House Study Bill 157 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SEXTON) A BILL FOR An Act providing for the transportation of biogas using a 1 gathering line system constructed within a secondary road 2 right-of-way, and including effective date provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 2001YC (4) 90 da/ns

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 306.2, Code 2023, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. “Biogas gathering line system” means a 3 system of one or more gathering lines as defined in 49 C.F.R. 4 §192.3, if each gathering line operates at or under one hundred 5 twenty-five per square inch gauge, and is used to transport 6 biogas from one or more anaerobic digester systems, as defined 7 in section 459.102, to a processing facility for the production 8 of renewable natural gas. 9 Sec. 2. Section 306.46, Code 2023, is amended to read as 10 follows: 11 306.46 Public utility Utility facilities —— public road 12 rights-of-way. 13 1. a. A public utility may construct, operate, repair, 14 or maintain its utility facilities within a public road 15 right-of-way. The location of new utility facilities shall 16 comply with section 318.9 . A utility facility shall not be 17 constructed or installed in a manner that causes interference 18 with public use of the road. 19 2. b. For purposes of this section paragraph “a” , “public 20 utility” means a public utility as defined in section 476.1 , and 21 shall also include waterworks, municipally owned waterworks, 22 joint water utilities, rural water districts incorporated under 23 chapter 357A or chapter 504 , cooperative water associations, 24 and electric transmission owners as defined in section 476.27 25 primarily providing service to public utilities as defined in 26 section 476.1 . For the purposes of this section paragraph 27 “a” , “utility facilities” means any cables, conduits, wire, 28 pipe, casing pipe, supporting poles, guys, and other material 29 and equipment utilized for the furnishing of electric, gas, 30 communications, water, or sewer service. 31 2. A person owning, operating, or controlling an anaerobic 32 digester system or a person owning, operating, or controlling a 33 processing facility for the production of renewable natural gas 34 may construct, operate, repair, or maintain a biogas gathering 35 -1- LSB 2001YC (4) 90 da/ns 1/ 2

H.F. _____ line system within a secondary road right-of-way. A gathering 1 line system shall not be constructed or installed in a manner 2 that, by its use, causes interference with public use of the 3 road. 4 3. This section shall not impair or interfere with a city’s 5 authority to grant, amend, extend, or renew a franchise as 6 provided in section 364.2 , and shall not impair or interfere 7 with a city’s existing general police powers to control the use 8 of its right-of-way. 9 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 10 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill amends provisions that allow a public utility to 15 construct, operate, and maintain a public utility facility 16 within a public road right-of-way so long as the facility 17 does not cause interference with the road’s use (amended 18 Code section 306.46). The bill provides the same right to 19 a person who constructs, operates, and maintains one or more 20 gathering lines located within a secondary road right-of-way 21 that transport biogas from an anaerobic digester system 22 to a processing facility for the production of renewable 23 natural gas. An anaerobic digester system is connected to a 24 confinement feeding operation housing livestock that stores 25 liquid manure on site using a storage structure (Code section 26 459.206). An anaerobic digester processes liquid manure 27 by utilizing bacteria to break down organic matter in the 28 absence of oxygen for purposes of producing, collecting, and 29 transporting biogas (Code section 459.102). Generally, a 30 gathering line is a type of pipeline used to move gas from 31 its point of production to another facility for processing 32 (refinement). 33 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 34 -2- LSB 2001YC (4) 90 da/ns 2/ 2