Terms used in this chapter mean:

1. (1) "Commission," the Public Utilities Commission of the State of South Dakota;

2. (2) "Emergency release," a release of a quantity of gas that is great enough to:

   1. (a) Pose a clear and immediate danger to life, health, or the environment; or
   2. (b) Threaten a significant loss of property;
3. (3) "Gas," natural gas, liquefied natural gas, flammable gas, gas that is toxic or corrosive, or liquefied petroleum gas in a distribution system;
4. (4) "Gas pipeline," all parts of the physical facilities through which gas moves in transportation, including compressor units, delivery stations, fabricated assemblies, holders, metering stations, pipes, regulator stations, valves, and other appurtenances attached to the facilities;
5. (5) "Gas pipeline facilities," new and existing pipelines and rights-of-way, within this state, which transport gas from an interstate gas pipeline to a direct sales customer, within this state, purchasing gas for the customer's own consumption, and any building, equipment, or facility used in the transportation of gas, or in the treatment of gas during the course of transportation, within this state;
6. (6) "Inspection fee," any fee assessed to pipeline operators based on the expenses and obligations incurred by the commission in implementing and administering this chapter;
7. (7) "Interstate pipeline," pipeline facilities used in the transportation of gas, which are subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 717 to 717z, inclusive (January 1, 2026), except any pipeline facility, within this state, transporting gas from an interstate gas pipeline to a direct sales customer, within this state, purchasing gas for the customer's own consumption;
8. (8) "Intrastate pipeline," any pipeline or part of a pipeline to which this chapter applies, but which is not an interstate pipeline;
9. (9) "Liquefied natural gas," natural gas or synthetic gas having methane (CH4) as its major constituent, which has been changed to a liquid or semisolid;
10. (10) "Master meter system," any pipeline system for distributing gas within an apartment complex, housing project, mobile home park, or other definable area, where the operator purchases metered gas from an outside source for resale through a gas distribution pipeline system and the gas distribution pipeline system supplies the ultimate consumer who purchases the gas directly through a meter or by rents or other means;
11. (11) "Pipeline operator," any person who owns or operates a pipeline;
12. (12) "Release," any discharging, disposing, dumping, emitting, emptying, flowing, injecting, leaching, leaking, pouring, pumping, spilling, or uncontrolled escaping of a gas from a pipeline; and
13. (13) "Transportation of gas," the distribution, gathering, or transmission of gas by pipeline, or the storage of gas.

Source: SL 1994, ch 357 , § 1; SL 1995, ch 264 , § 1; SL 2007, ch 273 , § 1; SL 2009, ch 242 , § 1; SL 2010, ch 225 , § 1; SL 2011, ch 210 , § 1; SL 2012, ch 231 , § 1; SL 2016, ch 226 , § 1; SL 2019, ch 199 , § 1; SL 2023, ch 158 , § 1; SL 2026, ch 186 , § 1.