The Division’s Bureau of Emergency Management & Security handles all emergency management and preparedness functions involving the provision of critical utility services.  This includes service disruptions, incidents, and catastrophic events, intentional acts and accidents. This is a first responder, planning, and consequence management unit, which maintains continuous communication and engagement with the private sector and government partners.  It is also responsible for monitoring and inspection programs, as well as activities linked to the protection of Board employees.  It is heavily involved in Utility Tabletop Exercises and state level workgroups.

 

Staff also continues to partner with NJOEM, DOT and Treasury to finalize key provisions of the Emergency Fuel Plan.  In 2016, GORR (Governor's Office of Recovery and Rebuilding) approved the reallocation of approximately $2 million in FEMA funds to enhance the State’s vehicle fueling facilities providing flexibility and resiliency to the State’s fueling capabilities during an emergency event.

 

The emergency fueling plan and related initiatives with public and private sector partners is based on lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy and is an action plan for the emergency distribution of fuel during disasters. 

The Division’s Bureau of Pipeline Safety is responsible for a federally required safety program with inspection and enforcement responsibilities for New Jersey’s natural gas infrastructure.  This Bureau is federally funded with discrete performance requirements dictated by our federal partners.  The Bureau handles pipeline safety inspections, accident investigations, enforcement and rulemaking, while also providing consultation on gas infrastructure issues.

 

The federal government establishes minimum pipeline safety standards under the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 49 “Transportation”, Parts 190 – 199. The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), within the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), has overall regulatory responsibility for hazardous liquid and interstate gas pipelines under its jurisdiction in the United States.

 

The Bureau of Pipeline Safety under the New Jersey Administrative Code – Pipeline Safety Regulations (N.J.A.C. 14:6 and N.J.A.C. 14:7) handles pipeline safety inspections, incident investigations, enforcement and rulemaking, and coordinates the continuing education of gas facility operators, emergency responders, and other stakeholders. It also provides consultation on gas infrastructure issues. 

The Pipeline Safety Bureau regulates and inspects the construction, operation, and maintenance activities of four natural gas utility operators (New Jersey Natural Gas Utility Companies), with safety oversight for New Jersey’s intrastate gas infrastructure including 438 miles of transmission pipelines, 35,263 miles of distribution mains and 2,345,135 service lines.

Contact Information for Pipeline Safety Program Manager 

 

Pipeline Safety Office 

Staff Member	Title	Office Telephone	Email Address
Eric Weaver	Assistant Bureau Chief		Eric.Weaver@bpu.nj.gov
Andre Moses	Environmental Engineer 2	(609) 292-7485	Andre.Moses@bpu.nj.gov
Mehnaz Moon	Environmental Engineer 1	(609) 292-4514	Mehnaz.Moon@bpu.nj.gov
Paresh Trivedi	Senior Engineer, Utilities	(609) 913-6285	Paresh.Trivedi@bpu.nj.gov
James Marmora	Environmental Engineer Trainee		James.Marmora@bpu.nj.gov

 

For Enforcement, Incident Reports, Excavation Damage, and Inspection Information, visit the following website: http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/StatePages/NewJersey.htm

To visit the National Pipeline Mapping System public map viewer, click here: https://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/

 

 http://www.elizabethtowngas.com

 http://www.njng.com

 http://www.pseg.com

 http://southjerseygas.com

 

The Division’s Bureau of Underground Damage Prevention operates a statutorily mandated program for Underground Damage Prevention pursuant to the Underground Facility Protection Act.  The Underground Facility Protection Act or One Call Law requires excavators to participate in a comprehensive damage prevention program by calling a toll free number (811) three days prior to excavation. All companies that have underground facilities are then required to identify those facilities to prevent damage.

 

This Program has direct oversight of the 24/7 State One Call Center, which processes over 650,000 calls for mark-outs each year.  All excavation activity in the state is processed through this center and its operation is important to the protection of underground utility plant and the public from natural gas incidents caused by excavation damage.

 

This unit conducts on-going enforcement related to underground damage incidents involving all utility systems.  Statutorily required customer meter testing is also performed by this Unit.  This group also handles meter testing and, in 2016, it conducted a major review of the electric and gas industry’s meter sampling programs.

Contact Information for Office of One Call & Meter Tests

 

Finally, the Underground Damage Prevention Program continues to utilize public education and awareness, which includes 811 public outreach, radio advertising and billboards.

In 2016, the Division established a unit to focus specifically on utility cyber security and advanced its initiatives by issuing a Board Order establishing requirements to mitigate cyber risks to critical systems of electric, natural gas, and water/wastewater utilities. The Cyber Unit is responsible for reviewing utility cyber programs and works in partnership with the New Jersey Cyber Communications and Integration Cell (NJCCIC). This Unit is involved in direct support of NARUC’S Critical Infrastructure Committee, especially its cyber activities and events. It has successfully organized numerous Cyber Security Summits with participants and speakers from the utilities sector as well as federal and state representatives.