Maine LD 1473: An Act To Protect Certain Unfiltered Drinking Water Sources

Bill Text

Page 1 - 132LR2258(03)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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H.P. 965 - L.D. 1473
An Act to Require Gas Utilities to Assess for Natural Gas Leaks and to
Require Reporting of Gas Leak Information
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §4713 is enacted to read:
§4713. Assessment and report of natural gas leaks
1. Gas utilities to assess for natural gas leaks. A gas utility shall assess its natural
gas system for natural gas leaks, including every natural gas main and meter under its
jurisdiction, as frequently as may be required by the commission by rule, but no less
frequently than every 3 years.
2. Gas utility; reporting. Each gas utility shall provide reports to the commission at a
frequency as established by the commission by rule regarding the number of natural gas
leaks identified by the gas utility and the actions taken by the gas utility to address the
natural gas leaks. The reports must protect individually identifiable customer information
by omitting customer names and addresses, except that the reports must include street
location information for the identified natural gas leaks. The commission shall post the
reports received from gas utilities in accordance with this subsection on the commission's
publicly accessible website.
3. Commission; reporting. No later than April 1, 2026 and annually thereafter, the
commission shall provide a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having
jurisdiction over utility matters. The report must list each gas utility providing service in
the State and the number of natural gas leaks identified by the gas utility in the prior
calendar year by street location and must describe any action taken by the gas utility to
address the natural gas leaks. The report must protect individually identifiable customer
information by omitting customer names and addresses. The commission shall post the
reports required by this subsection on the commission's publicly accessible website.
4. Compliance. The commission shall periodically assess gas utility compliance with
the requirements of subsections 1 and 2 at a frequency determined by the commission.
APPROVED
JUNE 9, 2025
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
217
PUBLIC LAW

Page 2 - 132LR2258(03)
5. Rules. The commission may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section.
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5,
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.