I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2958 

To require notification of appropriate emergency response authorities when 

damage to underground pipeline facilities occurs or is discovered. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 17, 2005 

Mr. MURPHY 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 require notification of appropriate emergency response 

authorities when damage to underground pipeline facilities occurs or is discovered. 

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 ‘‘Pipeline Safety Emer5 gency Notification Act’’ or ‘‘Marc and Chelsea’s Law’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Over 2,000,000 miles of pipelines transport 

2 the bulk of natural gas and petroleum products in 

3 the United States. 

4 (2) According to the Pipeline and Hazardous 

5 Materials Safety Administration, since 1986 there 

6 have been 421 fatalities and 1,906 injuries as a re7 sult of 7,607 incidents that damaged the Nation’s 

8 pipelines. These incidents have resulted in 

9 $1,700,000,000 in property damage. 

10 (3) The leading cause of incidents to distribu11 tion pipelines is external force damage during exca12 vation work near pipelines. 

13 (4) Existing Federal law and regulations re14 quire pipeline owners and operators to have emer15 gency procedures to address pipeline emergencies. In 

16 addition, the Office of Pipeline Safety has worked 

17 closely with the Common Ground Alliance to develop 

18 best practices which recommend the immediate noti19 fication of 9–1–1 and facility owner or operators in 

20 the event of serious damage to a pipeline. However, 

21 Federal law does not explicitly require such notifica22 tion, and laws and enforcement mechanisms vary 

23 from State to State. 

24 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to mini25 mize the danger to life, health, or property that may result 
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1 from damage incurred to underground pipeline facilities 

2 by requiring the notification of appropriate emergency re3 sponse authorities in such instances. 

4 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY ALERT REQUIREMENTS. 

5 Section 60114 of title 49, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘and 

8 emergency alert requirements’’ after ‘‘sys9 tems’’; 

10 (2) in the heading of subsection (a), by insert11 ing ‘‘ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM’’ before 

12 ‘‘MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS’’; 

13 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub14 section (d); and 

15 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol16 lowing new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(c) EMERGENCY ALERT REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Any person, including a 

19 government employee or contractor, who while en20 gaged in demolition, excavation, tunneling, or con21 struction in the vicinity of a pipeline facility— 

22 ‘‘(A) becomes aware of damage to the pipe23 line facility that may endanger life or cause se24 rious bodily harm or damage to property; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) damages the pipeline facility in a 

2 manner that may endanger life or cause serious 

3 bodily harm or damage to property, 

4 shall promptly report the damage to the operator of 

5 the facility and to other appropriate authorities. 

6 ‘‘(2) OTHER APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES.—For 

7 purposes of this subsection, notification of other ap8 propriate authorities shall consist of— 

9 ‘‘(A) notification of medical, law enforce10 ment, and fire prevention public authorities; or 

11 ‘‘(B) calling 9–1–1.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

13 Section 60122(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended by inserting ‘‘, 60114(c),’’ after ‘‘60114(b)’’. 

15 SEC. 5. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

16 Section 60123(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

17 amended by inserting ‘‘60114(c),’’ after ‘‘60114(b),’’. 

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