A state audit in 2023 painted a grim picture of Colorado’s oversight of natural gas pipelines, but critics say despite the findings and legislation mandating improvements, new rules backed by regulators are inadequate.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday supported most of the recommendations by an administrative law judge that will carry out a 2021 law to strengthen the regulation of the thousands of miles of gas pipelines running underground across the state.
Administrative Law Judge Robert Garvey issued his recommendations on the proposed rules in October after several parties submitted comments and a hearing was held. The areas covered by the rules include requiring companies and utilities to use advanced technology to detect pipeline leaks, the levels of methane emissions that require action by operators and timelines for checking different types of pipelines.
Local governments and environmental organizations advocating for stronger protections for public health and the environment voiced disappointment that the PUC didn’t go far enough. The commissioners are expected to issue a written decision soon.
“We are concerned that the commission missed the mark,” said Erin Murphy, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund. “We’re concerned the commission’s order may not successfully prioritize environmental protection alongside public safety.”
The Colorado law clearly required considering both public health and the environment for new rules on using advanced technology to better detect pipeline leaks, Murphy said. Stressing that EDF wants to read the PUC’s written decision for the details, Murphy said it appears the rules might not be strong enough in some cases, such as the frequency of required surveys of pipelines.
EDF said in a filing with the PUC that advanced monitoring technologies are already widely available and are “highly effective and cost effective”
“Xcel Energy is committed to the highest standards of pipeline methane reduction,” Xcel Energy said in a statement. “Outside of this rulemaking, we have piloted advanced mobile leak detection in Colorado and have set goals to reduce methane emissions on our natural gas system.”
In 2021, lawmakers said more robust oversight of natural gas pipelines was needed because of dramatic increases in the drilling and distribution of gas; the construction of new homes and businesses around pipelines and gas operations; and efforts to cut emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The blistering report released in 2023 by the state auditor added impetus to toughening the regulations. The audit found pervasive problems that violated state and federal regulations, inadequate inspections and a lack of documented action taken against repeat offenders even in cases of explosions that killed and injured people.
Industry organizations urged the PUC to hold off on approving new rules because a federal agency, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, was in the process of updating its rules. They warned of potential conflicts between state and federal regulations.
However, new guidance on detecting and repairing pipeline leaks set to run in the Federal Register in the last days of the Biden administration wasn’t published. In June, the Department of Transportation rescinded an advisory by the Biden administration on implementing a 2020 federal law aimed at modernizing the national pipeline system and updating rules. The Trump administration said the guidance went beyond the scope of what Congress intended.
The Colorado General Assembly passed a bill in this year’s session that required the state to complete its new rules by Nov. 1.
The federal pipeline agency, PHMSA, oversees interstate transmission pipelines and oil and hazardous liquid gathering lines in populated and environmentally sensitive areas. The agency can certify states to regulate intrastate pipelines. Colorado oversees natural gas pipelines within its borders.
Murphy of EDF said states can adopt rules that are more stringent than federal rules. Her agency advocates for Colorado to adopt vigorous gas pipeline rules.
“We have a loss of leadership at the federal level, which means that the federal baseline rules right now are decades old, dating back to the ’70s,” Murphy said. “Colorado has this directive from the legislature to adopt rules for advanced leak detection and repair. This is a great opportunity to really update these rules in a meaningful way.”
Matt Sura, an attorney who represents Larimer County in the pipeline proceedings, said there’s concern that in the case of smaller distribution lines, the threshold for leak detection won’t be rigorous enough to find smaller leaks that could be harmful. He said the state’s new rules for detecting leaks on the larger gathering and transmission lines are less strict than those the Biden administration had proposed.
Xcel Energy and other companies argued for flexibility, saying that the stricter requirements would be costly and burdensome and “would also not advance the protection of public safety or the environment.”
“While highly prescriptive detection thresholds and across-the-board leak quantification may sound more strict and environmentally sound, they can drive false positives, divert crews from hazardous conditions, expend more emissions through unnecessarily deployed resources, and ultimately delay meaningful repairs,” Xcel said in a statement.
But Sura said the lower thresholds are important as Colorado continues efforts to cut methane emissions. Methane has a shorter atmospheric lifespan than carbon dioxide, but is at least 80 times more potent in trapping heat in the short term.
In 2014, Colorado approved the first state-level methane regulations in the country and has continued to strengthen its requirements
“The reality is that the public and state expect that the utilities want to find leaks and will repair them as quickly as practical because that is protective of both public health and safety and the environment,” Sura said. “Ultimately, it’s going to lead to less costs passed to the consumer.”
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