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State Pipeline Safety Policy
National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR)
The National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR), established in 1982, is an organization of state agency pipeline safety managers who are responsible for the administration of their state’s Pipeline Safety Programs.
State pipeline safety agencies
The map below is linked to state agencies responsible for pipeline safety, just click on the state you are interested in. See the table below the map for information about the level of oversight each state has chosen for involvement in natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline regulation.
State pipeline safety authority
Under federal law, states may choose three different levels of involvement in natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulation. The table below shows the status of each state’s natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety authority as of 2011.
| Certification |  |
Agreement | |
Interstate Agent | |
None | |
Definitions for each level of authority appear below the table.
| State | Natural Gas Intrastate Authority (2002) | Hazardous Liquid Intrastate Authority (2002) | Natural Gas Interstate Authority (2002) | Hazardous Liquid Interstate Authority (2002) |
| Alabama | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| Alaska | None | None | None | None |
| Arizona | Certification | Certification | Interstate Agent | Interstate Agent |
| Arkansas | Certification | None | None | None |
| California | Certification | Certification | None | Interstate Agent |
| Colorado | Certification | None | None | None |
| Connecticut | Certification | None | Interstate Agent | None |
| Delaware | Agreement | None | None | None |
| District of Columbia | Certification | None | None | None |
| Florida | Certification | None | None | None |
| Georgia | Certification | None | None | None |
| Hawaii | None | None | None | None |
| Idaho | Certification | None | None | None |
| Illinois | Certification | None | None | None |
| Indiana | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| Iowa | Certification | None | Interstate Agent | None |
| Kansas | Certification | None | None | None |
| Kentucky | Certification | Agreement | None | None |
| Louisiana | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| Maine | Certification | None | None | None |
| Maryland | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| Massachusetts | Certification | None | None | None |
| Michigan | Certification | None | Interstate Agent | None |
| Minnesota | Certification | Certification | Interstate Agent | Interstate Agent |
| Mississippi | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| Missouri | Certification | None | None | None |
| Montana | Certification | None | None | None |
| Nebraska | Certification | None | None | None |
| Nevada | Certification | None | None | None |
| New Hampshire | Certification | None | None | None |
| New Jersey | Certification | None | None | None |
| New Mexico | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| New York | Certification | Certification | Interstate Agent | Interstate Agent |
| North Carolina | Certification | None | None | None |
| North Dakota | Certification | None | None | None |
| Ohio | Certification | None | Interstate Agent | None |
| Oklahoma | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| Oregon | Certification | None | None | None |
| Pennsylvania | Certification | None | None | None |
| Puerto Rico | Certification | None | None | None |
| Rhode Island | Certification | None | None | None |
| South Carolina | Certification | Agreement | None | None |
| South Dakota | Certification | None | None | None |
| Tennessee | Certification | None | None | None |
| Texas | Certification | Certification | None | None |
| Utah | Certification | None | None | None |
| Vermont | Certification | None | None | None |
| Virginia | Certification | Certification | None | Interstate Agent |
| Washington | Certification | Certification | Interstate Agent | Interstate Agent |
| West Virginia | Certification | Certification | Interstate Agent | None |
| Wisconsin | Certification | None | None | None |
| Wyoming | Certification | None | None | None |
Certification: Congress permitted States to assume regulatory authority of intrastate pipelines if the state makes an annual certification to the federal Office of Pipeline Safety. The State must adopt the minimum Federal regulations and may adopt more stringent regulations for intrastate pipelines as long as the state regulations are not incompatible with Federal regulations. Under Certification, a State has responsibility for enforcement of regulations on intrastate pipelines. All states other than Alaska, Delaware and Hawaii give annual certifications to OPS to allow them to regulate intrastate natural gas pipelines but only about half of the states certify for liquid pipelines.
Agreement: If a state does not meet the requirements for certification, the State can still enter an agreement with OPS to oversee certain aspects of intrastate pipeline safety. In this case, OPS retains responsibility for enforcement for any violations on intrastate pipelines. This is an infrequently used approach. Only one state, Delaware, uses an agreement to oversee intrastate natural gas pipelines and only two, Kentucky, and South Carolina, use that method for liquid pipelines.
Interstate Agent: OPS may permit a State to participate in the oversight of interstate pipeline transportation, but OPS always retains authority for enforcement of any violations. Nine states have an interstate agent agreement to oversee natural gas pipelines and six have one for oversight of liquid pipelines.
- Federal pipeline safety policy
- State pipeline safety policy
- Local pipeline safety policy
- International pipeline safety