a safety inspection program for such pipelines located in Arkansas; and (4) Legislation enacted by the United States Congress authorizes federal funds for reimbursement of up to fifty percent (50%) of the annual cost to the state which initiates such a program.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-216 Disposition of funds.

On receipt of the fees, charges, and penalties provided for in this subchapter, the secretary of the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall pay the fees, charges, and penalties into the State Treasury. The amounts received by the Treasurer of State shall be credited by him or her as special revenues and designated as the “Arkansas Public Service Commission Utility Safety Fund”, which will be a separate fund account established by the Treasurer of State.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-15-217 Jurisdiction of commission over natural gas pipeline inspections.

(a) The Office of Pipeline Safety of the Arkansas Public Service Commission shall continue its administration of and shall continue to conduct safety inspections for any natural gas pipeline facilities which contain one hundred (100) or more parts per million of hydrogen sulfide which by this act or any other act of the General Assembly are transferred to or placed under the jurisdiction of the Oil and Gas Commission until the earlier of such time as: (1) The Oil and Gas Commission receives certification from the United States Department of Transportation to administer and conduct the required safety inspections; (2) The Oil and Gas Commission has obtained the appropriate equipment to conduct the required inspections; and (3) The Oil and Gas Commission has established inspection criteria equal to, but not less stringent than, that currently in force for the facilities in question as set out in the Arkansas Gas Pipeline Code, or one (1) year from April 1, 1999. (b) Prior to the Oil and Gas Commission's assuming exclusive jurisdiction over any natural gas pipeline facility which contains one hundred (100) or more parts per million of hydrogen sulfide transferred to it by this act or any other act of the General Assembly, there shall be a joint inspection by the Office of Pipeline Safety of the Arkansas Public Service Commission and the Oil and Gas Commission of all natural gas pipeline facilities which contain one hundred (100) or more parts per million of hydrogen sulfide, the exclusive jurisdiction over administration and safety inspections which is being transferred from the Office of Pipeline Safety of the Arkansas Public Service Commission to the Oil and Gas Commission to ensure that, at that point in time when transfer occurs, the compliance status of the pipelines is documented and the responsibility for bringing any pipeline code violations into compliance shall rest with the Oil and Gas Commission.
Source: Public.Resource.Org / UniCourt, Official Code of Arkansas Annotated, Release 78 (2020) (unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ar)URL: https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ar/transforms/ar/ocar/r78/gov.ar.code.title.23.htmlFetched: 11/8/2026

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