I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4787 

To impose additional requirements on portions of petroleum pipelines that 

cross the waters of the Great Lakes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 12, 2018 

Mr. BISHOP of Michigan 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 impose additional requirements on portions of petroleum 

pipelines that cross the waters of the Great Lakes, 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 ‘‘Great Lakes Oil Spill 

5 Prevention Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GREAT LAKES 

2 PIPELINES. 

3 Chapter 601 of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 60142. Standards for Great Lakes pipelines 

6 ‘‘(a) ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) BIANNUAL PHMSA REPORT.—Not later 

8 than 12 months after the date of enactment of this 

9 section, and every 6 months thereafter, the Adminis10 trator of PHMSA shall provide a status report on all 

11 Great Lakes pipelines to the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL PHMSA REPORT.—Not later than 

13 12 months after the date of enactment of this sec14 tion, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Admin15 istrator of PHMSA shall make available to the pub16 lic a status report on all Great Lakes pipelines. 

17 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPOR18 TATION REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

19 the date of enactment of this section, and on an an20 nual basis thereafter, the Secretary shall provide to 

21 Congress a status report on all Great Lakes pipe22 lines, including recommendations on additional 

23 standards that may be necessary to improve the 

24 safety of such pipelines. 

25 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS TO STATE

26 AND LOCAL AGENCIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law and subject to subpara3 graph (B), the Administrator of PHMSA shall 

4 provide access to the Governor of the State with 

5 jurisdiction over the relevant portion of such 

6 pipeline and any additional entities of such 

7 State designated by such Governor to receive 

8 such a notification all information in the pos9 session of PHMSA concerning such portion. 

10 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR SENSITIVE INFOR11 MATION.—Pursuant to subparagraph (A), the 

12 Administrator may not provide access to secu13 rity-sensitive information, including information 

14 described in section 1520.5(a) of title 49, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations. 

16 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL STANDARDS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.—The 

18 owner and operator of a Great Lakes pipeline shall 

19 adhere to the following requirements with respect to 

20 a Great Lakes pipeline: 

21 ‘‘(A) Maintain a functional anchor every 

22 75 feet, at minimum, for every section of such 

23 pipeline that is at least 30 feet below the sur24 face of the water. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Maintain at least 1 functional com2 putational pipeline monitoring system in every 

3 1,500-foot section of such pipeline that is at 

4 least 10 feet below the surface of the water. 

5 ‘‘(C) Install cathodic wrapping on such 

6 pipeline. 

7 ‘‘(D) No holiday in cathodic wrapping may 

8 exceed 3 square inches. 

9 ‘‘(E) Install enamel coating on such pipe10 line. 

11 ‘‘(F) No holiday in enamel coating may ex12 ceed 3 square inches. 

13 ‘‘(G) Maintain such pipeline without any 

14 corrosion. 

15 ‘‘(H) Install and maintain the functional 

16 ability to shut off the pressure of such pipeline 

17 in case of an emergency. 

18 ‘‘(2) TESTING REQUIREMENTS.—An operator of 

19 a Great Lakes pipeline shall, at least once every 12 

20 months, perform the following actions with respect 

21 to a Great Lakes pipeline: 

22 ‘‘(A) Conduct at least one in-line test, also 

23 known as a ‘smart pig’, to determine the integ24 rity of the interior of such pipeline. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Conduct at least one Remote Oper2 ated Vehicle (ROV) inspection to determine the 

3 structural integrity of the exterior of such pipe4 line. 

5 ‘‘(C) Conduct at least one hydrostatic test 

6 to determine the integrity and ability of such 

7 pipeline to sustain pressure. 

8 ‘‘(3) COMPANY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 The operator and owner of a Great Lakes pipeline 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) immediately, but in no event more 

12 than 1 business day, after the date of discovery 

13 of a violation of paragraph (1) report any such 

14 known violation to— 

15 ‘‘(i) the Administrator of PHMSA; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Governor of the State with 

18 jurisdiction over the relevant portion of 

19 such pipeline and any additional entities of 

20 such State designated by such Governor to 

21 receive such a notification; and 

22 ‘‘(B) provide notification of any tests con23 ducted pursuant to paragraph (2) to— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Administrator of PHMSA; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Governor of the State with 

2 jurisdiction over the relevant portion of 

3 such pipeline and any additional entities of 

4 such State designated by such Governor to 

5 receive such a notification. 

6 ‘‘(4) CORRECTIVE ACTION TIMELINES.—The 

7 Administrator of PHMSA shall issue to the owner or 

8 operator of a Great Lakes pipeline a corrective ac9 tion timeline for each violation of paragraph (1), 

10 during which such violation shall be remedied, as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(A) A corrective action timeline for a vio13 lation of subparagraphs (A), (B), (G), or (H) of 

14 paragraph (1) may be for a period of not more 

15 than 365 days. 

16 ‘‘(B) A corrective action timeline for a vio17 lation of subparagraph (C) or (E) of paragraph 

18 (1) may be for a period of not more than 180 

19 days. 

20 ‘‘(C) A corrective action timeline for a vio21 lation of subparagraph (D) or (F) of paragraph 

22 (1) may be for a period of not more than 90 

23 days. 

24 ‘‘(5) RUNNING OF CORRECTIVE ACTION

25 TIMELINE.—A corrective action timeline described in 


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1 paragraph (4) shall begin to run from the date on 

2 which it is issued to the owner or operator of the 

3 pipeline. 

4 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR CORROSION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An owner or operator 

6 of a Great Lakes pipeline who learns of corro7 sion in such pipeline shall immediately pursue 

8 steps to ensure such pipeline ceases to transmit 

9 petroleum until such corrosion is repaired. 

10 ‘‘(B) OPTION TO RESTART TRANS11 MISSION.—The Administrator of PHMSA may 

12 inspect a pipeline described in subparagraph 

13 (A) and permit such pipeline to resume trans14 mission if the Administrator makes a deter15 mination that such pipeline can operate safely. 

16 ‘‘(7) SPECIAL RULE FOR AGING PIPELINES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The owner or operator 

18 of a Great Lakes pipeline may not operate such 

19 a pipeline (and may replace such a pipeline with 

20 a new pipeline in accordance with this chapter) 

21 after the conclusion of the time period described 

22 in subparagraph (B). 

23 ‘‘(B) TIME PERIOD.—The time period de24 scribed in this subparagraph is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for a Great Lakes pipeline that 

2 first transported petroleum or a petroleum 

3 product earlier than the date that is 50 

4 years before the date of enactment of this 

5 section, the 5-year period commencing on 

6 the date of enactment of this section; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) for any other Great Lakes pipe8 line, the 52-year period commencing on the 

9 date such pipeline first transported petro10 leum or a petroleum product. 

11 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law, an owner or operator of a Great 

14 Lakes pipeline shall be liable for a civil penalty for 

15 each day during which a repair has not been com16 pleted following the conclusion of the applicable pe17 riod of the corrective action timeline issued pursuant 

18 to subsection (b)(4) as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) A penalty for a violation of subsection 

20 (b)(1)(A) may not be less than $2,000 and not 

21 more than $20,000 a day. 

22 ‘‘(B) A penalty for a violation of sub23 section (b)(1)(B) may not be less than $1,000 

24 and not more than $10,000 a day. 


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1 ‘‘(C) A penalty for a violation of subsection 

2 (b)(1)(C) may not be less than $1,000 and not 

3 more than $10,000 a day. 

4 ‘‘(D) A penalty for a violation of sub5 section (b)(1)(D) may not be less than $100 

6 and not more than $1,000 a day. 

7 ‘‘(E) A penalty for a violation of sub8 section (b)(1)(E) may not be less than $1,000 

9 and not more than $10,000. 

10 ‘‘(F) A penalty for a violation of subsection 

11 (b)(1)(F) may not be less than $100 and not 

12 more than $1,000. 

13 ‘‘(G) A penalty for a violation of sub14 section (b)(1)(G) may not be less than $5,000 

15 and not more than $30,000 a day. 

16 ‘‘(H) A penalty for a violation of sub17 section (b)(1)(H) may not be less than $500 

18 and not more than $1,000 a day. 

19 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO SUBMIT REQUIRED RE20 PORTS.—An owner or operator of a Great Lakes 

21 pipeline that knowingly violates subsection (b)(3)(A) 

22 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than 

23 $50,000 and not more than $500,000. 

24 ‘‘(3) CONTINUED OPERATION OF AGING PIPE25 LINE.—A civil penalty for a violation of subsection 


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1 (b)(7) may not be less than $100,000 and not more 

2 than $500,000 a day after the conclusion of the ap3 plicable period described in such subsection. 

4 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF PENALTIES.—Amounts 

5 collected under this section shall be deposited in the 

6 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established under sec7 tion 9509 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

8 U.S.C. 9509). 

9 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue 

11 regulations to implement the requirements of this 

12 section not later than 90 days after the date of en13 actment of this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of 

15 paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (b) shall 

16 be effective on the day that is 1 year after the date 

17 of enactment of this section.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL LIABILITY FOR SPILLS. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1001 of the Oil Pollution 

20 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9), (10), (11), 

22 (12) through (15), (16) through (24), (25), (26), 

23 (27), (28), (29), (30), (31), (32), (33), (34) through 

24 (37), (38), (39), (40), (41), (42), (43), and (44) as 

25 paragraphs (10), (13), (14), (17) through (20), (22) 


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1 through (30), (32), (33), (36), (35), (37), (39), (38), 

2 (40), (41), (43) through (46), (34), (9), (11), (12), 

3 (21), (31), and (42), respectively; and 

4 (2) by inserting after paragraph (14) (as redes5 ignated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(15) ‘Great Lakes pipeline’ has the meaning 

7 given such term in section 60101(a) of title 49, 

8 United States Code; 

9 ‘‘(16) ‘Great Lakes system’ has the meaning 

10 given such term in section 60101(a) of title 49, 

11 United States Code;’’. 

12 (b) LIABILITY FOR GREAT LAKES PIPELINES.—Sec13 tion 1004(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

14 2704(a)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

16 end; 

17 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

18 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(5) for a Great Lakes pipeline, the total of all 

21 removal costs plus $75,000,000.’’. 

22 (c) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENT FOR

23 GREAT LAKES PIPELINES.—Section 1016(c) of the Oil 

24 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2716(c)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

2 ‘‘AND GREAT LAKES PIPELINES’’ after ‘‘FACILI3 TIES’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(3) GREAT LAKES PIPELINES.—A responsible 

6 party with respect to a Great Lakes pipeline shall 

7 establish and maintain evidence of financial respon8 sibility in the same manner as described in para9 graph (1).’’. 

10 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

11 Section 60101(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ in paragraph (25); 

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (26) and inserting ‘‘;’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(27) ‘Great Lakes pipeline’ means the portion 

18 of any pipeline that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is used in transporting petroleum or 

20 a petroleum product; and 

21 ‘‘(B) crosses the navigable waters of the 

22 Great Lakes system; 

23 ‘‘(28) ‘Great Lakes system’ means Lake On24 tario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron (including Lake St. 

25 Clair), Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior, and the 


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1 connecting channels (Saint Mary’s River, Saint Clair 

2 River, Detroit River, Niagara River, and Saint Law3 rence River to the Canadian Border); and 

4 ‘‘(29) ‘PHMSA’ means the Pipeline and Haz5 ardous Materials Safety Administration.’’. 

Æ 


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