II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 234 

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

and environmental protection in pipeline transportation and to provide 

for enhanced reliability in the transportation of United States energy 

products by pipeline, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2011 

Mr. REID (for Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. BOXER)) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for enhanced safety and environmental protection in pipeline 

transportation and to provide for enhanced reliability 

in the transportation of United States energy products 

by pipeline, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement Act of 

6 2011’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to title 49, United States Code. 

Sec. 3. Additional resources for Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. 

Sec. 4. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 5. Collection of data on transportation-related oil flow lines. 

Sec. 6. Required installation and use in pipelines of remotely or automatically 

controlled valves. 

Sec. 7. Standards for natural gas pipeline leak detection. 

Sec. 8. Verification of maximum allowable operating pressure. 

Sec. 9. Considerations for identification of high consequence areas. 

Sec. 10. Regulation by Secretary of Transportation of gas and hazardous liquid 

gathering lines. 

Sec. 11. Inclusion of non-petroleum fuels and biofuels in definition of hazardous 

liquid. 

Sec. 12. Required periodic inspection of pipelines by instrumented internal inspection devices. 

Sec. 13. Minimum safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by 

pipeline. 

Sec. 14. Cost recovery for pipeline design reviews by Secretary of Transportation. 

Sec. 15. International cooperation and consultation on pipeline safety and regulation. 

Sec. 16. Waivers of pipeline standards by Secretary of Transportation. 

Sec. 17. Collection of data on pipeline infrastructure for national pipeline mapping system. 

Sec. 18. Study of non-petroleum hazardous liquids transported by pipeline. 

Sec. 19. Clarification of provisions of law relating to pipeline safety. 

3 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

6 of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other 

7 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 

8 a section or other provision of title 49, United States 

9 Code. 


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1 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PIPELINE AND HAZ2 ARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRA3 TION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall increase the 

5 number of full-time equivalent employees of the Pipeline 

6 and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration by not 

7 fewer than 100 compared to the number of full-time equiv8 alent employees of the Administration employed on the 

9 day before the date of the enactment of this Act to carry 

10 out the pipeline safety program, of which— 

11 (1) not fewer than 25 full-time equivalent em12 ployees shall be added in fiscal year 2011; 

13 (2) not fewer than 25 full-time equivalent em14 ployees shall be added in fiscal year 2012; 

15 (3) not fewer than 25 full-time equivalent em16 ployees shall be added in fiscal year 2013; and 

17 (4) not fewer than 25 full-time equivalent em18 ployees shall be added in fiscal year 2014. 

19 (b) FUNCTIONS.—In increasing the number of em20 ployees under subsection (a), the Secretary shall focus on 

21 hiring employees— 

22 (1) to conduct data collection, analysis, and re23 porting; 

24 (2) to develop, implement, and update informa25 tion technology; 


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1 (3) to conduct inspections of pipeline facilities 

2 to determine compliance with applicable regulations 

3 and standards; 

4 (4) to provide administrative, legal, and other 

5 support for pipeline enforcement activities; and 

6 (5) to support the overall pipeline safety mis7 sion of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

8 Administration, including training pipeline enforce9 ment personnel. 

10 SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

11 (a) PENALTIES FOR MAJOR CONSEQUENCE VIOLA12 TIONS.—Section 60122 is amended by striking subsection 

13 (c) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES FOR MAJOR CONSEQUENCE VIOLA15 TIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter17 mines, after written notice and an opportunity for a 

18 hearing, that a person has committed a major con19 sequence violation of subsection (b) or (d) of section 

20 60114, section 60118(a), or a regulation prescribed 

21 or order issued under this chapter such person shall 

22 be liable to the United States Government for a civil 

23 penalty of not more than $250,000 for each such 

24 violation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SEPARATE VIOLATIONS.—A separate viola2 tion occurs for each day the violation continues. 

3 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTY.—The max4 imum civil penalty under this subsection for a re5 lated series of major consequence violations is 

6 $2,500,000. 

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

8 ‘major consequence violation’ means a violation that 

9 contributed to an incident resulting in any of the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(A) One or more deaths. 

12 ‘‘(B) One or more injuries or illnesses re13 quiring hospitalization. 

14 ‘‘(C) Environmental harm exceeding 

15 $250,000 in estimated damage to the environ16 ment including property loss. 

17 ‘‘(D) A release of gas or hazardous liquid 

18 that ignites or otherwise presents a safety 

19 threat to the public or presents a threat to the 

20 environment in a high consequence area, as de21 fined by the Secretary in accordance with sec22 tion 60109.’’. 

23 (b) PENALTY FOR OBSTRUCTION OF INSPECTIONS

24 AND INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 60118(e) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘If the Secretary’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Secretary may 

6 impose a civil penalty under section 60122 on a per7 son who obstructs or prevents the Secretary from 

8 carrying out an inspection or investigation under 

9 this chapter.’’. 

10 (c) NONAPPLICABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PEN11 ALTY CAPS.—Section 60120 is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘(d) NONAPPLICABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE PEN14 ALTY CAPS.—The maximum amount of civil penalties for 

15 administrative enforcement actions under section 60122 

16 shall not apply to enforcement actions under this sec17 tion.’’. 

18 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE EN19 FORCEMENT ORDERS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 60119(a)(1) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘about an application for a 

22 waiver under section 60118(c) or (d) of’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘under’’. 

24 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The heading for 

25 section 60119(a) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘REVIEW OF REGULATIONS, ORDERS, AND OTHER

2 FINAL AGENCY ACTIONS’’. 

3 SEC. 5. COLLECTION OF DATA ON TRANSPORTATION-RE4 LATED OIL FLOW LINES. 

5 Section 60102 is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(n) COLLECTION OF DATA ON TRANSPORTATION8 RELATED OIL FLOW LINES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may collect 

10 geospatial, technical, or other pipeline data on trans11 portation-related oil flow lines, including unregulated 

12 transportation-related oil flow lines. 

13 ‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION-RELATED OIL FLOW

14 LINE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘trans15 portation-related oil flow line’ means a pipeline 

16 transporting oil off of the grounds of the production 

17 facility where it originated across areas not owned 

18 by the producer regardless of the extent to which the 

19 oil has been processed. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub21 section may be construed to authorize the Secretary 

22 to prescribe standards for the movement of oil 

23 through— 

24 ‘‘(A) production, refining, or manufac25 turing facilities; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) oil production flow lines located on 

2 the grounds of production facilities.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. REQUIRED INSTALLATION AND USE IN PIPELINES 

4 OF REMOTELY OR AUTOMATICALLY CON5 TROLLED VALVES. 

6 Section 60102(j) is amended by striking paragraph 

7 (3) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) REMOTELY OR AUTOMATICALLY CON9 TROLLED VALVES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

11 months after the date of the enactment of the 

12 Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement 

13 Act of 2011, the Secretary shall prescribe regu14 lations requiring the installation and use in 

15 pipelines and pipeline facilities, wherever tech16 nically and economically feasible, of remotely or 

17 automatically controlled valves that are reliable 

18 and capable of shutting off the flow of gas in 

19 the event of an accident, including accidents in 

20 which there is a loss of the primary power 

21 source. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing reg23 ulations prescribed in accordance with subpara24 graph (A), the Secretary shall consult with apVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:05 Feb 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S234.IS S234

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1 propriate groups from the gas pipeline industry 

2 and pipeline safety experts.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. STANDARDS FOR NATURAL GAS PIPELINE LEAK DE4 TECTION. 

5 Section 60102, as amended by sections 5, is further 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(o) NATURAL GAS LEAK DETECTION.—Not later 

8 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the 

9 Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement Act of 

10 2011, the Secretary shall establish standards for natural 

11 gas leak detection equipment and methods, with the goal 

12 of establishing a pipeline system in which substantial leaks 

13 in high consequence areas are identified as expeditiously 

14 as technologically possible.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. VERIFICATION OF MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE OPER16 ATING PRESSURE. 

17 Section 60102, as amended by sections 5 and 7, is 

18 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(p) VERIFICATION OF MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE OP20 ERATING PRESSURE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF RECORDS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

23 months after the date of the enactment of the 

24 Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement 

25 Act of 2011, the Secretary shall require pipeline 


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1 operators to submit to the Secretary a trace2 able, verifiable, and complete record of all inter3 state and intrastate natural gas transmission 

4 lines in class 3 and class 4 locations and class 

5 1 and class 2 high consequence areas that have 

6 not had a maximum allowable operating pres7 sure established through prior, verifiable pres8 sure hydrostatic testing or an equivalent pres9 sure testing method. 

10 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—Each traceable, 

11 verifiable, and complete record under subpara12 graph (A) shall include, with respect to a trans13 mission line, the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) As-built drawings. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Alignment sheets. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Specifications. 

17 ‘‘(iv) All design, construction, inspec18 tion, testing, maintenance, and other re19 lated records relating to transmission line 

20 system components, such as pipe segments, 

21 valves, fittings, and weld seams. 

22 ‘‘(v) Such other elements as the Sec23 retary considers appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF MAXIMUM ALLOW25 ABLE OPERATING PRESSURE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 

2 months after the date of the enactment of the 

3 Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement 

4 Act of 2011, the Secretary shall require the op5 erator of each natural gas transmission line de6 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) to determine the 

7 maximum allowable operating pressure for the 

8 transmission line based on the weakest section 

9 of the transmission line or component thereof. 

10 ‘‘(B) USE OF TRACEABLE, VERIFIABLE, 

11 AND COMPLETE RECORD.—In establishing the 

12 maximum allowable operating pressure of a 

13 transmission line under subparagraph (A), the 

14 operator shall use the traceable, verifiable, and 

15 complete record required for such transmissions 

16 line under paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—A new maximum al18 lowable operating pressure established under 

19 this paragraph for a transmission line shall not 

20 be higher than the maximum pressure at which 

21 the transmission line has operated previously. 

22 ‘‘(3) MANDATORY PRESSURE TESTING.—For 

23 any segment of a transmission line described in 

24 paragraph (1)(A) for which a traceable, verifiable, 

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1 graph (1) or for which a valid maximum allowable 

2 operating pressure cannot be established under para3 graph (2), the Secretary shall require the operator 

4 of the transmission line to, not later than 5 years 

5 after the date of the enactment of the Strengthening 

6 Pipeline Safety and Enforcement Act of 2011— 

7 ‘‘(A) conduct a pressure test and a pres8 sure spike test as expeditiously as economically 

9 feasible; or 

10 ‘‘(B) replace the transmission line seg11 ment. 

12 ‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERIM MAXIMUM

13 ALLOWABLE OPERATING PRESSURE.—For any trans14 mission line described in paragraph (1)(A) for which 

15 a traceable, verifiable, and complete record is not 

16 available under paragraph (1) or for which a valid 

17 maximum allowable operating pressure cannot be es18 tablished under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

19 require the operator of the transmission line to es20 tablish an interim maximum allowable operating 

21 pressure for the transmission line that does not ex22 ceed 80 percent of the highest pressure at which the 

23 transmission line segment has previously operated, 

24 until a pressure test and a pressure spike test are 

25 completed under paragraph (3).’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. CONSIDERATIONS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH 

2 CONSEQUENCE AREAS. 

3 Section 60109 is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(g) CONSIDERATIONS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF

6 HIGH CONSEQUENCE AREAS.—In identifying high con7 sequence areas under this section, the Secretary shall con8 sider— 

9 ‘‘(1) the seismicity of the area; 

10 ‘‘(2) the age of the pipe; and 

11 ‘‘(3) whether the pipe at issue can be inspected 

12 using the most modern instrumented internal inspec13 tion devices.’’. 

14 SEC. 10. REGULATION BY SECRETARY OF TRANSPOR15 TATION OF GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID 

16 GATHERING LINES. 

17 (a) GAS GATHERING LINES.—Paragraph (21) of sec18 tion 60101(a) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(21) ‘transporting gas’ means the gathering, 

20 transmission, or distribution of gas by pipeline, or 

21 the storage of gas, in interstate or foreign com22 merce.’’. 

23 (b) HAZARDOUS LIQUID GATHERING LINES.—Sec24 tion 60101(a)(22)(B) is amended— 

25 (1) by striking clause (i); and 


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1 (2) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as 

2 clauses (i) and (ii), respectively. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 11. INCLUSION OF NON-PETROLEUM FUELS AND 

7 BIOFUELS IN DEFINITION OF HAZARDOUS 

8 LIQUID. 

9 Section 60101(a)(4) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub13 paragraph (C); and 

14 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(B) non-petroleum fuels, including 

17 biofuels that are flammable, toxic, corrosive, or 

18 would be harmful to the environment if released 

19 in significant quantities; and’’. 

20 SEC. 12. REQUIRED PERIODIC INSPECTION OF PIPELINES 

21 BY INSTRUMENTED INTERNAL INSPECTION 

22 DEVICES. 

23 Section 60102(f) is amended by striking paragraph 

24 (2) and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 

2 days after the date of the enactment of the 

3 Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement 

4 Act of 2011, the Secretary shall prescribe addi5 tional standards requiring the periodic inspec6 tion of each pipeline the operator of the pipeline 

7 identifies under section 60109. 

8 ‘‘(B) INSPECTION WITH INTERNAL INSPEC9 TION DEVICE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro11 vided in clause (ii), the standards pre12 scribed under subparagraph (A) shall re13 quire that an inspection shall be conducted 

14 at least once every 5 years with an instru15 mented internal inspection device. 

16 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR SEGMENTS

17 WHERE DEVICES CANNOT BE USED.—If a 

18 device described in clause (i) cannot be 

19 used in a segment of a pipeline, the stand20 ards prescribed in subparagraph (A) shall 

21 require use of an inspection method that 

22 the Secretary certifies to be at least as ef23 fective as using the device in— 

24 ‘‘(I) detecting corrosion; 

25 ‘‘(II) detecting pipe stress; 


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1 ‘‘(III) detecting seam and weld 

2 stress, weakness, or defect; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) otherwise providing for the 

4 safety of the pipeline. 

5 ‘‘(C) OPERATION UNDER HIGH PRES6 SURE.—The Secretary shall prohibit a pipeline 

7 segment from operating above 80 percent of its 

8 maximum allowable operating pressure if the 

9 pipeline segment cannot be inspected— 

10 ‘‘(i) with a device described in clause 

11 (i) of subparagraph (B) in accordance with 

12 the standards prescribed pursuant to such 

13 clause; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) using an inspection method de15 scribed in clause (ii) of such subparagraph 

16 in accordance with the standards pre17 scribed pursuant to such clause.’’. 

18 SEC. 13. MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS FOR TRANSPOR19 TATION OF CARBON DIOXIDE BY PIPELINE. 

20 Subsection (i) of section 60102 is amended to read 

21 as follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) PIPELINES TRANSPORTING CARBON DIOXIDE.— 

23 Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment 

24 of the Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement Act 

25 of 2011, the Secretary shall prescribe minimum safety 


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1 standards for the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipe2 line in either a liquid or gaseous state.’’. 

3 SEC. 14. COST RECOVERY FOR PIPELINE DESIGN REVIEWS 

4 BY SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION. 

5 Subsection (n) of section 60117 is amended to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(n) COST RECOVERY FOR DESIGN REVIEWS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary conducts 

9 facility design safety reviews in connection with a 

10 proposal to construct, expand, or operate a gas or 

11 hazardous liquid pipeline or liquefied natural gas 

12 pipeline facility, including construction inspections 

13 and oversight, the Secretary may require the person 

14 proposing the construction, expansion, or operation 

15 to pay the costs incurred by the Secretary relating 

16 to such reviews. 

17 ‘‘(2) FEE STRUCTURE AND COLLECTION PROCE18 DURES.—If the Secretary exercises the authority 

19 under paragraph (1) with respect to conducting fa20 cility design safety reviews, the Secretary shall pre21 scribe— 

22 ‘‘(A) a fee structure and assessment meth23 odology that is based on the costs of providing 

24 such reviews; and 

25 ‘‘(B) procedures to collect fees. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—This authority 

2 is in addition to the authority provided under section 

3 60301. 

4 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION.—For any pipeline con5 struction project beginning after the date of the en6 actment of this subsection in which the Secretary 

7 conducts design reviews, the person proposing the 

8 project shall notify the Secretary and provide the de9 sign specifications, construction plans and proce10 dures, and related materials not later than 120 days 

11 prior to the commencement of such project. 

12 ‘‘(5) PIPELINE SAFETY DESIGN REVIEW

13 FUND.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 

15 the Treasury of the United States a revolving 

16 fund known as the ‘Pipeline Safety Design Re17 view Fund’ (in this paragraph referred to as 

18 the ‘Fund’). 

19 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—There shall be depos20 ited in the fund the following, which shall con21 stitute the assets of the Fund: 

22 ‘‘(i) Amounts paid into the Fund 

23 under any provision of law or regulation 

24 established by the Secretary imposing fees 

25 under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) All other amounts received by 

2 the Secretary incident to operations relat3 ing to reviews described in paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—The Fund shall be 

5 available to the Secretary, without fiscal year 

6 limitation, to carry out the provisions of this 

7 chapter.’’. 

8 SEC. 15. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND CONSULTA9 TION ON PIPELINE SAFETY AND REGULA10 TION. 

11 Section 60117 is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(o) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND CONSULTA14 TION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND TECHNICAL

16 ASSISTANCE.—Subject to guidance from the Sec17 retary of State, the Secretary may engage in activi18 ties supporting cooperative international efforts to 

19 share information about the risks to the public and 

20 the environment from pipelines and means of pro21 tecting against those risks if the Secretary deter22 mines that such activities would benefit the United 

23 States. Such cooperation may include the exchange 

24 of information with domestic and appropriate inter25 national organizations to facilitate efforts to develop 


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1 and improve safety standards and requirements for 

2 pipeline transportation in or affecting interstate or 

3 foreign commerce. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—Subject to guidance 

5 from the Secretary of State, the Secretary may, to 

6 the extent practicable, consult with interested au7 thorities in Canada, Mexico, and other interested au8 thorities to ensure that the respective pipeline safety 

9 standards and requirements prescribed by the Sec10 retary and those prescribed by such authorities are 

11 consistent with the safe and reliable operation of 

12 cross-border pipelines. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION REGARDING DIFFERENCES

14 IN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND REQUIRE15 MENTS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

16 to require that a standard or requirement prescribed 

17 by the Secretary under this chapter be identical to 

18 a standard or requirement adopted by an inter19 national authority.’’. 

20 SEC. 16. WAIVERS OF PIPELINE STANDARDS BY SEC21 RETARY OF TRANSPORTATION. 

22 (a) NONEMERGENCY WAIVERS.—Paragraph (1) of 

23 section 60118(c) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(1) NONEMERGENCY WAIVERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving an ap2 plication from an owner or operator of a pipe3 line facility, the Secretary may, by order, waive 

4 compliance with any part of an applicable 

5 standard prescribed under this chapter with re6 spect to the facility on such terms as the Sec7 retary considers appropriate, if the Secretary 

8 determines that such waiver is not inconsistent 

9 with pipeline safety. 

10 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

11 whether to grant a waiver under subparagraph 

12 (A), the Secretary shall consider— 

13 ‘‘(i) the fitness of the applicant to 

14 conduct the activity authorized by the 

15 waiver in a manner that is consistent with 

16 pipeline safety; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the applicant’s compliance his18 tory; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the applicant’s accident history; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iv) any other information the Sec22 retary considers relevant to making the de23 termination. 

24 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) OPERATING REQUIREMENTS.—A 

2 waiver of 1 or more pipeline operating re3 quirements under subparagraph (A) shall 

4 be effective for an initial period of not 

5 longer than 5 years and may be renewed 

6 by the Secretary upon application for suc7 cessive periods of not longer than 5 years 

8 each. 

9 ‘‘(ii) DESIGN OR MATERIALS RE10 QUIREMENT.—If the Secretary determines 

11 that a waiver of a design or materials re12 quirement is warranted under subpara13 graph (A), the Secretary may grant the 

14 waiver for any period the Secretary con15 siders appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC NOTICE AND HEARING.—The 

17 Secretary may waive compliance under subpara18 graph (A) only after public notice and hearing, 

19 which may consist of— 

20 ‘‘(i) publication of notice in the Fed21 eral Register that an application for a 

22 waiver has been filed; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) providing the public with the op24 portunity to review and comment on the 

25 application. 


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1 ‘‘(E) NONCOMPLIANCE AND MODIFICA2 TION, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION.—After no3 tice to a recipient of a waiver under subpara4 graph (A) and opportunity to show cause, the 

5 Secretary may modify, suspend, or revoke such 

6 waiver for— 

7 ‘‘(i) failure of the recipient to comply 

8 with the terms or conditions of the waiver; 

9 ‘‘(ii) intervening changes in Federal 

10 law; 

11 ‘‘(iii) a material change in cir12 cumstances affecting safety; including erro13 neous information in the application; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) such other reasons as the Sec15 retary considers appropriate.’’. 

16 (b) FEES.—Section 60118(c) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) FEES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

20 establish reasonable fees for processing applica21 tions for waivers under this subsection that are 

22 based on the costs of activities relating to waiv23 ers under this subsection. Such fees may in24 clude a basic filing fee, as well as fees to reVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:05 Feb 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S234.IS S234

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1 cover the costs of technical studies or environ2 mental analysis for such applications. 

3 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

4 prescribe procedures for the collection of fees 

5 under subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The au7 thority provided under subparagraph (A) is in 

8 addition to the authority provided under section 

9 60301. 

10 ‘‘(D) PIPELINE SAFETY SPECIAL PERMIT

11 FUND.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is estab13 lished in the Treasury of the United States 

14 a revolving fund known as the ‘Pipeline 

15 Safety Special Permit Fund’ (in this sub16 paragraph referred to as the ‘Fund’). 

17 ‘‘(ii) ELEMENTS.—There shall be de18 posited in the Fund the following, which 

19 shall constitute the assets of the Fund: 

20 ‘‘(I) Amounts paid into the Fund 

21 under any provision of law or regula22 tion established by the Secretary im23 posing fees under this paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(II) All other amounts received 

25 by the Secretary incident to operVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:05 Feb 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S234.IS S234

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1 ations relating to activities described 

2 in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(iii) USE OF FUNDS.—The Fund 

4 shall be available to the Secretary, without 

5 fiscal year limitation, to process applica6 tions for waivers under this subsection.’’. 

7 SEC. 17. COLLECTION OF DATA ON PIPELINE INFRASTRUC8 TURE FOR NATIONAL PIPELINE MAPPING 

9 SYSTEM. 

10 Section 60132 is amended— 

11 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

12 striking ‘‘Not later than 6 months after the date of 

13 the enactment of this section, the’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘Each’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(4) Such other geospatial, technical, or other 

18 pipeline data, including design and material speci19 fications, as the Secretary considers necessary to 

20 carry out the purposes of this chapter, including 

21 preconstruction design reviews and compliance in22 spection prioritization.’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall give reasonable 

2 notice to the operator of a pipeline facility of any data 

3 being requested under this section.’’. 

4 SEC. 18. STUDY OF NON-PETROLEUM HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS 

5 TRANSPORTED BY PIPELINE. 

6 (a) AUTHORITY TO CARRY OUT ANALYSIS.—Not 

7 later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of 

8 this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall conduct an 

9 analysis of the transportation of non-petroleum hazardous 

10 liquids by pipeline for the purpose of identifying the extent 

11 to which pipelines are currently being used to transport 

12 non-petroleum hazardous liquids, such as chlorine, from 

13 chemical production facilities across land areas not owned 

14 by the producer that are accessible to the public. The anal15 ysis shall identify the extent to which the safety of the 

16 lines is unregulated by the States and evaluate whether 

17 the transportation of such chemicals by pipeline across 

18 areas accessible to the public would present significant 

19 risks to public safety, property, or the environment in the 

20 absence of regulation. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 365 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

23 to Congress a report containing the findings of the Sec24 retary with respect to the analysis conducted pursuant to 

25 subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 19. CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS OF LAW RELAT2 ING TO PIPELINE SAFETY. 

3 (a) AMENDMENT OF PROCEDURES CLARIFICA4 TION.—Section 60108(a)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘an 

5 intrastate’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’. 

6 (b) OWNER OPERATOR CLARIFICATION.—Section 

7 60102(a)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘owners and oper8 ators’’ and inserting ‘‘any or all of the owners or opera9 tors’’. 

10 (c) ONE CALL ENFORCEMENT CLARIFICATION.— 

11 Section 60114(f) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: ‘‘This limitation shall not apply to proceedings 

13 against persons who are pipeline operators.’’. 

Æ 


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