I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4578 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for minimum safety 

standards for underground gas storage facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2016 

Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LOFGREN, 

Mr. BECERRA, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FARR, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. THOMPSON

of California, Mr. POCAN, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, and Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for minimum safety standards for underground gas storage facilities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Underground Gas 

5 Storage Safety Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REGULATION OF UNDERGROUND NATURAL GAS 

2 STORAGE FACILITIES. 

3 Section 60102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) UNDERGROUND GAS STORAGE FACILI6 TIES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—Not 

8 later than 180 days after the date of the enact9 ment of the Underground Gas Storage Safety 

10 Act, the Secretary, in consultation with other 

11 relevant Federal agencies, shall prescribe strong 

12 minimum safety standards for underground gas 

13 storage facilities. 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The standards 

15 prescribed under subparagraph (A) shall at a 

16 minimum— 

17 ‘‘(i) require operators to have com18 prehensive and up-to-date processes, proce19 dures, plans, mitigation measures, periodic 

20 assessments and reassessments, and emer21 gency plans in place to maintain the safety 

22 and integrity of all underground gas stor23 age facilities, whether operating, aban24 doned, idled, or plugged; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) require compliance with all of the 

26 recommendations made by the Pipeline and 


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1 Hazardous Materials Safety Administra2 tion in the second paragraph of Advisory 

3 Bulletin ADB–2016–02, issued February 

4 2, 2016, except to the extent that the Sec5 retary establishes by clear and convincing 

6 evidence that it is not in the public inter7 est. 

8 ‘‘(C) PREEMPTION.—A State authority 

9 may adopt additional or more stringent safety 

10 standards for intrastate underground gas stor11 age facilities. 

12 ‘‘(5) EMERGENCY TEMPORARY REGULATORY

13 REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Until the Secretary 

15 prescribes final standards under paragraph (4), 

16 all underground natural gas storage facilities 

17 shall at a minimum comply with the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) All underground natural gas stor19 age in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and 

20 aquifer reservoirs shall comply with Amer21 ican Petroleum Institute Recommended 

22 Practice 1171, titled ‘Functional Integrity 

23 of Natural Gas Storage in Depleted Hy24 drocarbon Reservoirs and Aquifer Res25 ervoirs’, First Edition, issued September 


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1 2015, or a standard determined appro2 priate by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(ii) All underground natural gas 

4 storage facilities in solution-mined salt cav5 erns shall comply with— 

6 ‘‘(I) American Petroleum Insti7 tute Recommended Practice 1170, ti8 tled ‘Design and Operation of Solu9 tion-mined Salt Caverns Used for 

10 Natural Gas Storage’, First Edition, 

11 issued July 2015; and 

12 ‘‘(II) to the extent not incon13 sistent with standards in the docu14 ment referred to in subclause (I), 

15 Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Com16 mission standards titled ‘Natural Gas 

17 Storage in Salt Caverns—A Guide for 

18 State Regulators’. 

19 ‘‘(iii) All underground natural gas 

20 storage facilities shall comply with all of 

21 the recommendations made by the Pipeline 

22 and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminis23 tration in the second paragraph of Advi24 sory Bulletin ADB–2016–02, issued FebVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:28 Feb 17, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4578.IH H4578

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1 ruary 2, 2016, or a standard determined 

2 appropriate by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(B) VARIANCE.—The Secretary may pro4 vide a variance from compliance with the re5 quirements under subparagraph (A) where ap6 propriate. 

7 ‘‘(6) UNDERGROUND GAS SAFETY RESEARCH.— 

8 The Secretary shall establish a program to make 

9 grants for research and development activities relat10 ing to— 

11 ‘‘(A) improved underground gas storage 

12 safety; or 

13 ‘‘(B) an odorant additive for gas that is 

14 both detectable and nontoxic. 

15 ‘‘(7) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

16 ‘underground natural gas storage facility’ means a 

17 gas pipeline facility that stores natural gas in an un18 derground facility, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir; 

20 ‘‘(B) an aquifer reservoir; or 

21 ‘‘(C) a solution-mined salt cavern res22 ervoir.’’. 

23 SEC. 3. USER FEES. 

24 Section 60301 of title 49, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘an under2 ground gas storage facility,’’ after ‘‘liquefied natural 

3 gas pipeline facility,’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (d)(1)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub6 paragraph (A); and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

8 subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(C) related to an underground gas storage fa10 cility may be used only for an activity related to un11 derground gas storage under chapter 601 of this 

12 title; and’’. 

Æ 


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