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Pipeline Operators

This site is intended for operators of gas pipeline systems, including required regulations, reporting tools and any changes in rulemaking.

Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) functions as a safety oversight organization for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). We work within their federal standards which are:


Their mission is to “protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives. To do this, the agency establishes national policy, sets and enforces standards, educates, and conducts research to prevent incidents. We also prepare the public and first responders to reduce consequences if an incident does occur.”
As the PUC, we also follow State regulations §§40-1-103, 40-2-115, 40-7-117, C.R.S. The statutes providing state authority allowing the PUC to enter cooperative agreements with federal agencies and to adopt and create rules to administer and enforce the National Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968. The PUC rules for Pipeline Operators and Gas Pipeline Safety, or 4 CCR 713-11 can be found here.

 

Natural Gas Pipeline Operators

Natural gas pipeline operators in Colorado include:

 

AGUILAR, TOWN OF CURETON FRONT RANGE LLC LADDER CREEK, LLC SIMCOE LLC
AKA ENERGY GROUP, LLC CURETON GILCREST, LLC LAMAR UTILITIES BOARD, CITY OF

STERLING ETHANOL, LLC
ATMOS ENERGY CORPORATION - COLORADO/KANSAS DCP MIDSTREAM MASTER METER OPERATORS (MMOS)

SUMMIT MIDSTREAM PARTNERS, LLC
BLACK HILLS ENERGY DIVIDE CREEK GATHERING SYSTEM, LLC NOBLE ENERGY, INC. RBU

TENDERFOOT PIPELINE COMPANY
BLACK HILLS SERVICE COMPANY ELEVATION MIDSTREAM OGRIS OPERATING

TEP ROCKY MOUNTAIN LLC
BONANZA CREEK ENERGY OPERATING COMPANY, LLC ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC OWN RESOURCES OPERATING, LLC

TRINIDAD, CITY OF
CENTER MUNICIPAL GAS SYSTEM FORT MORGAN GAS DEPT, CITY OF PLATTE RIVER POWER AUTHORITY

UTAH GAS OP LTD DBA UTAH GAS CORP
CHEVRON U.S.A. INC - PERMIAN BASIN FOUNTAIN VALLEY POWER LLC PUBLIC SERVICE CO OF COLORADO

WALDEN, TOWN OF
COLORADO NATURAL GAS INC. FUNDARE RESOURCES OPERATING COMPANY, LLC RANGELY, TOWN OF

WALSENBURG, CITY OF
COLORADO SAND COMPANY LLC HARVEST MIDSTREAM COMPANY REP PROCESSING

WESTERN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS, LP
COLORADO SPRINGS, CITY OF HILCORP ENERGY COMPANY ROCKY MOUNTAIN MIDSTREAM LLC

WEXPRO COMPANY
CRESTONE PEAK RESOURCES LP IGNACIO MUNICIPAL GAS ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATURAL GAS LLC

WILLIAMS FIELD SERVICES
XTR MIDSTREAM, LLC      

Operators MUST contact the National Response Center (NRC) for immediate reporting of pipeline incidents at: 800-424-8802. Reporting must occur within two hours.

And, after a control number is assigned, operators must call the PUC’s GPS Telephonic Event/Incident Reporting number at: 303-894-2854.
 

  • All pipeline operators, including operators of gathering pipelines in Class 1 areas, LNG facilities/systems, and MMO/LPG systems, must provide expedited reporting of pipeline events described below as soon as possible after discovery; not to exceed two hours after confirmed discovery.
     
  • If the expedited reporting time for a pipeline event exceeds two hours after confirmed discovery, the operator shall provide a written explanation for the exceedance to the PSP Chief within ten business days after the event.
     
  • An unplanned/emergency event that occurs on the pipeline system that results in the evacuation of 50 or more people from a normally occupied building or property; an unplanned/emergency event that occurs on the pipeline system that results in the closure of all lanes in either direction of a roadway or railroad;
     
  • An unplanned/emergency event that occurs on the pipeline system that results in the evacuation of four or more residential structures; an unplanned/emergency event that occurs on the pipeline system that results in a service outage of 100 or more customers.
     
  • An event that requires active soil vapor extraction for a period exceeding 48 hours as measured from the time the extraction device is turned on at the site until the operator determines soil vapor extraction is no longer necessary.
     
  • A Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) exceedance event that requires the operator, pursuant to its procedures, to implement follow-up actions such as a leak survey; or an event that, in the opinion of the operator, requires courtesy notification to the Pipeline Safety Program.

Pipeline operators must file:


Master Meter Operators (MMOs):

Defined as gas pipeline system owners that distribute gas within a limited area, such as an apartment complex or housing development. The MMO purchases metered gas from another source for resale through a pipeline system supplying the consumer who buys directly or through another avenue such as rent.

If you are an MMO with a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) system operating less than 1,000 services in Colorado, you must submit an annual report, found here.

Proceeding No. 22R-0491GPS (Rules Regulating Gas Pipeline Operators and Gas Pipeline Safety , 4 Code of Colorado Regulations 723-11)

The PUC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend its Rules Regulating Pipeline Operators and Gas Pipeline Safety (Pipeline Safety Rules) to:  address the legislative declaration and rule changes outlined in Senate Bill 21-108, which strengthen and streamline Colorado's laws governing gas pipeline safety. 

Proposed rules intend on allowing innovations in technology, improving the rules in recognition of an aging infrastructure system, a growing population that increasingly encounters gas infrastructure, and climate change policy.  The proposed amendments recognize a shared responsibility for pipeline safety oversight among other federal and state agencies, commissions, and regulatory bodies.

Schedule: A public hearing on the proposed rules and related matters was held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) on Thursday, January 19, 2023. The recording of the meeting is posted here. An additional hearing was held on May 2, 2023, and is continued to June 29, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. The recording of the May 2 meeting can be found here. Check with the calendar of events for the Zoom link.

Opportunities to Comment:

Written comments can be submitted through the online comment form; by emailing dora_puc_website@state.co.us; or, by mailing comments to Colorado Public Utilities Commission,  online comment form 1560 Broadway, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202. Members of the public may also call 303.869.3490 to leave oral comments (English and Spanish options).