Kentucky Public Service Commission


Welcome to the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s pipeline safety page.

The federal Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 led to safety standards for pipeline transportation of natural gas. The law established procedures under which states can assume the responsibility for regulation and enforcement. These federal-state partnerships assure uniform nationwide implementation of the pipeline safety program.

In 1970, the Kentucky General Assembly chose the PSC as the state agency that would enforce the federal pipeline safety standards. The PSC is certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) as having adopted the minimum federal regulations and established substantially the same enforcement measures as those in the federal pipeline safety statutes. The PSC also must promote damage prevention to underground facilities, cooperate fully in a system of federal monitoring, and maintain and submit required reports. The federal government reimburses Kentucky for up to 80% of the cost of the state pipeline safety program.

REGULATED UTILITIES

For a list of pipeline companies and natural gas distribution entities regulated by the Kentucky Public Service Commission, click here and select categories 300, 310 or 320 and search the selected category. Entities are listed alphabetically within category. For information on a specific entity, including contact information and service area, select the view option for that entity.

STATUTES AND REGULATIONS

The Kentucky Public Service Commission enforces federal and state pipeline safety laws and regulations for intrastate natural gas transmission pipelines and for local natural gas retail distribution systems. The PSC has jurisdiction over 28 intrastate pipeline operators, 21 distribution utilities, 49 municipal distribution systems, and 113 other natural gas operators such as master meter systems and gathering line operators.

Federal pipeline safety regulations are minimum standards to assure safety in design, construction, inspection, testing, operation and maintenance of pipelines. The applicable sections of the Code of Federal Regulations are:

49 CFR Parts 190 - 199
  • 190 – Enforcement procedures
  • 191 – Natural gas reporting requirements
  • 192 – Natural gas
  • 193 – Liquefied natural gas
  • 194 – Response plans for onshore oil pipelines
  • 198 – State grants
  • 199 – Drug and alcohol testing
The applicable Kentucky state statutes and regulations are:
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Kentucky Administrative Regulations

Click here Kentucky statutes and regulations
For the homepage of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) click here
For Kentucky-specific information on the PHMSA website, go here

MAPS

Under Kentucky law, access to information about pipeline locations is limited. For available geographic information, go here and select the Natural Gas tab.

To access the portion of the federal National Pipeline Mapping System that is available to the public, click here

INSPECTION RECORDS AND ACCIDENT REPORTS

Inspection records and accident reports are not currently available online. They can be obtained by filing a request with the Kentucky Public Service Commission under the Kentucky Open Records Act. The request form is available here

ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Records of Kentucky Public Service Commission pipeline safety enforcement actions are available online. To locate records for a specific company, search for cases involving that company here All case records from 2004 to present can be found. Older cases may be obtained by filing an Open Records Act request.

EXCAVATION DAMAGE DATA

Kentucky requires reporting of all excavation damage incidents. The PSC enforces regulations as they relate to federal and state requirements for natural gas companies concerning damage prevention and public awareness programs. For more information about excavation damage prevention programs in Kentucky, go to the Kentucky 811 website here.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Click here to contact the PSC’s Pipeline Safety Program


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