HSB 157 (LSB 2001YC (4) 90)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SEXTON)

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for the transportation of biogas using a gathering line system constructed within a secondary road right-of-way, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 306.2, Code 2023, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.  “Biogas gathering line system” means a system of one or more gathering lines as defined in 49 C.F.R. §192.3, if each gathering line operates at or under one hundred twenty-five per square inch gauge, and is used to transport biogas from one or more anaerobic digester systems, as defined in section 459.102, to a processing facility for the production of renewable natural gas.
    Sec. 2.  Section 306.46, Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   306.46  Public utility Utility facilities —— public road rights-of-way.
   1.  a.  A public utility may construct, operate, repair, or maintain its utility facilities within a public road right-of-way. The location of new utility facilities shall comply with section 318.9. A utility facility shall not be constructed or installed in a manner that causes interference with public use of the road.
   2.  b.  For purposes of this section paragraph “a”, “public utility” means a public utility as defined in section 476.1, and shall also include waterworks, municipally owned waterworks, joint water utilities, rural water districts incorporated under chapter 357A or chapter 504, cooperative water associations, and electric transmission owners as defined in section 476.27 primarily providing service to public utilities as defined in section 476.1. For the purposes of this section paragraph “a”, “utility facilities” means any cables, conduits, wire, pipe, casing pipe, supporting poles, guys, and other material and equipment utilized for the furnishing of electric, gas, communications, water, or sewer service.
   2.  A person owning, operating, or controlling an anaerobic digester system or a person owning, operating, or controlling a processing facility for the production of renewable natural gas may construct, operate, repair, or maintain a biogas gathering line system within a secondary road right-of-way. A gathering line system shall not be constructed or installed in a manner that, by its use, causes interference with public use of the road.
   3.  This section shall not impair or interfere with a city’s authority to grant, amend, extend, or renew a franchise as provided in section 364.2, and shall not impair or interfere with a city’s existing general police powers to control the use of its right-of-way.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill amends provisions that allow a public utility to construct, operate, and maintain a public utility facility within a public road right-of-way so long as the facility does not cause interference with the road’s use (amended Code section 306.46). The bill provides the same right to a person who constructs, operates, and maintains one or more gathering lines located within a secondary road right-of-way that transport biogas from an anaerobic digester system to a processing facility for the production of renewable natural gas. An anaerobic digester system is connected to a confinement feeding operation housing livestock that stores liquid manure on site using a storage structure (Code section 459.206). An anaerobic digester processes liquid manure by utilizing bacteria to break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen for purposes of producing, collecting, and transporting biogas (Code section 459.102). Generally, a gathering line is a type of pipeline used to move gas from its point of production to another facility for processing (refinement).
   The bill takes effect upon enactment.