Calendar No. 540

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1505

[Report No. 104–334]

A BILL

To reduce risk to public safety and the environment

purposes.gas and hazardous liquids, and for otherassociated with pipeline transportation of natural

JULY 26, 1996

Reported with an amendment in the nature of a

substitute
II

Calendar No. 540

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1505

[Report No. 104–334]

To reduce risk to public safety and the environment associated with pipeline

transportation of natural gas and hazardous liquids, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

DECEMBER 22, 1995

Mr. LOTT (for himself, Mr. BREAUX, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. EXON, Mr.

BURNS, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. FORD, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. FRIST,

Mr. INHOFE, Mr. PRESSLER, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. HEFLIN, and Mr. JOHNSTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

JULY 26, 1996

Reported by Mr. PRESSLER, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute

[Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To reduce risk to public safety and the environment associated with pipeline transportation of natural gas and hazardous liquids, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountable Pipeline

3 Safety and Partnership Act of 1995’’.

4 SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

5 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

6 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

7 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi8 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

9 section or other provision of title 49, United States Code.

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 60101(a) is amended—

12 (1) in each of paragraphs (1) through (22), by

13 striking the period at the end and inserting a semi14 colon;

15 (2) in paragraph (21), by striking subpara16 graph (B) and inserting the following:

17 ‘‘(B) does not include the gathering of gas,

18 other than gathering through regulated gather19 ing lines, in those rural locations that are lo20 cated outside the limits of any incorporated or

21 unincorporated city, town, or village, or any

22 other designated residential or commercial area

23 (including a subdivision, business, shopping

24 center, or community development) or any simi25 lar populated area that the Secretary of Trans26 portation determines to be a nonrural area, ex-
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1 cept that the term ‘transporting gas’ includes

2 the movement of gas through regulated gather3 ing lines;’’; and

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

5 ‘‘(23) ‘benefits’ means the reasonably identifi6 able or estimated safety, environmental, and eco7 nomic benefits that are reasonably expected to result

8 directly or indirectly from the implementation of a

9 standard, regulatory requirement, or option;

10 ‘‘(24) ‘costs’ means, with respect to the imple11 mentation of, or compliance with, a standard, regu12 latory requirement, or option, the estimated or ac13 tual direct and indirect costs of that implementation

14 or compliance;

15 ‘‘(25) ‘incremental benefit’ or ‘incremental cost’

16 means the additional estimated benefit or cost

17 that—

18 ‘‘(A) would be caused by a particular ac19 tion (whether regulatory or nonregulatory) in

20 comparison with other options that may be

21 taken in lieu of that action; and

22 ‘‘(B) is based on quantifiable or qualifiable

23 assessments that use generally available and

24 reasonably obtainable scientific or economic

25 data;
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1 ‘‘(26) ‘risk management’ means the systematic

2 application, by the owner or operator of a pipeline

3 facility, of management policies, procedures, finite

4 resources, and practices to the tasks of analyzing,

5 assessing, and minimizing risk in order to protect

6 employees, the general public, the environment, and

7 pipeline facilities;

8 ‘‘(27) ‘risk management plan’ means a manage9 ment plan utilized by a gas or hazardous liquid pipe10 line facility owner or operator that encompasses risk

11 management; and

12 ‘‘(28) ‘Secretary’ means—

13 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation; or

14 ‘‘(B) if applicable, any person to whom the

15 Secretary of Transportation delegates authority

16 with respect to a matter concerned.’’.

17 (b) GATHERING LINES.—Section 60101(b)(2) is

18 amended by inserting ‘‘, if appropriate,’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’

19 the first place it appears.

20 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

21 (a) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—Section

22 60102(a) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph

24 (C) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(C) shall include a requirement that all indi2 viduals who operate and maintain pipeline facilities

3 shall be qualified to operate and maintain the pipe4 line facilities.’’; and

5 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(2) The qualifications applicable to an individual

8 who operates and maintains a pipeline facility shall ad9 dress the ability to recognize and react appropriately to

10 abnormal operating conditions that may indicate a dan11 gerous situation or a condition exceeding design limits.

12 The operator of a pipeline facility shall ensure that em13 ployees who operate and maintain the facility are qualified

14 to operate and maintain the pipeline facilities.’’.

15 (b) PRACTICABILITY AND SAFETY NEEDS STAND16 ARDS.—Section 60102(b) is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(b) PRACTICABILITY AND SAFETY NEEDS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A standard prescribed

19 under subsection (a) shall be—

20 ‘‘(A) practicable; and

21 ‘‘(B) designed to meet the need for—

22 ‘‘(i) gas pipeline safety;

23 ‘‘(ii) safely transporting hazardous

24 liquids; and

25 ‘‘(iii) protecting the environment.
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1 ‘‘(2) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—Except

2 as provided in section 60112, when prescribing a

3 standard under this section or section 60101(b),

4 60103, 60108, 60109, 60110, or 60113, the Sec5 retary shall consider—

6 ‘‘(A) relevant available—

7 ‘‘(i) gas pipeline safety information; or

8 ‘‘(ii) hazardous liquid pipeline safety

9 and environmental protection information;

10 ‘‘(B) the appropriateness of the standard

11 for the particular type of pipeline transpor12 tation or facility;

13 ‘‘(C) the reasonableness of the standard;

14 ‘‘(D) based on a risk assessment, the ex15 tent to which the standard will benefit public

16 safety and the protection of the environment;

17 ‘‘(E) the costs of compliance with the

18 standard;

19 ‘‘(F) comments and information received

20 from the public; and

21 ‘‘(G) the comments and recommendations

22 of the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards

23 Committee described in section 60115 and the

24 Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee

25 described in section 60115.
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1 ‘‘(3) RISK ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT.—In pre2 scribing a standard referred to in paragraph (2), the

3 Secretary shall prepare a risk assessment document

4 that—

5 ‘‘(A) identifies the regulatory and non6 regulatory options that the Secretary considered

7 in prescribing a proposed standard;

8 ‘‘(B) identifies the incremental costs and

9 incremental benefits with respect to public safe10 ty and the protection of the environment that

11 are associated with the proposed standard;

12 ‘‘(C) includes—

13 ‘‘(i) an explanation of the reasons for

14 the selection of the proposed standard in

15 lieu of the other options identified; and

16 ‘‘(ii) with respect to each of those

17 other options, a brief explanation of the

18 reasons that the Secretary found that op19 tion to be less cost-effective or flexible than

20 the proposed standard; and

21 ‘‘(D) provides any technical data or other

22 information upon which the risk assessment

23 document and proposed standard is based.

24 ‘‘(4) REVIEW.—

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) submit each risk assessment doc2 ument prepared under this section to the

3 Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Com4 mittee described in section 60115 or the

5 Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Stand6 ards Committee described in section

7 60115, or both, as appropriate; and

8 ‘‘(ii) make that document available to

9 the general public.

10 ‘‘(B) PEER REVIEW PANELS.—The com11 mittees referred to in subparagraph (A) shall

12 serve as peer review panels to review risk as13 sessment documents prepared under this sec14 tion. Not later than 90 days after receiving a

15 risk assessment document for review pursuant

16 to subparagraph (A), each committee that re17 ceives that document shall prepare and submit

18 to the Secretary a report that includes—

19 ‘‘(i) an evaluation of the merit of the

20 data and methods used in that document;

21 and

22 ‘‘(ii) any recommended options relat23 ing to that document and the associated

24 standard or regulatory requirement that
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1 the committee determines to be appro2 priate.

3 ‘‘(C) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—Not later

4 than 90 days after receiving a report submitted

5 by a committee under subparagraph (B), the

6 Secretary—

7 ‘‘(i) shall review the report;

8 ‘‘(ii) shall provide a written response

9 to the committee that is the author of the

10 report concerning all significant peer re11 view comments and recommended alter12 natives contained in the report; and

13 ‘‘(iii) may revise the risk assessment

14 and the proposed standard or regulatory

15 requirement before promulgating the final

16 standard or requirement.

17 ‘‘(5) INCREMENTAL BENEFITS AND COSTS.—

18 Before issuing a final standard that is subject to the

19 requirements contained in paragraphs (1) and (2),

20 the Secretary shall certify that the incremental bene21 fits of the final standard will likely justify, and be

22 reasonably related to, the incremental costs incurred

23 by the Federal Government and State, local, and

24 tribal governments and any other public entity, and

25 the private sector.
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1 ‘‘(6) EMERGENCIES.—In the case of an emer2 gency that meets the criteria described in section

3 60112(e), the Secretary may suspend the application

4 of this section for the duration of the emergency.

5 ‘‘(7) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 1999,

6 the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a re7 port that—

8 ‘‘(A) describes the implementation of the

9 risk assessment requirements of this section, in10 cluding the extent to which those requirements

11 have improved regulatory decision making; and

12 ‘‘(B) includes any recommendations that

13 the Secretary determines would make the risk

14 assessments conducted pursuant to the require15 ments under this chapter a more effective

16 means of assessing the benefits and costs asso17 ciated with alternative regulatory and non18 regulatory options in prescribing standards

19 under the Federal pipeline safety regulatory

20 program under this chapter.’’.

21 (c) FACILITY OPERATION INFORMATION STAND22 ARDS.—The first sentence of section 60102(d) is amend23 ed—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘as required by the standards

2 prescribed under this chapter’’ after ‘‘operating the

3 facility’’;

4 (2) by striking ‘‘to provide the information’’

5 and inserting ‘‘to make the information available’’;

6 and

7 (3) by inserting ‘‘as determined by the Sec8 retary’’ after ‘‘to the Secretary and an appropriate

9 State official’’.

10 (d) PIPE INVENTORY STANDARDS.—The first sen11 tence of section 60102(e) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and, to the extent the Sec13 retary considers necessary, an operator of a gather14 ing line that is not a regulated gathering line (as de15 fined under section 60101(b)(2) of this title),’’; and

16 (2) by striking ‘‘transmission’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘transportation’’.

18 (e) SMART PIGS.—

19 (1) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—Section

20 60102(f) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and

21 inserting the following:

22 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—The Sec23 retary shall prescribe minimum safety standards re24 quiring that the design and construction of a new

25 gas or hazardous liquid pipeline transmission facility
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1 be carried out, to the extent practicable, in a way

2 that accommodates the passage through the facility

3 of an instrumented internal inspection device (com4 monly referred to as a ‘smart pig’). The Secretary

5 shall also prescribe minimum safety standards that

6 require that when a segment of an existing gas or

7 hazardous liquid pipeline transmission facility is re8 placed, to the extent practicable, the replacement

9 segment can accommodate the passage of an instru10 mented internal inspection device. The Secretary

11 may apply the standards to an existing gas or haz12 ardous liquid facility and require that the facility be

13 changed to allow the facility to be inspected with an

14 instrumented internal inspection device if the basic

15 construction of the facility will accommodate the de16 vice.’’.

17 (2) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—Section

18 60102(f)(2) is amended—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘(2) Not later than’’ and

20 inserting the following:

21 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—Not later than’’;

22 and

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘, if necessary, addi24 tional’’ after ‘‘the Secretary shall prescribe’’.
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1 (f) UPDATING STANDARDS.—Section 60102 is

2 amended by adding at the end the following new sub3 section:

4 ‘‘(l) UPDATING STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall, to

5 the extent appropriate and practicable, update incor6 porated industry standards that have been adopted as part

7 of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program under

8 this chapter.’’.

9 SEC. 5. RISK MANAGEMENT.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 is amended by add11 ing at the end the following new section:

12 ‘‘§ 60126. Risk management

13 ‘‘(a) RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM DEMONSTRA14 TION PROJECTS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab16 lish risk management demonstration projects—

17 ‘‘(A) to demonstrate, through the vol18 untary participation by owners and operators of

19 gas pipeline facilities and hazardous liquid pipe20 line facilities, the applications of risk manage21 ment; and

22 ‘‘(B) to evaluate the safety and cost-effec23 tiveness of the applications referred to in sub24 paragraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(2) WAIVERS.—In carrying out a demonstra2 tion project under this subsection, the Secretary—

3 ‘‘(A) may waive, with respect to the owner

4 or operator of any pipeline facility covered

5 under the project (referred to in this subsection

6 as a ‘covered pipeline facility’), the applicability

7 of all or a portion of the requirements under

8 this chapter that would otherwise apply to that

9 owner or operator with respect to the pipeline

10 facility; and

11 ‘‘(B) shall waive, for the period of the

12 project, with respect to the owner or operator

13 that participates in the project, the applicability

14 of any new standard or regulatory requirement

15 that the Secretary promulgates under this chap16 ter during the period of that participation, if

17 the Secretary determines that the risk manage18 ment plan applicable to the demonstration

19 project provides an overall level of safety that

20 is equivalent to or greater than the level of

21 safety provided by requiring the application of

22 that standard or regulatory requirement.

23 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out a demonstra24 tion project under this section, the Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) invite owners and operators of pipeline fa2 cilities to submit risk management plans for timely

3 approval by the Secretary;

4 ‘‘(2) require, as a condition of approval, that a

5 risk management plan submitted under this sub6 section contain measures that are designed to

7 achieve an equivalent or greater overall level of safe8 ty than would otherwise be achieved through compli9 ance with the standards and regulatory requirements

10 contained in this chapter or promulgated by the Sec11 retary under this chapter;

12 ‘‘(3) provide for—

13 ‘‘(A) collaborative government and indus14 try training;

15 ‘‘(B) methods to measure the safety per16 formance of risk management plans;

17 ‘‘(C) the development and application of

18 new technologies;

19 ‘‘(D) the promotion of community aware20 ness concerning how the overall level of safety

21 will be enhanced by the demonstration project;

22 ‘‘(E) the development of a model that cat23 egorizes the risks inherent to each covered pipe24 line facility, taking into consideration the loca-
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1 tion, volume, pressure, and material transported

2 or stored by that pipeline facility;

3 ‘‘(F) the application of risk assessment

4 and risk management methodologies that are

5 suitable to the inherent risks that are deter6 mined to exist through the use of the model de7 veloped under subparagraph (E);

8 ‘‘(G) the development of project elements

9 that are necessary to ensure that—

10 ‘‘(i) the owners and operators that

11 participate in the demonstration project

12 demonstrate that they are effectively man13 aging the risks referred to in subparagraph

14 (E); and

15 ‘‘(ii) the risk management plans car16 ried out under the demonstration project

17 under this subsection can be audited;

18 ‘‘(H) a process whereby an owner or opera19 tor of a pipeline facility is able to amend, mod20 ify, or otherwise adjust a risk management plan

21 referred to in paragraph (1) that has been ap22 proved by the Secretary pursuant to that para23 graph to respond to—

24 ‘‘(i) changed circumstances; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) a determination by the Secretary

2 that the owner or operator is not achieving

3 an overall level of safety that is at least

4 equivalent to the level that would otherwise

5 be achieved through compliance with the

6 standards and regulatory requirements

7 contained in this chapter or promulgated

8 by the Secretary under this chapter; and

9 ‘‘(I) such other elements as the Secretary,

10 with the agreement of the owners and operators

11 that participate in the demonstration project

12 under this section, determines to further the

13 purposes of this section; and

14 ‘‘(4) in selecting participants for the dem15 onstration project, take into consideration the past

16 safety and regulatory performance of each applicant

17 who submits a risk management plan pursuant to

18 paragraph (1).

19 ‘‘(c) EMERGENCIES.—In the case of an emergency

20 that meets the criteria described in section 60112(e), the

21 Secretary may suspend or revoke the participation of an

22 owner or operator in the demonstration project under this

23 section.

24 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION BY STATE AUTHORITY.—Not25 withstanding any other provision of this chapter, in carry-
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1 ing out the demonstration project under this section, the

2 Secretary may provide for the participation in the dem3 onstration project by a State that has in effect a certifi4 cation that has been approved by the Secretary under sec5 tion 60105.

6 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 1999, the

7 Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a report on the

8 results of the demonstration projects carried out under

9 this section that includes—

10 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of each such demonstration

11 project, including an evaluation of the performance

12 of each participant in that project with respect to

13 safety and environmental protection; and

14 ‘‘(2) recommendations concerning whether the

15 applications of risk management demonstrated

16 under the demonstration project should be incor17 porated into the Federal pipeline safety program

18 under this chapter on a permanent basis.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

20 chapter 601 is amended by adding at the end the follow21 ing:

‘‘60126. Risk management.’’.

22 SEC. 6. INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE.

23 Section 60108 is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘transport2 ing gas or hazardous liquid or’’ each place it ap3 pears;

4 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking the second

5 sentence;

6 (3) in the heading to subsection (c), by striking

7 ‘‘NAVIGABLE WATERS’’ and inserting ‘‘OTHER WA8 TERS’’; and

9 (4) by striking clause (ii) of subsection

10 (c)(2)(A) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(ii) any other pipeline facility crossing under,

12 over, or through waters where a substantial likeli13 hood of commercial navigation exists, if the Sec14 retary decides that the location of the facility in

15 those waters could pose a hazard to navigation or

16 public safety.’’.

17 SEC. 7. HIGH-DENSITY POPULATION AREAS AND ENVIRON18 MENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS.

19 (a) IDENTIFICATION.—Section 60109(a)(1)(B)(i) is

20 amended by striking ‘‘a navigable waterway (as the Sec21 retary defines by regulation)’’ and inserting ‘‘waters where

22 a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists’’.

23 (b) UNUSUALLY SENSITIVE AREAS.—Section

24 60109(b) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(b) AREAS TO BE INCLUDED AS UNUSUALLY SEN2 SITIVE.—When describing areas that are unusually sen3 sitive to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liq4 uid pipeline accident, the Secretary shall consider areas

5 where a pipeline rupture would likely cause permanent or

6 long-term environmental damage, including—

7 ‘‘(1) locations near pipeline rights-of-way that

8 are critical to drinking water, including intake loca9 tions for community water systems and critical sole

10 source aquifer protection areas; and

11 ‘‘(2) locations near pipeline rights-of-way that

12 have been identified as critical wetlands, riverine or

13 estuarine systems, national parks, wilderness areas,

14 wildlife preservation areas or refuges, wild and sce15 nic rivers, or critical habitat areas for threatened

16 and endangered species.’’.

17 SEC. 8. EXCESS FLOW VALUES.

18 Section 60110 is amended—

19 (1) in subsection (b)—

20 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, if

21 any,’’ after ‘‘circumstances’’; and

22 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, oper23 ating, and maintaining’’ after ‘‘cost of install24 ing’’;
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1 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(C), by inserting ‘‘,

2 maintenance, and replacement’’ after ‘‘installation’’;

3 and

4 (3) in subsection (e), by inserting after the first

5 sentence the following: ‘‘The Secretary may adopt

6 industry accepted performance standards in order to

7 comply with the requirement under the preceding

8 sentence.’’.

9 SEC. 9. CUSTOMER-OWNED NATURAL GAS SERVICE LINES.

10 Section 60113 is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) MAINTENANCE INFORMA12 TION.—’’; and

13 (2) by striking subsection (b).

14 SEC. 10. UNDERGROUND FACILITY DAMAGE PREVENTION

15 PROGRAMS.

16 (a) APPLICATION.—Section 60114(a) is amended—

17 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

18 striking ‘‘one-call notification system’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘underground facility damage prevention program

20 (hereafter in this subsection referred to as a ‘pro21 gram’)’’;

22 (2) in paragraph (1)—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘the system apply to’’; and

24 (B) by inserting before the period the fol25 lowing: ‘‘be covered by the program’’;
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1 (3) in each of paragraphs (2), (4), (5), (6), and

2 (8), by striking ‘‘system’’ each place it appears and

3 inserting ‘‘program’’;

4 (4) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘appropriate

5 one-call notification system’’ and inserting ‘‘appro6 priate program’’;

7 (5) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘qualifica8 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘Qualifications’’;

9 (6) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘procedures’’

10 and inserting ‘‘Procedures’’; and

11 (7) in each of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (6), (7),

12 (8), and (9), by striking ‘‘a’’ the first place it ap13 pears and inserting ‘‘A’’.

14 (b) SANCTIONS.—Section 60114(a)(9), as amended

15 by subsection (a)(7), is further amended by striking

16 ‘‘60120, 60122, and 60123’’ and inserting ‘‘60120 and

17 60122’’.

18 (c) GRANTS.—Section 60114(b) is amended by strik19 ing ‘‘one-call notification system’’ and inserting ‘‘under20 ground facility damage prevention program’’.

21 (d) APPORTIONMENT.—Section 60114(d) is amended

22 by striking ‘‘one-call notification system’’ each place it ap23 pears and inserting ‘‘underground facility damage preven24 tion program’’.

25 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading to section

2 60114 is amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘§ 60114. Underground facility damage prevention

4 programs’’.

5 (2) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for

6 chapter 601 is amended by striking the item relating

7 to section 60114 and inserting the following item:

‘‘60114. Underground facility damage prevention programs.’’.

8 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL SAFETY STANDARDS COMMITTEES.

9 (a) PEER REVIEW.—Section 60115(a) is amended by

10 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The committees referred

11 to in the preceding sentence shall serve as peer review

12 committees for carrying out this chapter. Peer reviews

13 conducted by the committees shall be treated for purposes

14 of all Federal laws relating to risk assessment and peer

15 review (including laws that take effect after the date of

16 the enactment of the Pipeline Safety Act of 1995) as meet17 ing any peer review requirements of such laws.’’.

18 (b) COMPOSITION AND APPOINTMENT.—Section

19 60115(b) is amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or risk man21 agement’’ before the period at the end of the last

22 sentence;

23 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or risk man24 agement’’ before the period at the end of the last

25 sentence;
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1 (3) in paragraph (3)—

2 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘4’’

3 and inserting ‘‘5’’; and

4 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘6’’

5 and inserting ‘‘5’’; and

6 (4) in paragraph (4)—

7 (A) in subparagraph (A), by adding at the

8 end the following: ‘‘At least 1 of the individuals

9 selected for each committee under paragraph

10 (3)(A) shall have relevant scientific education,

11 background, or experience.’’;

12 (B) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the

13 end the following: ‘‘At least 1 of the individuals

14 selected for each committee under paragraph

15 (3)(B) shall have education, background, or ex16 perience in risk assessment and cost-benefit

17 analysis. The Secretary shall consult with the

18 national organizations representing the owners

19 and operators of pipeline facilities before select20 ing individuals under paragraph (3)(B).’’; and

21 (C) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after

22 the first sentence the following: ‘‘At least 1 of

23 the individuals selected for each committee

24 under paragraph (3)(C) shall have education,
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1 background, or experience in risk assessment

2 and cost-benefit analysis.’’.

3 (c) COMMITTEE REPORTS.—Section 60115(c) is

4 amended—

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘or regulatory requirement’’

6 after ‘‘standard’’ each place it appears in para7 graphs (1), (2), and (3);

8 (2) in paragraph (1)—

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘,

10 including the risk assessment document and

11 other analyses supporting each proposed stand12 ard or regulatory requirement’’ before the semi13 colon; and

14 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘,

15 including the risk assessment document and

16 other analyses supporting each proposed stand17 ard or regulatory requirement’’ before the pe18 riod; and

19 (3) in paragraph (2)—

20 (A) in the first sentence—

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘and supporting anal22 yses’’ before the first comma;

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and submit to the

24 Secretary’’ after ‘‘prepare’’;
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1 (iii) by inserting ‘‘cost-effectiveness,’’

2 after ‘‘reasonableness,’’; and

3 (iv) by inserting ‘‘and include in the

4 report recommended actions’’ before the

5 period at the end; and

6 (B) in the second sentence, by inserting

7 ‘‘any recommended actions and’’ after ‘‘includ8 ing’’.

9 (d) PROPOSED COMMITTEE STANDARDS AND REGU10 LATORY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 60115(d)(1) is amend11 ed by inserting ‘‘or regulatory requirement’’ after ‘‘stand12 ard’’ each place it appears.

13 (e) MEETINGS.—Section 60115(e) is amended by

14 striking ‘‘twice’’ and inserting ‘‘4 times’’.

15 (f) EXPENSES.—Section 60115(f) is amended—

16 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘PAY

17 AND’’;

18 (2) by striking the first 2 sentences; and

19 (3) by inserting ‘‘of a committee under this sec20 tion’’ after ‘‘A member’’.

21 SEC. 12. PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

22 Section 60116 is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘person transporting gas’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘owner or operator of a gas pipeline facil25 ity’’;
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘the use of an underground fa2 cility damage prevention program prior to exca3 vation,’’ after ‘‘educate the public on’’; and

4 (3) by inserting a comma after ‘‘gas leaks’’.

5 SEC. 13. ADMINISTRATIVE.

6 Section 60117 is amended by adding at the end the

7 following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(k) AUTHORITY FOR COOPERATIVE AGREE9 MENTS.—To carry out this chapter, the Secretary may

10 enter into grants, cooperative agreements, and other

11 transactions with any person, agency, or instrumentality

12 of the United States, any unit of State or local govern13 ment, any educational institution, or any other entity to

14 further the objectives of this chapter. The objectives of

15 this chapter include the development, improvement, and

16 promotion of one-call damage prevention programs, re17 search, risk assessment, and mapping.’’.

18 SEC. 14. COMPLIANCE AND WAIVERS.

19 Section 60118 is amended by adding at the end the

20 following new subsection:

21 ‘‘(e) COMPLIANCE WITH RISK MANAGEMENT

22 PLANS.—The owners and operators of pipeline facilities

23 that participate in the demonstration project under section

24 60126 shall, during the applicable period of participation

25 in the program, be considered to be in compliance with
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1 any prescribed safety standard or regulatory requirement

2 that is covered by a plan that is approved by the Secretary

3 under section 60126.’’.

4 SEC. 15. DAMAGE REPORTING.

5 Section 60123(d)(2) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

7 (A);

8 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub9 paragraph (C); and

10 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(B) a pipeline facility and does not report

13 the damage promptly to the operator of the

14 pipeline facility and to other appropriate au15 thorities; or’’.

16 SEC. 16. BIANNUAL REPORTS.

17 (a) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—

18 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The section heading of

19 section 60124 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘§ 60124. Biannual reports’’.

21 (2) REPORTS.—Section 60124(a) is amended

22 by striking the first sentence and inserting the fol23 lowing:

24 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION AND COMMENTS.—Not later than

25 August 15, 1997, and every 2 years thereafter, the Sec-
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1 retary of Transportation shall submit to Congress a report

2 on carrying out this chapter for the 2 immediately preced3 ing calendar years for gas and a report on carrying out

4 this chapter for such period for hazardous liquid.’’.

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

6 chapter 601 is amended by striking the item relating to

7 section 60124 and inserting the following:

‘‘60124. Biannual reports.’’.

8 SEC. 17. POPULATION ENCROACHMENT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601, as amended by sec10 tion 5, is further amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing new section:

12 ‘‘§ 60127. Population encroachment

13 ‘‘(a) LAND USE RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec14 retary of Transportation shall make available to an appro15 priate official of each State, as determined by the Sec16 retary, the land use recommendations of the special report

17 numbered 219 of the Transportation Research Board, en18 titled ‘Pipelines and Public Safety’.

19 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall—

20 ‘‘(1) evaluate the recommendations in the re21 port referred to in subsection (a);

22 ‘‘(2) determine to what extent the recommenda23 tions are being implemented;

24 ‘‘(3) consider ways to improve the implementa25 tion of the recommendations; and
30

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1 ‘‘(4) consider other initiatives to further im2 prove awareness of local planning and zoning enti3 ties regarding issues involved with population en4 croachment in proximity to the rights-of-way of any

5 interstate gas pipeline facility or interstate hazard6 ous liquid pipeline facility.’’.

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

8 chapter 601 is amended by inserting after the item relat9 ing to section 60126 the following:

‘‘60127. Population encroachment.’’.

10 SEC. 18. USER FEES.

11 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall

13 transmit to the Congress a report analyzing the assess14 ment of pipeline safety user fees solely on the basis of

15 mileage to determine whether—

16 (1) that measure of the resources of the De17 partment of Transportation is the most appropriate

18 measure of the resources used by the Department of

19 Transportation in the regulation of pipeline trans20 portation; or

21 (2) another basis of assessment would be a

22 more appropriate measure of those resources.
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1 SEC. 19. DUMPING WITHIN PIPELINE RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 601, as amended by sec3 tion 17, is further amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new section:

5 ‘‘§ 60128. Dumping within pipeline rights-of-way

6 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—No person shall excavate for the

7 purpose of unauthorized disposal within the right-of-way

8 of an interstate gas pipeline facility or interstate hazard9 ous liquid pipeline facility, or any other limited area in

10 the vicinity of any such interstate pipeline facility estab11 lished by the Secretary of Transportation, and dispose

12 solid waste therein.

13 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

14 term ‘solid waste’ has the meaning given that term in sec15 tion 1004(27) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

16 6903(27)).’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (1) CROSS-REFERENCE.—Sections 60122 and

19 60123 are each amended by striking ‘‘or 60118(a)’’

20 and inserting ‘‘, 60118(a), or 60128’’.

21 (2) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for

22 chapter 601 is amended by adding at the end the

23 following new item:

‘‘60128. Dumping within pipeline rights-of-way.’’.
32

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1 SEC. 20. PREVENTION OF DAMAGE TO PIPELINE FACILI2 TIES.

3 Section 60117(a) is amended by inserting after ‘‘and

4 training activities’’ the following: ‘‘and promotional activi5 ties relating to prevention of damage to pipeline facilities’’.

6 SEC. 21. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

7 (a) SECTION 60105.—The heading to section 60105

8 is amended by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety program’’

9 after ‘‘State’’.

10 (b) SECTION 60106.—The heading to section 60106

11 is amended by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ after

12 ‘‘State’’.

13 (c) SECTION 60107.—The heading to section 60107

14 is amended by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ after

15 ‘‘State’’.

16 (d) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for chapter

17 601 is amended—

18 (1) in the item relating to section 60105, by in19 serting ‘‘pipeline safety program’’ after ‘‘State’’;

20 (2) in the item relating to section 60106, by in21 serting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ after ‘‘State’’; and

22 (3) in the item relating to section 60107, by in23 serting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ after ‘‘State’’.

24 SEC. 22. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

25 (a) GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID.—Section 60125

26 is amended—
33

•S 1505 RS

1 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

2 following new subsection:

3 ‘‘(a) GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID.—To carry out

4 this chapter (except for sections 60107 and 60114(b)) re5 lated to gas and hazardous liquid, there are authorized

6 to be appropriated to the Department of Transportation—

7 ‘‘(1) $9,936,000 for fiscal year 1996;

8 ‘‘(2) $10,512,000 for fiscal year 1997;

9 ‘‘(3) $11,088,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

10 ‘‘(4) $11,664,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’; and

11 (2) by striking subsection (b).

12 (b) STATE GRANTS.—Section 60125(c)(1) is amend13 ed by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(D) $10,764,000 for fiscal year 1996.

15 ‘‘(E) $11,388,000 for fiscal year 1997.

16 ‘‘(F) $12,012,000 for fiscal year 1998.

17 ‘‘(G) $12,636,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accountable Pipeline

20 Safety and Partnership Act of 1996’’.

21 SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

22 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

23 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

24 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,
34

•S 1505 RS

1 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

2 other provision of title 49, United States Code.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 60101(a) is amended—

5 (1) by striking the periods at the end of para6 graphs (1) through (22) and inserting semicolons;

7 (2) by striking paragraph (21)(B) and inserting

8 the following:

9 ‘‘(B) does not include the gathering of gas,

10 other than gathering through regulated gathering

11 lines, in those rural locations that are located

12 outside the limits of any incorporated or unin13 corporated city, town, or village, or any other

14 designated residential or commercial area (in15 cluding a subdivision, business, shopping center,

16 or community development) or any similar pop17 ulated area that the Secretary of Transportation

18 determines to be a nonrural area, except that the

19 term ‘transporting gas’ includes the movement of

20 gas through regulated gathering lines;’’; and

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

22 ‘‘(23) ‘risk management’ means the systematic

23 application, by the owner or operator of a pipeline

24 facility, of management policies, procedures, finite re25 sources, and practices to the tasks of identifying, ana-
35

•S 1505 RS

1 lyzing, assessing, reducing, and controlling risk in

2 order to protect employees, the general public, the en3 vironment, and pipeline facilities;

4 ‘‘(24) ‘risk management plan’ means a manage5 ment plan utilized by a gas or hazardous liquid pipe6 line facility owner or operator that encompasses risk

7 management; and

8 ‘‘(25) ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Trans9 portation.’’.

10 (b) GATHERING LINES.—Section 60101(b)(2) is

11 amended by inserting ‘‘, if appropriate,’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’

12 the first place it appears.

13 SEC. 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

14 (a) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—Section 60102(a)

15 is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘transporters of gas and hazard17 ous liquid and to’’ in paragraph (1)(A);

18 (2) by striking paragraph (1)(C) and inserting

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(C) shall include a requirement that all in21 dividuals who operate and maintain pipeline fa22 cilities shall be qualified to operate and main23 tain the pipeline facilities.’’; and

24 (3) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the

25 following:
36

•S 1505 RS

1 ‘‘(2) The qualifications applicable to an individ2 ual who operates and maintains a pipeline facility

3 shall address the ability to recognize and react appro4 priately to abnormal operating conditions that may

5 indicate a dangerous situation or a condition exceed6 ing design limits. The operator of a pipeline facility

7 shall ensure that employees who operate and main8 tain the facility are qualified to operate and main9 tain the pipeline facilities.’’.

10 (b) PRACTICABILITY AND SAFETY NEEDS STAND11 ARDS.—Section 60102(b) is amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(b) PRACTICABILITY AND SAFETY NEEDS STAND13 ARDS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A standard prescribed under

15 subsection (a) shall be—

16 ‘‘(A) practicable; and

17 ‘‘(B) designed to meet the need for—

18 ‘‘(i) gas pipeline safety, or safely

19 transporting hazardous liquids, as appro20 priate; and

21 ‘‘(ii) protecting the environment.

22 ‘‘(2) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—When pre23 scribing any standard under this section or section

24 60101(b), 60103, 60108, 60109, 60110, or 60113, the

25 Secretary shall consider—
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1 ‘‘(A) relevant available—

2 ‘‘(i) gas pipeline safety information;

3 ‘‘(ii) hazardous liquid pipeline safety

4 information; and

5 ‘‘(iii) environmental information;

6 ‘‘(B) the appropriateness of the standard for

7 the particular type of pipeline transportation or

8 facility;

9 ‘‘(C) the reasonableness of the standard;

10 ‘‘(D) based on a risk assessment, the reason11 ably identifiable or estimated benefits expected to

12 result from implementation or compliance with

13 the standard;

14 ‘‘(E) based on a risk assessment, the reason15 ably identifiable or estimated costs expected to

16 result from implementation or compliance with

17 the standard;

18 ‘‘(F) comments and information received

19 from the public; and

20 ‘‘(G) the comments and recommendations of

21 the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Com22 mittee, the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline

23 Safety Standards Committee, or both, as appro24 priate.
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•S 1505 RS

1 ‘‘(3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—In prescribing a

2 standard referred to in paragraph (2), the Secretary

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(A) identify the regulatory and nonregula5 tory options that the Secretary considered in

6 prescribing a proposed standard;

7 ‘‘(B) identify the costs and benefits associ8 ated with the proposed standard;

9 ‘‘(C) include—

10 ‘‘(i) an explanation of the reasons for

11 the selection of the proposed standard in

12 lieu of the other options identified; and

13 ‘‘(ii) with respect to each of those other

14 options, a brief explanation of the reasons

15 that the Secretary did not select the option;

16 and

17 ‘‘(D) identify technical data or other infor18 mation upon which the risk assessment informa19 tion and proposed standard is based.

20 ‘‘(4) REVIEW.—

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

22 ‘‘(i) submit risk assessment informa23 tion prepared under paragraph (3) of this

24 subsection to the Technical Pipeline Safety

25 Standards Committee, the Technical Haz-
39

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1 ardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards

2 Committee, or both, as appropriate; and

3 ‘‘(ii) make that risk assessment infor4 mation available to the general public.

5 ‘‘(B) PEER REVIEW PANELS.—The commit6 tees referred to in subparagraph (A) shall serve

7 as peer review panels to review risk assessment

8 information prepared under this section. Not

9 later than 90 days after receiving risk assessment

10 information for review pursuant to subpara11 graph (A), each committee that receives that risk

12 assessment information shall prepare and submit

13 to the Secretary a report that includes—

14 ‘‘(i) an evaluation of the merit of the

15 data and methods used; and

16 ‘‘(ii) any recommended options relat17 ing to that risk assessment information and

18 the associated standard that the committee

19 determines to be appropriate.

20 ‘‘(C) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—Not later

21 than 90 days after receiving a report submitted

22 by a committee under subparagraph (B), the

23 Secretary—

24 ‘‘(i) shall review the report;
40

•S 1505 RS

1 ‘‘(ii) shall provide a written response

2 to the committee that is the author of the re3 port concerning all significant peer review

4 comments and recommended alternatives

5 contained in the report; and

6 ‘‘(iii) may revise the risk assessment

7 and the proposed standard before promul8 gating the final standard.

9 ‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL DECISIONMAKING.—Except

10 where otherwise required by statute, the Secretary

11 shall propose or issue a standard under this Chapter

12 only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits

13 of the intended standard justify its costs.

14 ‘‘(6) EXCEPTIONS FROM APPLICATION.—The re15 quirements of this subsection do not apply when—

16 ‘‘(A) the standard is the product of a nego17 tiated rulemaking, or other rulemaking including

18 the adoption of industry standards that receives

19 no significant adverse comment within 60 days

20 of notice in the Federal Register;

21 ‘‘(B) based on a recommendation (in which

22 three-fourths of the members voting concur) by

23 the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Com24 mittee, the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
41

•S 1505 RS

1 Safety Standards Committee, or both, as appli2 cable, the Secretary waives the requirements; or

3 ‘‘(C) the Secretary finds, pursuant to sec4 tion 553(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United States Code,

5 that notice and public procedure are not re6 quired.

7 ‘‘(7) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2000,

8 the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a report

9 that—

10 ‘‘(A) describes the implementation of the

11 risk assessment requirements of this section, in12 cluding the extent to which those requirements

13 have improved regulatory decision making; and

14 ‘‘(B) includes any recommendations that

15 the Secretary determines would make the risk as16 sessment process conducted pursuant to the re17 quirements under this chapter a more effective

18 means of assessing the benefits and costs associ19 ated with alternative regulatory and nonregula20 tory options in prescribing standards under the

21 Federal pipeline safety regulatory program

22 under this chapter.’’.

23 (c) FACILITY OPERATION INFORMATION STAND24 ARDS.—The first sentence of section 60102(d) is amended—
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•S 1505 RS

1 (1) by inserting ‘‘as required by the standards

2 prescribed under this chapter’’ after ‘‘operating the

3 facility’’;

4 (2) by striking ‘‘to provide the information’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘to make the information available’’; and

6 (3) by inserting ‘‘as determined by the Sec7 retary’’ after ‘‘to the Secretary and an appropriate

8 State official’’.

9 (d) PIPE INVENTORY STANDARDS.—The first sentence

10 of section 60102(e) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and, to the extent the Secretary

12 considers necessary, an operator of a gathering line

13 that is not a regulated gather line (as defined under

14 section 60101(b)(2) of this title),’’; and

15 (2) by striking ‘‘transmission’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘transportation’’.

17 (e) SMART PIGS.—

18 (1) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—Section

19 60102(f) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and

20 inserting the following:

21 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—The Sec22 retary shall prescribe minimum safety standards re23 quiring that—
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•S 1505 RS

1 ‘‘(A) the design and construction of new

2 natural gas transmission pipeline or hazardous

3 liquid pipeline facilities, and

4 ‘‘(B) when the replacement of existing natu5 ral gas transmission pipeline or hazardous liq6 uid pipeline facilities or equipment is required,

7 the replacement of such existing facilities be car8 ried out, to the extent practicable, in a manner

9 so as to accommodate the passage through such

10 natural gas transmission pipeline or hazardous

11 liquid pipeline facilities of instrumented internal

12 inspection devices (commonly referred to as

13 ‘smart pigs’). The Secretary may extend such

14 standards to require existing natural gas trans15 mission pipeline or hazardous liquid pipeline fa16 cilities, whose basic construction would accom17 modate an instrumented internal inspection de18 vice to be modified to permit the inspection of

19 such facilities with instrumented internal inspec20 tion devices.’’.

21 (2) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—Section

22 60102(f)(2) is amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(2) Not later than’’ and in24 serting the following:
44

•S 1505 RS

1 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.—Not later than’’;

2 and

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘, if necessary, additional’’

4 after ‘‘the Secretary shall prescribe’’.

5 (f) UPDATING STANDARDS.—Section 60102 is amend6 ed by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(l) UPDATING STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall, to

8 the extent appropriate and practicable, update incorporated

9 industry standards that have been adopted as part of the

10 Federal pipeline safety regulatory program under this

11 chapter.’’.

12 SEC. 5. RISK MANAGEMENT.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 is amended by adding

14 at the end the following:

15 ‘‘§ 60126. Risk management

16 ‘‘(a) RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM DEMONSTRATION

17 PROJECTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish

19 risk management demonstration projects—

20 ‘‘(A) to demonstrate, through the voluntary

21 participation by owners and operators of gas

22 pipeline facilities and hazardous liquid pipeline

23 facilities, the application of risk management;

24 and
45

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1 ‘‘(B) to evaluate the application of risk

2 management referred to in subparagraph (A).

3 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—In carrying out a dem4 onstration project under this subsection, the Sec5 retary, by order—

6 ‘‘(A) may exempt an owner or operator of

7 the pipeline facility covered under the project

8 (referred to in this subsection as a ‘covered pipe9 line facility’), from the applicability of all or a

10 portion of the requirements under this chapter

11 that would otherwise apply to the covered pipe12 line facility; and

13 ‘‘(B) shall exempt, for the period of the

14 project, an owner or operator of the covered pipe15 line facility, from the applicability of any new

16 standard that the Secretary promulgates under

17 this chapter during the period of that participa18 tion, with respect to the covered facility.

19 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out a demonstra20 tion project under this section, the Secretary shall—

21 ‘‘(1) invite owners and operators of pipeline fa22 cilities to submit risk management plans for timely

23 approval by the Secretary;

24 ‘‘(2) require, as a condition of approval, that a

25 risk management plan submitted under this sub-
46

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1 section contain measures that are designed to achieve

2 an equivalent or greater overall level of safety than

3 would otherwise be achieved through compliance with

4 the standards contained in this chapter or promul5 gated by the Secretary under this chapter;

6 ‘‘(3) provide for—

7 ‘‘(A) collaborative government and industry

8 training;

9 ‘‘(B) methods to measure the safety perform10 ance of risk management plans;

11 ‘‘(C) the development and application of

12 new technologies;

13 ‘‘(D) the promotion of community aware14 ness concerning how the overall level of safety

15 will be maintained or enhanced by the dem16 onstration project;

17 ‘‘(E) the development of models that cat18 egorize the risks inherent to each covered pipeline

19 facility, taking into consideration the location,

20 volume, pressure, and material transported or

21 stored by that pipeline facility;

22 ‘‘(F) the application of risk assessment and

23 risk management methodologies that are suitable

24 to the inherent risks that are determined to exist
47

•S 1505 RS

1 through the use of models developed under sub2 paragraph (E);

3 ‘‘(G) the development of project elements

4 that are necessary to ensure that—

5 ‘‘(i) the owners and operators that par6 ticipate in the demonstration project dem7 onstrate that they are effectively managing

8 the risks referred to in subparagraph (E);

9 and

10 ‘‘(ii) the risk management plans car11 ried out under the demonstration project

12 under this subsection can be audited;

13 ‘‘(H) a process whereby an owner or opera14 tor of a pipeline facility is able to terminate a

15 risk management plan or, with the approval of

16 the Secretary, to amend, modify, or otherwise

17 adjust a risk management plan referred to in

18 paragraph (1) that has been approved by the

19 Secretary pursuant to that paragraph to respond

20 to—

21 ‘‘(i) changed circumstances; or

22 ‘‘(ii) a determination by the Secretary

23 that the owner or operator is not achieving

24 an overall level of safety that is at least

25 equivalent to the level that would otherwise
48

•S 1505 RS

1 be achieved through compliance with the

2 standards contained in this chapter or pro3 mulgated by the Secretary under this chap4 ter; and

5 ‘‘(I) such other elements as the Secretary,

6 with the agreement of the owners and operators

7 that participate in the demonstration project

8 under this section, determines to further the pur9 poses of this section; and

10 ‘‘(4) in selecting participants for the demonstra11 tion project, take into consideration the past safety

12 and regulatory performance of each applicant who

13 submits a risk management plan pursuant to para14 graph (1).

15 ‘‘(c) EMERGENCIES AND REVOCATIONS.—Nothing in

16 this section diminishes or modifies the Secretary’s authority

17 under this title to act in case of an emergency. The Sec18 retary may revoke any exemption granted under this sec19 tion for substantial noncompliance with the terms and con20 ditions of an approved risk management plan.

21 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION BY STATE AUTHORITY.—In car22 rying out this section, the Secretary may provide for con23 sultation by a State that has in effect a certification under

24 section 60105. To the extent that a demonstration project

25 comprises an intrastate natural gas pipeline or an intra-
49

•S 1505 RS

1 state hazardous liquid pipeline facility, the Secretary may

2 make an agreement with the State agency to carry out the

3 duties of the Secretary for approval and administration of

4 the project.

5 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2000, the

6 Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a report on the

7 results of the demonstration projects carried out under this

8 section that includes—

9 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of each such demonstration

10 project, including an evaluation of the performance of

11 each participant in that project with respect to safety

12 and environmental protection; and

13 ‘‘(2) recommendations concerning whether the

14 applications of risk management demonstrated under

15 the demonstration project should be incorporated into

16 the Federal pipeline safety program under this chap17 ter on a permanent basis.’’.

18 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

19 chapter 601 is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘60126. Risk management.’’.

20 SEC. 6. INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE.

21 Section 60108 is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘transporting gas or hazardous

23 liquid or’’ in subsection (a)(1) each place it appears;

24 (2) by striking the second sentence in subsection

25 (b)(2);
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1 (3) by striking ‘‘NAVIGABLE WATERS’’ in the

2 heading for subsection (c) and inserting ‘‘OTHER WA3 TERS’’; and

4 (4) by striking clause (ii) of subsection (c)(2)(A)

5 and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(ii) any other pipeline facility cross7 ing under, over, or through waters where a

8 substantial likelihood of commercial naviga9 tion exists, if the Secretary decides that the

10 location of the facility in those waters could

11 pose a hazard to navigation or public safe12 ty.’’.

13 SEC. 7. HIGH-DENSITY POPULATION AREAS AND ENVIRON14 MENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS.

15 (a) IDENTIFICATION.—Section 60109(a)(1)(B)(i) is

16 amended by striking ‘‘a navigable waterway (as the Sec17 retary defines by regulation)’’ and inserting ‘‘waters where

18 a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists’’.

19 (b) UNUSUALLY SENSITIVE AREAS.—Section 60109(b)

20 is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(b) AREAS TO BE INCLUDED AS UNUSUALLY SEN22 SITIVE.—When describing areas that are unusually sen23 sitive to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liq24 uid pipeline accident, the Secretary shall consider areas
51

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1 where a pipeline rupture would likely cause permanent or

2 long-term environmental damage, including—

3 ‘‘(1) locations near pipeline rights-of-way that

4 are critical to drinking water, including intake loca5 tions for community water systems and critical sole

6 source aquifer protection areas; and

7 ‘‘(2) locations near pipeline rights-of-way that

8 have been identified as critical wetlands, riverine or

9 estuarine systems, national parks, wilderness areas,

10 wildlife preservation areas or refuges, wild and scenic

11 rivers, or critical habitat areas for threatened and en12 dangered species.’’.

13 SEC. 8. EXCESS FLOW VALVES.

14 Section 60110 is amended—

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘, if any,’’ in the first sentence

16 of subsection (b)(1) after ‘‘circumstances’’;

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘, operating, and maintaining’’

18 in subsection (b)(4) after ‘‘cost of installing’’;

19 (3) by inserting ‘‘, maintenance, and replace20 ment’’ in subsection (c)(1)(C) after ‘‘installation’’;

21 and

22 (4) by inserting after the first sentence in sub23 section (e) the following: ‘‘The Secretary may adopt

24 industry accepted performance standards in order to
52

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1 comply with the requirement under the preceding sen2 tence.’’.

3 SEC. 9. CUSTOMER-OWNED NATURAL GAS SERVICE LINES.

4 Section 60113 is amended—

5 (1) by striking the caption of subsection (a); and

6 (2) by striking subsection (b).

7 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL SAFETY STANDARDS COMMITTEES.

8 (a) PEER REVIEW.—Section 60115(a) is amended by

9 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The committees referred

10 to in the preceding sentence shall serve as peer review com11 mittees for carrying out this chapter. Peer reviews con12 ducted by the committees shall be treated for purposes of

13 all Federal laws relating to risk assessment and peer review

14 (including laws that take effect after the date of the enact15 ment of the Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership

16 Act of 1996) as meeting any peer review requirements of

17 such laws.’’.

18 (b) COMPOSITION AND APPOINTMENT.—Section

19 60115(b) is amended—

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘or risk management prin21 ciples’’ in paragraph (1) before the period at the end;

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘or risk management prin23 ciples’’ in paragraph (2) before the period at the end;

24 (3) by striking ‘‘4’’ in paragraph (3)(B) and in25 serting ‘‘5’’;
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1 (4) by striking ‘‘6’’ in paragraph (3)(C) and in2 serting ‘‘5’’;

3 (5) by adding at the end of paragraph (4)(B) the

4 following: ‘‘At least 1 of the individuals selected for

5 each committee under paragraph (3)(B) shall have

6 education, background, or experience in risk assess7 ment and cost-benefit analysis. The Secretary shall

8 consult with the national organizations representing

9 the owners and operators of pipeline facilities before

10 selecting individuals under paragraph (3)(B).’’; and

11 (6) by inserting after the first sentence of para12 graph (4)(C) the following: ‘‘At least 1 of the individ13 uals selected for each committee under paragraph

14 (3)(C) shall have education, background, or experience

15 in risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis.’’.

16 (c) COMMITTEE REPORTS.—Section 60115(c) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘including the risk assessment

19 information and other analyses supporting each pro20 posed standard’’ before the semicolon in paragraph

21 (1)(A);

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘including the risk assessment

23 information and other analyses supporting each pro24 posed standard’’ before the period in paragraph

25 (1)(B);
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1 (3) by inserting ‘‘and supporting analyses’’ be2 fore the first comma in the first sentence of paragraph

3 (2);

4 (4) by inserting ‘‘and submit to the Secretary’’

5 in the first sentence of paragraph (2) after ‘‘prepare’’;

6 (5) by inserting ‘‘cost-effectiveness,’’ in the first

7 sentence of paragraph (2) after ‘‘reasonableness,’’; and

8 (6) by inserting ‘‘and include in the report rec9 ommended actions’’ before the period at the end of the

10 first sentence of paragraph (2); and

11 (7) by inserting ‘‘any recommended actions and’’

12 in the second sentence of paragraph (2) after ‘‘includ13 ing’’.

14 (d) MEETINGS.—Section 60115(e) is amended by strik15 ing ‘‘twice’’ and inserting ‘‘up to 4 times’’.

16 (e) EXPENSES.—Section 60115(f) is amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘PAY AND’’ in the subsection

18 heading;

19 (2) by striking the first 2 sentences; and

20 (3) by inserting ‘‘of a committee under this sec21 tion’’ after ‘‘A member’’.

22 SEC. 11. PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

23 Section 60116 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘person transporting gas’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘owner or operator of a gas pipeline facil3 ity’’;

4 (2) by inserting ‘‘the use of a one-call notifica5 tion system prior to excavation,’’ after ‘‘educate the

6 public on’’; and

7 (3) by inserting a comma after ‘‘gas leaks’’.

8 SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATIVE.

9 Section 60117 is amended—

10 (1) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the fol11 lowing: ‘‘The Secretary may require owners and oper12 ators of gathering lines to provide the Secretary infor13 mation pertinent to the Secretary’s ability to make a

14 determination as to whether and to what extent to

15 regulate gathering lines.’’;

16 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following:

17 ‘‘(k) AUTHORITY FOR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—

18 To carry out this chapter, the Secretary may enter into

19 grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions with

20 any person, agency, or instrumentality of the United

21 States, any unit of State or local government, any edu22 cational institution, or any other entity to further the objec23 tives of this chapter. The objectives of this chapter include

24 the development, improvement, and promotion of one-call
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1 damage prevention programs, research, risk assessment,

2 and mapping.’’; and

3 (3) by striking ‘‘transporting gas or hazardous

4 liquid’’ in subsection (b) and inserting ‘‘owning’’.

5 SEC. 13. COMPLIANCE.

6 (a) Section 60118 (a) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘transporting gas or hazardous

8 liquid or’’ in subsection (a); and

9 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

10 following:

11 ‘‘(1) comply with applicable safety standards

12 prescribed under this chapter, except as provided in

13 this section or in section 60126;’’.

14 (b) Section 60118 (b) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE ORDERS.—The Secretary of Trans16 portation may issue orders directing compliance with this

17 chapter, an order under section 60126, or a regulation pre18 scribed under this chapter. An order shall state clearly the

19 action a person must take to comply.’’.

20 (c) Section 60118(c) is amended by striking ‘‘trans21 porting gas or hazardous liquid’’ and inserting ‘‘owning’’.

22 SEC. 14. DAMAGE REPORTING.

23 Section 60123(d)(2) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

25 (A);
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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub2 paragraph (C); and

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(B) a pipeline facility that does not report

6 the damage promptly to the operator of the pipe7 line facility and to other appropriate authorities;

8 or’’.

9 SEC. 15. BIENNIAL REPORTS.

10 (a) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—

11 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The section heading of

12 section 60124 is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘§ 60124. Biennial reports’’.

14 (2) REPORTS.—Section 60124(a) is amended by

15 striking the first sentence and inserting the following:

16 ‘‘Not later than August 15, 1997, and every 2 years

17 thereafter, the Secretary of Transportation shall sub18 mit to Congress a report on carrying out this chapter

19 for the 2 immediately preceding calendar years for

20 gas and a report on carrying out this chapter for

21 such period for hazardous liquid.’’.

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

23 chapter 601 is amended by striking the item relating to sec24 tion 60124 and inserting the following:

‘‘60124. Biennial reports.’’.
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1 SEC. 16. POPULATION ENCROACHMENT.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601, as amended by sec3 tion 5, is further amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing new section:

5 ‘‘§ 60127. Population encroachment

6 ‘‘(a) LAND USE RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary

7 of Transportation shall make available to an appropriate

8 official of each State, as determined by the Secretary, the

9 land use recommendations of the special report numbered

10 219 of the Transportation Research Board, entitled ‘Pipe11 lines and Public Safety’.

12 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall—

13 ‘‘(1) evaluate the recommendations in the report

14 referred to in subsection (a);

15 ‘‘(2) determine to what extent the recommenda16 tions are being implemented;

17 ‘‘(3) consider ways to improve the implementa18 tion of the recommendations; and

19 ‘‘(4) consider other initiatives to further improve

20 awareness of local planning and zoning entities re21 garding issues involved with population encroachment

22 in proximity to the rights-of-way of any interstate

23 gas pipeline facility or interstate hazardous liquid

24 pipeline facility.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

2 chapter 601 is amended by inserting after the item relating

3 to section 60126 the following:

‘‘60127. Population encroachment.’’.

4 SEC. 17. USER FEES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date

6 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor7 tation shall transmit to the Congress a report analyzing

8 the present assessment of pipeline safety user fees solely on

9 the basis of mileage to determine whether—

10 (1) that measure of the resources of the Depart11 ment of Transportation is the most appropriate meas12 ure of the resources used by the Department of Trans13 portation in the regulation of pipeline transportation;

14 or

15 (2) another basis of assessment would be a more

16 appropriate measure of those resources.

17 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making the report, the Sec18 retary shall consider a wide range of assessment factors and

19 suggestions and comments from the public.

20 SEC. 18. DUMPING WITHIN PIPELINE RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

21 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 601, as amended by sec22 tion 16, is further amended by adding at the end the follow23 ing new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 60128. Dumping within pipeline rights-of-way

2 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—No person shall excavate for the

3 purpose of unauthorized disposal within the right-of-way

4 of an interstate gas pipeline facility or interstate hazardous

5 liquid pipeline facility, or any other limited area in the

6 vicinity of any such interstate pipeline facility established

7 by the Secretary of Transportation, and dispose solid waste

8 therein.

9 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

10 term ‘solid waste’ has the meaning given that term in sec11 tion 1004(27) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

12 6903(27)).’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) CROSS-REFERENCE.—Section 60123(a) is

15 amended by striking ‘‘or 60118(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘,

16 60118(a), or 60128’’.

17 (2) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for chap18 ter 601 is amended by adding at the end the following

19 new item:

‘‘60128. Dumping within pipeline rights-of-way.’’.

20 SEC. 19. PREVENTION OF DAMAGE TO PIPELINE FACILI21 TIES.

22 Section 60117(a) is amended by inserting after ‘‘and

23 training activities’’ the following: ‘‘and promotional activi24 ties relating to prevention of damage to pipeline facilities’’.
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1 SEC. 20. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

2 (a) SECTION 60105.—The heading for section 60105

3 is amended by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety program’’

4 after ‘‘State’’.

5 (b) SECTION 60106.—The heading for section 60106

6 is amended by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ after

7 ‘‘State’’.

8 (c) SECTION 60107.—The heading for section 60107 is

9 amended by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ after ‘‘State’’.

10 (d) SECTION 60114.—Section 60114 is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘60120, 60122, and 60123’’ in

12 subsection (a)(9) and inserting ‘‘60120 and 60122’’;

13 (2) by striking subsections (b) and (d); and

14 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (e) as

15 subsections (b) and (d), respectively.

16 (e) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for chapter 601

17 is amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety program’’ in

19 the item relating to section 60105 after ‘‘State’’;

20 (2) by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ in the item re21 lating to section 60106 after ‘‘State’’; and

22 (3) by inserting ‘‘pipeline safety’’ in the item re23 lating to section 60107 after ‘‘State’’.

24 (f) SECTION 60101.—Section 60101(b) is amended by

25 striking ‘‘define by regulation’’ each place it appears and

26 inserting ‘‘prescribe standards defining’’.
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1 (g) SECTION 60102.—Section 60102 is amended by

2 striking ‘‘regulations’’ each place it appears in subsections

3 (f)(2), (i), and (j)(2) and inserting ‘‘standards’’.

4 (h) SECTION 60108.—Section 60108 is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘regulations’’ in subsections

6 (c)(2)(B), (c)(4)(B), and (d)(3) and inserting ‘‘stand7 ards’’; and

8 (2) by striking ‘‘require by regulation’’ in sub9 section (c)(4)(A) and inserting ‘‘establish a stand10 ard’’.

11 (i) SECTION 60109.—Section 60109(a) is amended by

12 striking ‘‘regulations’’ and inserting ‘‘standards’’.

13 (j) SECTION 60110.—Section 60110 is amended by

14 striking ‘‘regulations’’ in subsections (b), (c)(1), and (c)(2)

15 and inserting ‘‘standards’’.

16 (k) SECTION 60113.—Section 60113(a) is amended by

17 striking ‘‘regulations’’ and inserting ‘‘standards’’.

18 SEC. 21. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 (a) GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID.—Section 60125 is

20 amended—

21 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

22 following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(a) GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID.—To carry out

24 this chapter (except for sections 60107 and 60114(b)) relat-
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1 ed to gas and hazardous liquid, there are authorized to be

2 appropriated to the Department of Transportation—

3 ‘‘(1) $19,448,000 for fiscal year 1996;

4 ‘‘(2) $20,028,000 for fiscal year 1997, of which

5 $14,600,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

6 year 1997 collected under section 60301 of this title;

7 ‘‘(3) $20,729,000 for fiscal year 1998, of which

8 $15,100,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

9 year 1998 collected under section 60301 of this title;

10 ‘‘(4) $21,442,000 for fiscal year 1999, of which

11 $15,700,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

12 year 1999 collected under section 60301 of this title’’;

13 and

14 ‘‘(5) $22,194,000 for fiscal year 2000, of which

15 $16,300,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

16 year 2000 collected under section 60301 of this title.’’.

17 (b) STATE GRANTS.—Section 60125(c)(1) is amended

18 by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(D) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.

20 ‘‘(E) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 1997, of which

21 $12,500,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

22 year 1997 collected under section 60301 of this title.

23 ‘‘(F) $14,490,000 for fiscal year 1998, of which

24 $12,900,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

25 year 1998 collected under section 60301 of this title.
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1 ‘‘(G) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, of which

2 $13,300,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

3 year 1999 collected under section 60301 of this title.

4 ‘‘(H) $15,524,000 for fiscal year 2000, of which

5 $13,700,000 is to be derived from user fees for fiscal

6 year 2000 collected under section 60301 of this title.’’.