Texas Administrative Code
Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION
Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 14 - REGULATIONS FOR LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS (LNG)
Subchapter A - GENERAL APPLICABILITY AND REQUIREMENTS
Section 14.2019 - Examination Requirements and Renewals
Universal Citation: 16 TX Admin Code ยง 14.2019
Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a) Requirements and application for a new certificate.
(1) In addition to NFPA 52
§§4.1 and 4.2 and 59A §14.9, no person shall perform work,
directly supervise LNG activities, or be employed in any capacity requiring
contact with LNG unless that individual:
(A)
is a certificate holder who is in compliance with renewal requirements in
subsection (g) of this section and is employed by a licensee; or
(B) is a trainee who complies with subsection
(f) of this section.
(2)
Any person transporting LNG on a public roadway must be properly certified,
even if the unit is operated by an ultimate consumer.
(b) Rules examination.
(1) An individual who passes the applicable
rules examination with a score of at least 75% will become a certificate
holder. AFS will send a certificate to the licensee listed on LNG Form 2016. If
a licensee is not listed on the form, AFS will send the certificate to
individual's personal address.
(A) Successful
completion of any required examination shall be credited to the
individual.
(B) An individual who
has been issued a certificate shall make the certificate readily available and
shall present it to any Commission employee or agent who requests proof of
certification.
(2) An
applicant for examination shall bring to the exam site:
(A) a completed LNG Form 2016; and
(B) payment of the applicable fee specified
in paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection.
(3) An individual who files LNG Form 2016 and
pays the applicable nonrefundable examination fee may take the rules
examination.
(A) Dates and locations of
available Commission LNG examinations may be obtained on the Commission's web
site. Examinations may be administered:
(i) at
the Commission's AFS Training Center in Austin;
(ii) at other designated times and locations
around the state; and
(iii) through
an online testing or proctoring service.
(B) Individuals or companies may request in
writing that examinations be given in their area. AFS shall schedule
examinations at its discretion.
(C)
Exam fees.
(i) The nonrefundable
management-level rules examination fee is $70.
(ii) The nonrefundable employee-level rules
examination fee is $40.
(iii) The
nonrefundable examination fees shall be paid each time an individual takes an
examination.
(iv) A military
service member, military veteran, or military spouse shall be exempt from the
examination fee pursuant to §
14.2015 of this title (relating to
Military Fee Exemption). An individual who receives a military fee exemption is
not exempt from renewal fees specified in subsection (g) of this
section.
(v) Beginning February 7,
2023, individuals who register for an examination to be administered by a
testing or proctoring service shall pay any fee required by the testing or
proctoring service in addition to paying the examination fee to the
Commission.
(D) Time
limits.
(i) An applicant shall complete the
examination within the time limits specified in this subparagraph.
(I) The employee-level LNG Delivery Truck
Driver examination and the management-level Category 35 Retail and Wholesale
Dealers examination shall be limited to three hours; and
(II) all other examinations shall be limited
to two hours.
(ii) The
examination proctor shall be the official timekeeper.
(iii) An examinee shall submit the
examination and the answer sheet to the examination proctor before or at the
end of the established time limit for an examination.
(iv) The examination proctor shall mark any
answer sheet that was not completed within the time limit.
(E) Each individual who performs LNG
activities as an employee of an ultimate consumer or a state agency, county,
municipality, school district, or other governmental subdivision shall be
properly supervised by his or her employer. Any such individual who is not
certified by the Commission to perform LNG activities shall be properly trained
by a competent person in the safe performance of such LNG activities.
(c) The following examinations are offered by the Commission.
(1) Employee-level examinations:
(A) The Delivery Truck Driver examination
qualifies an individual to operate a transport, load and unload LNG and connect
and disconnect transfer hoses, and to perform all activities related to
stationary LNG systems, including LNG containers, piping and
equipment.
(B) The Service and
Installation Technician examination qualifies an individual to perform all CNG
activities related to stationary LNG systems, including LNG containers, piping
and equipment. The Service and Installation examination does not authorize an
individual to fill containers or operate an LNG transport.
(C) The Transport Truck Driver examination
qualifies an individual to operate an LNG transport, to load and unload LNG,
and connect and disconnect transfer hoses. The Transport Driver examination
does not authorize an individual to install or repair transport
systems.
(D) The Engine Fuel
examination qualifies an individual to install LNG motor fuel containers and
LNG motor fuel systems, and replace container valves on motorized vehicles
licensed to operate on public roadways. The Engine Fuel examination does not
authorize an individual to fill LNG motor fuel containers.
(E) The Motor/Mobile Fuel Filler examination
qualifies an individual to inspect and fill motor or mobile fuel containers on
vehicles, including recreational vehicles, cars, trucks, and buses. The
Motor/Mobile Fuel Dispensing examination does not authorize an individual to
fill stationary LNG containers.
(2) Management-level examinations:
(A) Category 15 examination qualifies an
individual to assemble, repair, install, test, and sell LNG containers,
including LNG motor or mobile fuel containers and systems, and to repair
transport and transfer systems for use in Texas.
(B) Category 20 examination qualifies an
individual to subframe, test, and sell LNG transport containers, test LNG
storage containers, install, test, and sell LNG motor or mobile fuel containers
and systems, and install and repair transport systems and motor or mobile fuel
systems for use in Texas.
(C)
Category 25 examination qualifies an individual to transport LNG by transport,
including the loading and unloading of LNG.
(D) Category 30 examination qualifies an
individual to sell, repair, service, and install stationary containers and LNG
systems.
(E) Category 35
examination qualifies an individual to store, sell, transport, and distribute
LNG and all other activities included in this section except manufacture,
fabrication, assembly, repair, subframing, and testing of LNG
containers.
(F) Category 40
examination qualifies an individual to store, sell, and dispense LNG into
motor- and mobile fuel containers.
(G) Category 45 qualifies an individual to
sell and install LNG motor or mobile fuel containers, and sell, repair, and
install LNG motor or mobile fuel systems.
(H) Category 50 qualifies an individual to
test LNG containers, LNG motor fuel systems or mobile fuel systems, transfer
systems, and transport systems for the purpose of determining the safety of the
containers or systems for LNG service, including the necessary installation,
disconnection, reconnection, testing, and repair of LNG motor fuel systems or
mobile fuel systems, transfer systems and transport systems involved in the
testing of containers.
(d) Within 15 calendar days of the date an individual takes an examination, AFS shall notify the individual of the results of the examination.
(1) If the examination is
graded or reviewed by a testing or proctoring service, AFS shall notify the
individual of the examination results within 14 days of the date AFS receives
the results from the testing or proctoring service.
(2) If the notice of the examination results
will be delayed for longer than 90 days after the examination date, AFS shall
notify the individual of the reason for the delay before the 90th day. AFS may
require a testing or proctoring service to notify an individual of the
individual's examination results.
(e) Failure of any examination shall immediately disqualify the individual from performing any LNG related activities covered by the examination which is failed, except for activities covered by a separate examination which the individual has passed.
(1) Any individual who fails an examination
administered by the Commission, at the Austin location, may retake the same
examination one additional time during a business day.
(2) Any subsequent examination shall be taken
on another business day, unless approved by the AFS director.
(3) An individual who fails an examination
may request an analysis of the individual's performance on the
examination.
(f) Trainees.
(1) A licensee or ultimate consumer
may employ an individual as a trainee for a period not to exceed 45 calendar
days without that individual having successfully completed the rules
examination, as specified in subsection (b) of this section, subject to the
following conditions:
(A) In addition to NFPA
52 §4.2, the trainee shall be directly and individually supervised at all
times by an individual who has successfully completed the Commission's rules
examination for the areas of work being performed by the trainee.
(B) A trainee who has been in training for a
total period of 45 days, in any combination and with any number of employers,
shall cease to perform any LNG activities for which the trainee is not
currently certified, until the trainee successfully completes the rules
examination.
(2) A
trainee who fails the rules examination shall immediately cease to perform any
LNG activities covered by the examination failed.
(g) Requirements for certificate holder renewal.
(1) In order to maintain active
status, certificate holders shall renew their certificate annually as specified
in this subsection.
(2) AFS shall
notify licensees of any of their employees' pending renewal deadlines and shall
notify the individual if not employed by a licensee, in writing, at the address
on file with AFS no later than March 15 of a year for the May 31 renewal date
of that year.
(3) Certificate
holders shall pay the nonrefundable $25 annual certificate renewal fee to AFS
on or before May 31 of each year. Individuals who hold more than one
certificate shall pay only one annual renewal fee.
(A) Failure to pay the nonrefundable annual
renewal fee by the deadline shall result in a lapsed certificate.
(i) To renew a lapsed certificate, the
individual shall pay the nonrefundable $25 annual renewal fee plus a
nonrefundable $20 late-filing fee. Failure to do so shall result in the
expiration of the certificate.
(ii)
If an individual's certificate lapses or expires, that individual shall
immediately cease performance of any LNG activities authorized by the
certificate.
(iii) If an
individual's certificate has been expired for more than two years from May 31
of the year in which the certificate lapsed, that individual shall comply with
the requirements of subsection (b) of this section.
(B) Upon receipt of the annual renewal fee
and any late-filing fee, AFS shall verify that all applicable requirements have
been met. After verification, AFS shall renew and send a copy of the
certificate, and the individual may continue or resume LNG activities
authorized by that certificate.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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