PTI Local Government Energy Assurance Guidelines - Metropolitan ...

Appendix E. Additional Agencies and
Organizations Relevant to the Energy
Assurance Planning Process
Some of these agencies and organizations may not be on the local EAP list of Primary Contacts, but familiarity
with their roles and responsibilities and the resources they can provide may be beneficial to the EAP process. It may
be useful to develop relationships with these entities if they are relevant to local planning efforts and if doing so is
feasible, given time and other constraints.
Federal Agency Contacts
■ ■
■■
■■
■■
■■
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is best accessed via the State’s agriculture agency. Relevant Agriculturerelated
issues include propane for crop drying, protecting livestock, and supporting accurate weights and
measures. In addition, the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is housed at USDA. RUS is responsible for funding
and tracking energy consumption information for rural electric cooperatives (http://www.usda.gov/rus/).
U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)
The U.S. Department of Commerce has excellent data resources for developing emergency plan
demographics. Within DOC, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides up-tothe-minute
tracking for hurricanes, wildfires, winter storms, and other weather-related emergencies (http://
www.noaa.gov).
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
Within DOI, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) oversees
the oil and gas production fields in the Gulf of Mexico (http://www.boemre.gov/).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should be contacted through the State’s environmental agency.
EPA may need to be contacted if waivers are sought for fuels that do not meet national and local air quality
requirements. A fuel waiver can be issued only when the criteria specified in the Clean Air Act Section 211(c)
(4) (C) have been met. In general, these criteria allow a fuel waiver only to address a temporary emergency
fuel supply shortage that exists throughout a State or region that was caused by an unusual situation such as
an act of God, and that could not have been avoided by prudent planning.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
The U.S. Department of Transportation has several sub-agencies that may relate to an energy emergency,
including the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). PHMSA rules apply to
inter- and intra-State pipelines. State regulations for natural gas generally reinforce the Federal requirements.
The State’s PUC is ordinarily the primary point of contact in the event of a pipeline problem. If the loss of gas
is sufficiently severe, State and local governments should anticipate a coordinated response through the State
emergency operations center.
Local Government Energy Assurance Guidelines – Version 2.0 | 93