Title 49, PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS

Any claim for refund shall be submitted to the department on or before the last day of the month following each quarterly period. The secretary shall determine the amount of the tax refund. Ninety percent of the amount of refund shall be paid to the claimant in accordance with §§…

The amounts withheld by the department in accordance with § 49-34A-88 shall be retained until the project has been completed and the claimant has met all the conditions of §§ 49-34A-80 to 49-34A-92 , inclusive, at which time all sums retained shall be paid to claimant. Source: SL…

No public utility may, directly or indirectly, by any device whatsoever or in any manner, charge, demand, collect, or receive from any person a greater or lesser compensation for any service within the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission rendered or to be rendered by …

If any claim has been fraudulently presented or supported as to any item in the claim, or if the claimant fails to meet all the conditions of §§ 49-34A-80 to 49-34A-92 , inclusive, then the claim may be rejected in its entirety and all sums previously refunded to the claimant sha…

Any person aggrieved by the denial in whole or in part of a refund claimed under §§ 49-34A-80 to 49-34A-92 , inclusive, may within thirty days after service of the notice of a denial by the secretary, demand and is entitled to a hearing, upon notice, before the secretary. The hea…

The secretary may promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , concerning the procedures for filing refund claims and the requirements necessary to qualify for a refund. Source: SL 2001, ch 257 , § 13.

The commission may implement and comply with the provisions of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, as amended to January 1, 2009, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 …

For the purposes of §§ 49-34A-94 to 49-34A-96 , inclusive, renewable electricity and recycled energy include electricity generated from facilities using one or more of the following sources: (1) Wind that uses wind as the source of energy to produce electricity; (2) Solar that us…

The commission may establish, or allow participation in, a system of renewable energy credits for electricity generated from renewable electricity or recycled energy. A renewable energy credit system shall track, record, and verify the trading of credits for electricity generated…

The commission may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 concerning: (1) Requirements for tracking, recording, and verifying the trading of renewable energy credits; (2) Requirements for compliance with a renewable energy credit system; (3) Requirements for certification of r…

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the commission may approve a tariff mechanism for the automatic annual adjustment of charges for the jurisdictional capital costs and operating expenses incurred by a public utility for environmental improvements to its existi…

Upon filing of an application consistent with rules promulgated by the commission by any public utility providing electric service, the commission may approve, reject, or modify, after notice and opportunity for hearing, a tariff that: (1) Allows the public utility to recover on …

A public utility may file annual rate adjustments to be applied to customer bills paid under the tariff approved pursuant to § 49-34A-98 . In the utility's filing, the public utility shall provide: (1) A description of and context for the costs and expenses of environmental impro…

Terms used in this chapter mean: (1) "Commission," the Public Utilities Commission of the State of South Dakota; (2) "Emergency release," a release of a quantity of gas that is great enough to: (a) Pose a clear and immediate danger to life, health, or the environment; or (b) Thre…

For each inspection fee assessed to intrastate gas pipeline operators, the commission shall calculate its total actual expenses and obligations incurred in implementing and administering this chapter. All expenses directly attributable to specific intrastate pipeline facilities s…

An initial inspection fee shall be assessed on July 1, 1994, to all intrastate gas pipeline operators. The initial inspection fee is one hundred thousand dollars and shall be prorated among all intrastate gas pipeline operators based on their number of meters or miles of line, wh…

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any rule promulgated pursuant to this chapter is subject to a civil penalty to be imposed by the commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing. The civil penalty may not exceed two hundred thousand dollars for each v…

A person is not subject to civil penalties under this chapter if prior civil penalties have been imposed pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §§ 60101 to 60143, inclusive (January 1, 2026), for conduct that may give rise to a violation of both acts. Nothing in this chapter limits the powers of …

The commission may, to the extent authorized by agreement with the secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, act as agent for the secretary of transportation to implement the provisions of 49 U.S.C. §§ 60101 to 60143, inclusive (January 1, 2026), and any federa…

The commission may seek and accept federal designation of the commission's pipeline inspectors as federal agents for the purposes of inspection pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §§ 60101 to 60143, inclusive (January 1, 2026), and federal rules adopted to implement those statutes. If the Depa…

From each pipeline operator subject to the interstate pipeline inspection authority granted under this chapter, the commission shall assess and collect an inspection fee in an amount calculated under § 49-34B-17 . The inspection fee shall be assessed annually. The operator may, w…

For each inspection fee assessed to interstate gas pipeline operators, the commission shall calculate its total actual expenses and obligations incurred in implementing and administering this chapter. All expenses directly attributable to specific interstate gas pipeline faciliti…

Upon certification as a federal agent, the commission shall assess an initial inspection fee upon all interstate gas pipeline operators. The initial inspection fee is based on the commission's estimated costs of its first six months of operation as a federal agent. The initial in…

The commission may promulgate pipeline inspection and safety rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , to the extent necessary to enable the state to qualify for annual federal certification to operate the federal pipeline inspection program of intrastate and interstate gas pipelines as …

The commission may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 governing the calculation, assessment, and collection of the fees imposed in §§ 49-34B-9 to 49-34B-11 , inclusive, and 49-34B-16 to 49-34B-18 , inclusive. Source: SL 1994, ch 357 , § 19.

Any accident report related to pipeline safety made by an employee or agent of the commission is available for use in any civil, criminal, or other judicial proceeding arising out of the accident. The employee or agent may be required to testify in the proceedings as to the facts…

All information granted to, reported to, or obtained by the commission under this chapter, which is a trade secret, as defined in § 37-29-1 , is confidential, except that the information may be disclosed to the commission or its agent responsible for enforcing this chapter. Nothi…

The commission may accept any moneys made available to this state by the United States of America or any department or agency thereof with respect to prescribing, setting, and enforcing rules and safety standards for the transportation of natural and other gas by pipelines in acc…

Upon application by any person engaged in the transportation of gas or the operation of pipeline facilities, the commission may, after notice and opportunity for hearing and under such terms and conditions and to such extent as the commission deems appropriate, waive in whole or …

No person may deface, mar, damage, remove, injure, displace, destroy, or tamper with any sign or line marker marking the location of a pipeline. Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 1994, ch 357 , § 24.

After an emergency release from a pipeline has occurred, no pipeline operator, or its employee or agent, may dispose of, destroy, or alter the part of a pipeline that was involved in the emergency release until approval is granted by the commission. This section does not prevent …

The commission may, to the extent necessary to carry out the enforcement responsibilities of this chapter, conduct investigations, make reports, issue subpoenas, conduct hearings, require the production of relevant documents and records, take depositions, and conduct research, te…

The federal safety standards as set forth in 49 C.F.R. parts 191 to 193, inclusive, 199, and appendices to parts 191 and 192 (January 1, 2026), are adopted as safety standards for this chapter. The commission shall establish and implement a pipeline safety inspection program to e…

The commission may, by rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26 , establish safety standards that are not more stringent than federal safety standards, as set forth in § 49-34B-3 , for the intrastate transportation of gas and gas pipeline facilities. The standards may apply to …

Any person who engages in the intrastate transportation of gas or who owns or operates intrastate gas pipeline facilities shall at all times after the effective date of any applicable safety standard established under this chapter comply with the requirements of the standard. If …

The commission may require any person who engages in the intrastate transportation of gas or who owns or operates intrastate gas pipeline facilities subject to the provisions of this chapter to file with the commission a plan for inspection and maintenance of each such facility o…

Any person who engages in the intrastate transportation of gas or who owns or operates intrastate gas pipeline facilities shall establish, maintain, and provide such records, reports, and information as the commission may require to determine whether the person has complied with …

The commission shall encourage and promote programs designed to prevent damage to natural gas pipeline facilities as a consequence of demolition, excavation, tunneling, or construction activity. Source: SL 1994, ch 357 , § 7.

From each pipeline operator subject to the intrastate pipeline inspection authority under this chapter, the commission shall assess and collect an inspection fee in an amount calculated according to § 49-34B-10 . To the extent it has jurisdiction, the commission shall allow the o…

Terms used in this chapter mean: (1) "Biogas gathering line," new and existing gathering pipeline facilities in South Dakota that transport gas from a bio-methane producer to an interstate or intrastate gas pipeline; (2) "Commission," the Public Utilities Commission; (3) "Gas," n…

Any person who operates an intrastate biogas gathering line shall prior to operation provide written notice of the location and existence of the biogas gathering line to: (1) Any county and township where the biogas gathering line is located; (2) The county emergency management o…

Any person who operates a biogas gathering line on an easement or in public right of way must place and maintain signage marking the biogas gathering line for the life of the biogas gathering line. Signage must be in the rights-of-way and placed at all public road crossings and r…

If the Commission finds, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that a person has failed to comply with any requirement of this chapter, the Commission may suspend or restrict the operation of the pipeline and may order the person to comply with this chapter. The Commission ma…

Any person who operates a biogas gathering line other than in compliance with this chapter is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and is subject to a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars. Source: SL 2022, ch 172 , § 5.

Terms used in chapters 49-35 to 49-40 , inclusive, unless the context otherwise plainly requires, shall mean: (1) "Consumers power district" or "district" means a district organized under this chapter or as the same may be from time to time altered or extended under the terms of …

After the petition has been filed in the Office of the Secretary of State, if the secretary of state finds that the petition conforms to law and contains the required number of valid signatures, the secretary of state shall file the petition and issue a certificate of filing of t…