Interstate hazardous liquid pipelines - how to determine all pertinent legislation?

[LearnerN]

I think it is no surprise to any of us in the oil/gas pipeline industry that some people may play "loose" with state or other non-federal legislation and ignore it as having any authority or relevance so long as you're basically following the CFR's and ASME and industry standards. In terms of professional engineering licensure, some engineers may practice engineering in states in which they don't have a license, and they haven't even read the licensure law pertaining to what is required of any engineering in that state. Further, some (or maybe all) states have specific regulations regulating the pipeline industry itself in their state.

So my understanding is that if an engineer desires to practice any engineering in some state, he must: (1) ensure his company is approved to practice engineering in that state, (2) obtain a PE license to practice in that state unless another engineer in the company - who is licensed in that state - directly oversees the work, (3) ensure the professional engineering regulations are followed in terms of what needs stamped, when, etc, (4) determine if there are any state codes/legislation regulating that field of engineering the engineer desires to practice in that state. These are obligations above and beyond the duty of designing in accordance with the CFRs, ASME and other industry standards, as well as good engineering judgment.

First question: is what I've said above accurate? Anything else that you'd add or otherwise?

Second question: how would an engineer go about determining what all possible legislation in a state (or other jurisdiction) would apply to the type of engineering he hopes/plans to practice in that state? Call some state government office to find out who he should talk to about this inquiry and to find out what all legislation would apply? This seems like such a common sense topic, but sadly this is not an approach I think is being taught well to engineers these days (but it obviously totally depends on the industry and type of engineering and state you're practicing in). Thank you, everyone.

 

[pennpiper]

Start here (Federal):

https://www.usa.gov/federal.../department-of-transportation

and then go here (For each state involved):

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/webstate.htm

Sometimes its possible to do all the right things and still get bad results

 

[LearnerN]

pennpiper, I got a "404 Page Error" when clicking the first link.

 

[bimr]

If you look at some previous projects, in particular the environmental impact statements, all of the requirements are listed.

Here is an example:

https://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/documents/organization/221152.pdf

https://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/finalseis/index.htm

 

[LearnerN]

Sorry, I should've clarified. I didn't mean "legislation" in terms of like environmental permitting, road/railroad permitting, etc. I just meant in terms of licensure laws or any other state-level laws regarding the industry, like maybe about liquid hazardous pipelines or whatever. Maybe the best place to start is contacting the main office of the DOT or Chamber of Commerce or something in each state.

 

[bimr]

Don't believe there is any specific requirement for licensing that has to do with pipelines, other than practicing engineering in the particular discipline that you are licensed.

You would have to contact the Department of Financial & Professional Regulation in the state that you plan to work. Each state has the laws governing professional engineering. Here is an example.

http://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/il...rofessional+Engineering+Practice+Act+of+1989.

http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/068/06801380sections.html

 

[dhengr]

LearnerN:
I think you should take these questions up with your own company. Given how contentious pipelines are, you would assume that the pipeline company would want to stay well within the law, wherever they are working. Given all the hoops they have to jump through to get their permits and approvals, you wouldn’t think they would drop the ball on engineering and design requirements, so that that was not their undoing. This may kinda fall under the all too common industrial exemption, where the company pretty well assumes all responsibility and liability for the engineering aspects of the job. If you are working on your own, as an independent consultant or some such, and selling your services and design efforts to the pipeline company, then you better be a Registered Professional Engineer, and running your consulting firm in the proper manner. That means contacting the local state Engineering Registration Board for their particular rules and requirements.