II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3002

To authorize a coordinated research program to ensure the integrity, safety,

and reliability of natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines, and for

other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 5, 2000

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. HOLLINGS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr.

BROWNBACK, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. ROBB, Mr. TORRICELLI,

and Mr. GORTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To authorize a coordinated research program to ensure the

integrity, safety, and reliability of natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines, 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 ‘‘Pipeline Integrity,

5 Safety, and Reliability Research and Development Act of

6 2000’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

8 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines

2 are a critical element of our nation’s energy infra3 structure;

4 (2) pipeline transportation of natural gas and

5 liquid fuels is a cost-effective means of delivering en6 ergy;

7 (3) the Nation’s reliance on pipelines is increas8 ing, especially for delivery of fuel to densely popu9 lated areas;

10 (4) a number of the Nation’s pipelines have

11 been in service for more than 50 years;

12 (5) ensuring pipelines are constructed and

13 maintained to minimize the risks to safety and the

14 environment is a national priority;

15 (6) early detection of serious defects in a pipe16 line reduces the risk of accidents;

17 (7) pipeline operators and Federal and State in18 spectors need advanced technologies to locate defects

19 and monitor pipelines before failures occur;

20 (8) the many benefits of pipeline transportation

21 are in the national interest and it is appropriate for

22 the Federal Government to provide investment in

23 fundamental and research-driven innovation in the

24 areas of pipeline materials, operations, and inspec25 tions techniques; and
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1 (9) Federal contributions to promoting pipeline

2 safety should be part of a coordinated research and

3 development program under the Department of

4 Transportation and in coordination with the Depart5 ment of Energy, the national laboratories, univer6 sities, the private sector, and other research insti7 tutes.

8 SEC. 3. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION PROGRAM FOR

9 PIPELINE INTEGRITY RESEARCH AND DEVEL10 OPMENT.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation,

12 in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, shall develop

13 and implement an accelerated cooperative program of re14 search and development to ensure the integrity of natural

15 gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. This research and de16 velopment program shall include materials inspection tech17 niques, risk assessment methodology, and information sys18 tems surety.

19 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the cooperative re20 search program shall be to promote research and develop21 ment to—

22 (1) ensure long-term safety, reliability and serv23 ice life for existing pipelines;
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1 (2) expand capabilities of internal inspection

2 devices to identify and accurately measure defects

3 and anomalies;

4 (3) develop inspection techniques for pipelines

5 that cannot accommodate the internal inspection de6 vices available on the date of enactment;

7 (4) develop innovative techniques to measure

8 the structural integrity of pipelines to prevent pipe9 line failures;

10 (5) develop improved materials and coatings for

11 use in pipelines;

12 (6) improve the capability, reliability, and prac13 ticality of external leak detection devices;

14 (7) identify underground environments that

15 might lead to shortened service life;

16 (8) enhance safety in pipeline siting and land

17 use;

18 (9) minimize the environmental impact of pipe19 lines;

20 (10) demonstrate technologies that improve

21 pipeline safety, reliability, and integrity;

22 (11) provide risk assessment tools for opti23 mizing risk mitigation strategies; and

24 (12) provide highly secure information systems

25 for controlling the operation of pipelines.
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1 (c) AREAS.—In carrying out this Act, the Secretary

2 of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of

3 Energy, shall consider research and development on nat4 ural gas, crude oil, and petroleum product pipelines for—

5 (1) early crack, defect, and damage detection,

6 including real-time damage monitoring;

7 (2) automated internal pipeline inspection sen8 sor systems;

9 (3) land use guidance and set back manage10 ment along pipeline rights-of-way for communities;

11 (4) internal corrosion control;

12 (5) corrosion-resistant coatings;

13 (6) improved cathodic protection;

14 (7) inspection techniques where internal inspec15 tion is not feasible, including measurement of struc16 tural integrity;

17 (8) external leak detection, including portable

18 real-time video imaging technology, and the advance19 ment of computerized control center leak detection

20 systems utilizing real-time remote field data input;

21 (9) longer life, high strength, non-corrosive

22 pipeline materials;

23 (10) assessing the remaining strength of exist24 ing pipes;
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1 (11) risk and reliability analysis models, to be

2 used to identify safety improvements that could be

3 realized in the near term resulting from analysis of

4 data obtained from a pipeline performance tracking

5 initiative.

6 (12) identification, monitoring, and prevention

7 of outside force damage, including satellite surveil8 lance; and

9 (13) any other areas necessary to ensuring the

10 public safety and protecting the environment.

11 (d) POINTS OF CONTACT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—To coordinate and imple13 ment the research and development programs and

14 activities authorized under this Act—

15 (A) the Secretary of Transportation shall

16 designate, as the point of contact for the De17 partment of Transportation, an officer of the

18 Department of Transportation who has been

19 appointed by the President and confirmed by

20 the Senate; and

21 (B) the Secretary of Energy shall des22 ignate, as the point of contact for the Depart23 ment of Energy, an officer of the Department

24 of Energy who has been appointed by the Presi25 dent and confirmed by the Senate.
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1 (2) DUTIES.—(A) The point of contact for the

2 Department of Transportation shall have the pri3 mary responsibility for coordinating and overseeing

4 the implementation of the research, development,

5 and demonstration program plan, as defined in sub6 sections (e) and (f).

7 (B) The points of contact shall jointly assist in

8 arranging cooperative agreements for research, de9 velopment, and demonstration involving their respec10 tive Departments, national laboratories, universities,

11 and industry research organizations.

12 (e) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

13 PLAN.—Within 240 days after the date of enactment of

14 this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination

15 with the Secretary of Energy and the Pipeline Integrity

16 Technical Advisory Committee, shall prepare and submit

17 to the Congress a 5-year program plan to guide activities

18 under this Act. In preparing the program plan, the Sec19 retary shall consult with appropriate representatives of the

20 natural gas, crude oil, and petroleum product pipeline in21 dustries to select and prioritize appropriate project pro22 posals. The Secretary may also seek the advice of utilities,

23 manufacturers, institutions of higher learning, Federal

24 agencies, the pipeline research institutions, national lab25 oratories, State pipeline safety officials, environmental or-
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1 ganizations, pipeline safety advocates, and professional

2 and technical societies.

3 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Transpor4 tation shall have primary responsibility for ensuring the

5 five-year plan provided for in subsection (e) is imple6 mented as intended by this Act. In carrying out the re7 search, development, and demonstration activities under

8 this Act, the Secretary of Transportation and the Sec9 retary of Energy may use, to the extent authorized under

10 applicable provisions of law, contracts, cooperative agree11 ments, cooperative research and development agreements

12 under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of

13 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), grants, joint ventures,

14 other transactions, and any other form of agreement avail15 able to the Secretary consistent with the recommendations

16 of the Advisory Committee.

17 (g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of

18 Transportation shall report to the Congress annually as

19 to the status and results to date of the implementation

20 of the research and development program plan. The report

21 shall include the activities of the Departments of Trans22 portation and Energy, the national laboratories, univer23 sities, and any other research organizations, including in24 dustry research organizations.
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1 SEC. 4. PIPELINE INTEGRITY TECHNICAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor4 tation shall enter into appropriate arrangements with the

5 National Academy of Sciences to establish and manage the

6 Pipeline Integrity Technical Advisory Committee for the

7 purpose of advising the Secretary of Transportation and

8 the Secretary of Energy on the development and imple9 mentation of the five-year research, development, and

10 demonstration program plan as defined in Sec. 3(e). The

11 Advisory Committee shall have an ongoing role in evalu12 ating the progress and results of the research, develop13 ment, and demonstration carried out under this Act.

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The National Academy of

15 Sciences shall appoint the members of the Pipeline Integ16 rity Technical Advisory Committee after consultation with

17 the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of En18 ergy. Members appointed to the Advisory Committee

19 should have the necessary qualifications to provide tech20 nical contributions to the purposes of the Advisory Com21 mittee.

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.

23 (a) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

24 Secretary of Transportation for carrying out this Act

25 $3,000,000, which is to be derived from user fees (49
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1 U.S.C. Sec. 60125), for each of the fiscal years 2001

2 through 2005.

3 (b) Of the amounts available in the Oil Spill Liability

4 Trust Fund (26 U.S.C. Sec. 9509), $3,000,000 shall be

5 transferred to the Secretary of Transportation to carry

6 out programs for detection, prevention, and mitigation of

7 oil spills authorized in this Act for each of the fiscal years

8 2001 through 2005.

9 (c) There are authorized to be appropriated to the

10 Secretary of Energy for carrying out this Act such sums

11 as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2001

12 through 2005.

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