Government Affairs Update - December 19 2018

Commission on Future of Transportation issues Report to Governor

The Commission on the Future of Transportation was established almost a year ago by Governor Baker’s Executive Order No. 579.

The Commission developed 18 recommendations to guide Commonwealth transportation policy “so that Massachusetts can benefit from coming changes – including in demographics, technology, and mobility preferences – and build a future for all of us that is healthy, sustainable, and prosperous.”

Link to report of the Commission – Choices for Stewardship: Recommendations to Meet the Transportation Future:   https://www.mass.gov/orgs/commission-on-the-future-of-transportation. A second volume containing extensive background materials, supporting data, and valuable sources of information accompanies the report.

9 States and D.C. to Design Regional Approach to Cap Greenhouse Gas Pollution from Transportation

Transportation and Climate Initiative aims to complete design process before end of 2019.

On 12/18, a coalition of nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia announced their intent to design a new regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels, and invest proceeds from the program into low-carbon and more resilient transportation infrastructure.

Link to more: http://bit.ly/CapGG-Transpo

Gas Moratorium Impact on Development Lifted with Restrictions: 

On 12/19, the  Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued a directive requiring National Grid to implement comprehensive new safety protocols before the company can initiate any natural gas work besides emergency work.

The DPU directive contains “specific comprehensive safety requirements for National Grid, applicable to all non-emergency work. First, it requires National Grid to use task specific operating procedures which will lay out step-by-step instructions as to how work on any given project will be conducted. In addition, consistent with recommendations made by the NTSB and legislation filed by the Baker-Polito Administration, (BF from Abbie) National Grid will be required to obtain the review and approval of a certified professional engineer in advance of any work taking place within their distribution territory. National Grid will also be required to impose stricter standards than those currently required for employee qualifications to ensure public safety, including requiring five years of experience for work on low pressure service lines, 10 years of experience for work on intermediate pressure service lines, and 15 years of experience for work on high pressure service lines.”

Press release: https://www.mass.gov/news/department-of-public-utilities-requires-national-grid-to-adopt-strict-new-safety-standards-for

Background: NTSB Issues Gas Safety Recommendations In Response September 13 Merrimack Valley gas disaster
As federal investigators continue their probe into the Merrimack Valley gas disaster, on November 15 the National Transportation Safety Board issued a series of safety recommendations it classified as "urgent," The NTSB report included 4 recommendations for NiSource (parent co. of Columbia Gas), + 1 for the state, seeking elimination of the professional engineer licensure exemption for public utility work and a requirement for a PE's seal on public utility engineering drawings. NTSB's report recommends NiSource revise the engineering plan and constructability review process across all subsidiaries, review all records and documentation of natural gas systems, apply management of change processes to all changes to identify threats that could result in a common mode failure, and develop and implement control procedures during gas main modifications to mitigate risks. On 11/20, Governor Baker filed H.4979 to eliminate the PE exemption.

Link to the NTSB Report 

Massachusetts Auction Nets $405M for Offshore Tracts for Wind Power

Three lease winners have each agreed to pay $135M to gain access to ocean tracts off the coast of Massachusetts where they may someday build commercial-scale wind energy installations. The lease areas auctioned this week are 20 nautical miles from Martha's Vineyard. [Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management]

The results of the December 13 federal government auction of 390,000 acres were announced on December 14, 2018 by the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The auction began at 9 AM on December 13 and ended late Friday morning on December 14. The winners were Equinor Wind US, Mayflower Wind Energy LLC, and Vineyard Wind. Vineyard Wind is already in the process of building an offshore wind farm in an area south of Martha's Vineyard on a previously leased site.

Link to Press Release on the Ocean Tracts

MA Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors:

The next Board meeting will be on December 20, 2018.

Link to agenda for this meeting

Issues for discussion on December 20 will include:

• Requirements for and Acceptability of Evaluations of Foreign Degrees
• NCEES and the Alleged Exam Breach – Follow-up
• National Transportation Safety Board: Safety Recommendation Report: Natural Gas Distribution System Project Development and Review, adopted November 14, 2018
• NCEES New Release on the NTSB Safety Recommendation Report, dated November 29, 2018

Additional resource links: