Academy/Utilities & Infrastructure
Gas
What federal law expects when your association resells gas, and what it stays silent on.
If your association buys gas in bulk and resells it to units through its own pipes, federal pipeline safety law treats that system as a master meter system and holds it to core safety rules. Who owns the gas lines and pays for repairs is set by state law and the utility's tariff, not by this federal rule.
When your association becomes a gas utility
Some communities, mobile home parks, RV resorts, developments with a single incoming gas connection, buy gas from a supplier and resell it to individual units through pipes the association itself owns. Federal law has a specific name and a specific rulebook for that setup.
"A pipeline system for distributing gas within, but not limited to, a definable area, such as a mobile home park, housing project, or apartment complex, where the operator purchases metered gas from an outside source for resale through a gas distribution pipeline system."
Source: 49 CFR 191.3, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
If that describes your community, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulates it as a master meter system. Master meter operators are exempt from some federal integrity-management reporting, but they still must meet core operating, maintenance, and safety requirements. States typically administer day-to-day enforcement for systems that sit entirely within one state, so confirm current requirements with your own state pipeline safety agency rather than assuming PHMSA is the only regulator involved.
Who owns the gas lines is not a federal question
Many states draw a line between a pipe that serves only one unit and a pipe that serves more than one. Pennsylvania's condominium statute is one example.
"Any portion thereof serving only that unit is a limited common element allocated solely to that unit, and any portion thereof serving more than one unit or any portion of the common elements is a part of the common elements."
Source: 68 Pa.C.S.A. 3202, Pennsylvania General Assembly
That is one state's version of a common element test, and several states use something similar for pipes, ducts, and wires generally. No comparable statute naming gas lines specifically was found for most states, and gas utility franchise rules and ownership cutoffs are set by each state's public utilities code and the tariff the serving utility has on file, not by a single national standard. Check your state's condominium or common-interest-ownership act for its unit-boundary test, and ask your gas utility where its tariff says its responsibility ends and the property owner's begins.
Before anyone breaks ground, call 811
New irrigation lines, pool installs, fence posts, and landscaping beds can all hit a buried gas line. Federal law requires anyone digging in a state with a one-call system to use it first and to honor the markings it produces.
"A person who engages in demolition, excavation, tunneling, or construction... may not engage in a demolition, excavation, tunneling, or construction activity in a State that has adopted a one-call notification system without first using that system to establish the location of underground facilities."
Source: 49 U.S.C. 60114(d), United States Code
The national number, 811, routes your call to your state's one-call center, which then notifies the affected utilities. How many days' advance notice your state requires before digging varies; a few business days is common but not universal, so confirm the exact window with your state's one-call program.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Your association buys gas from a supplier and resells it to forty homes through pipes the association owns. What does federal law call this?
A board member says the gas line under one owner's yard must belong to the association because it is "a utility line." What should the board do first?
A landscaping crew is about to trench a new irrigation line near the clubhouse. What must happen before the first shovel goes in the ground?
Sources
- 49 CFR 191.3, master meter system definition, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- 68 Pa.C.S.A. 3202, unit boundaries, Pennsylvania General Assembly
- 49 U.S.C. 60114(d), one-call notification before excavation, United States Code
- Remember to Call 811 Before You Dig, Edison Electric Institute
Utilities & Infrastructure
Next, see how these same "who pays for it" questions play out for electricity, or read up on the easements that let utility lines cross your property at all.
Whether your association's gas system counts as a regulated master meter system, who owns the gas lines on the property, and how many days' notice your state requires before digging all vary by state and by your utility's tariff.