II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2080 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance pipeline safety, to provide 

communities with access to improved information concerning the equipment and operations of pipeline facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance pipeline 

safety, to provide communities with access to improved 

information concerning the equipment and operations of 

pipeline facilities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act of 

6 2015’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY 

Sec. 101. References to title 49, United States Code. 

Sec. 102. Notice to property owners and residents. 

Sec. 103. Facility operation information standards. 

Sec. 104. Availability of industry standards and procedures adopted in regulations by reference. 

Sec. 105. Considerations for identification of high-consequence areas. 

TITLE II—PIPELINE SPILL PREVENTION 

Sec. 201. Assessment of oil spill impacts and response in the Great Lakes. 

Sec. 202. Great Lakes Basin water crossing study and alternatives assessment. 

Sec. 203. Prohibition on transport of crude oil on Great Lakes. 

Sec. 204. Definition of worst case discharge. 

1 TITLE I—INFORMATION 

2 TRANSPARENCY 

3 SEC. 101. REFERENCES TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

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

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

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

9 Code. 

10 SEC. 102. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND RESIDENTS. 

11 Section 60102(c)(4) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND

14 RESIDENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

16 year after the date of enactment of this 

17 subparagraph, the Secretary shall prescribe 

18 minimum standards to require the owner 


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1 or operator of a pipeline facility to notify 

2 all owners and residents of property lo3 cated within 2,000 feet of a transmission 

4 line of the facility of— 

5 ‘‘(I) the proximity of the property 

6 to the transmission line; and 

7 ‘‘(II) in the case of a trans8 mission line located on private resi9 dential property, the specific location 

10 of the line on the property. 

11 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The 

12 notice under clause (i) shall include, at a 

13 minimum— 

14 ‘‘(I) a method for electronic ac15 cess to the information described in 

16 clause (i) through the Geospatial Plat17 form or such other Federal data ar18 chive as the Secretary considers ap19 propriate; 

20 ‘‘(II) information on how to ob21 tain a map of the pipeline system 

22 through the National Pipeline Map23 ping System; and 

24 ‘‘(III) such other information as 

25 the Secretary considers appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) DEADLINES.—The notice under 

2 clause (i) shall be provided not later than 

3 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

4 subparagraph and at least once every 3 

5 years thereafter.’’. 

6 SEC. 103. FACILITY OPERATION INFORMATION STANDARDS. 

7 Section 60102(d) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subpara9 graphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec10 tively, and indenting appropriately; 

11 (2) in paragraph (3), by redesignating subpara12 graphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec13 tively, and indenting appropriately; 

14 (3) in paragraph (5), by redesignating subpara15 graphs (A) through (C) as clauses (i) through (iii), 

16 respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

17 (4) by designating paragraphs (1) through (6) 

18 as subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and 

19 indenting appropriately; and 

20 (5) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and all that 

21 follows through ‘‘shall include—’’ and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

24 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

25 the Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act 


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1 of 2015, the Secretary shall prescribe minimum 

2 standards under this section requiring an operator 

3 of a pipeline facility subject to this chapter— 

4 ‘‘(A) to maintain information related to 

5 operating the facility as required by the stand6 ards prescribed under this chapter; and 

7 ‘‘(B) to provide that information, including 

8 any updates and changes, to the Secretary, 

9 State regulatory officials, State and local emer10 gency responders, and such other entities as the 

11 Secretary considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(2) LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS.—In the 

13 case of a local emergency responder, the Secretary 

14 shall provide the information described in subpara15 graphs (A), (B), (E), and (F) of paragraph (4) only 

16 to the extent applicable to the local district. 

17 ‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE.—The Secretary shall keep 

18 on file the information submitted to the Secretary 

19 under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

20 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION.—The information shall in21 clude—’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. AVAILABILITY OF INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND 

2 PROCEDURES ADOPTED IN REGULATIONS BY 

3 REFERENCE. 

4 Section 60102 is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(q) AVAILABILITY OF INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND

7 PROCEDURES ADOPTED IN REGULATIONS BY REF8 ERENCE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

10 that industry standards and procedures adopted by 

11 reference as part of the Federal pipeline safety regu12 latory program under this chapter are easily avail13 able to the public free of charge. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall 

15 apply to regulations issued before, on, or after the 

16 date of enactment of this subsection.’’. 

17 SEC. 105. CONSIDERATIONS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH18 CONSEQUENCE AREAS. 

19 Section 60109 is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(g) CONSIDERATIONS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF

22 HIGH-CONSEQUENCE AREAS.—In identifying high-con23 sequence areas under this chapter, the Secretary shall con24 sider— 

25 ‘‘(1) the age of the pipe; 


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1 ‘‘(2) whether the pipe at issue can be inspected 

2 using the most modern instrumented internal inspec3 tion devices; 

4 ‘‘(3) whether the pipe at issue crosses open 

5 waters of the Great Lakes; and 

6 ‘‘(4) the type of commodity (including the type 

7 and grade of petroleum product) being transported 

8 through the pipe.’’. 

9 TITLE II—PIPELINE SPILL 

10 PREVENTION 

11 SEC. 201. ASSESSMENT OF OIL SPILL IMPACTS AND RE12 SPONSE IN THE GREAT LAKES. 

13 (a) ASSESSMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi15 nating Committee on Oil Pollution Research, in con16 sultation with the Secretary of the department in 

17 which the Coast Guard is operating, the Adminis18 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 

19 the heads of other relevant agencies, shall— 

20 (A) identify measures to respond to spills 

21 or leaks of oil in the Great Lakes; and 

22 (B) conduct an assessment of the effective23 ness of such measures in preventing significant 

24 or substantial harm to the public health or wel25 fare, including fish, shellfish, wildlife, public 


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1 and private property, shorelines, and beaches of 

2 the Great Lakes system. 

3 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required 

4 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

5 (A) new scientific research on the impacts 

6 of a spill or leak of oil or a hazardous substance 

7 in fresh water under a wide range of meteoro8 logical and hydrological conditions, including an 

9 evaluation of the impacts of different types of 

10 petroleum, including synthetic oil from tar 

11 sands; 

12 (B) an evaluation of oil spill or leak pre13 vention and response plans (including tech14 niques to address submerged oil recovery and 

15 recovery in ice-choked waters) in order to iden16 tify vulnerabilities and existing threats to the 

17 Great Lakes system; and 

18 (C) recommendations to foster improve19 ments to safety technologies, spill response 

20 planning, clean-up techniques, and environ21 mental protection systems. 

22 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency 

24 Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research shall 


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1 submit to Congress a report on the results of the assess2 ment required under subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 202. GREAT LAKES BASIN WATER CROSSING STUDY 

4 AND ALTERNATIVES ASSESSMENT. 

5 (a) SURVEY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans7 portation, working with pipeline facility owners, operators, 

8 and State governments, shall conduct a comprehensive 

9 water crossing survey of all intrastate and interstate haz10 ardous liquid pipeline facilities that cross waterways in the 

11 Great Lakes Basin in the waters of the United States (as 

12 defined in the final rule of the Corps of Engineers and 

13 the Environmental Protection Agency entitled ‘‘Clean 

14 Water Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ ’’ 

15 (80 Fed. Reg. 37054; June 29, 2015)). 

16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The survey required under sub17 section (a) shall— 

18 (1) produce a comprehensive map of all haz19 ardous pipeline waterway crossings in the Great 

20 Lakes Basin, including lakes, rivers, and streams; 

21 (2) evaluate the condition and structural integ22 rity of pipelines at each crossing, considering factors 

23 that include pipeline thickness, diameter, weld integ24 rity, internal and external corrosion, age, pressure, 


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1 control and shut-off valves, burial depths, water 

2 depths, currents, and ice cover; 

3 (3) identify risks of leak and rupture resulting 

4 from pipeline integrity failures, or any other vulner5 ability at the pipeline water crossings; 

6 (4) identify gaps in data and information that 

7 exist in the pipeline network in the Great Lakes 

8 Basin, and request information related to pipeline 

9 integrity or risks from owners and operators with fa10 cilities that cross lakes, rivers, and streams; and 

11 (5) produce recommendations to prevent future 

12 leaks, ruptures, and failures that could result in 

13 damage to waterways and natural resources in the 

14 Great Lakes Basin. 

15 (c) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STUDY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

18 Transportation shall enter into a joint agreement 

19 with the National Research Council of the National 

20 Academies of Sciences to conduct a study in connec21 tion with the survey under this section. 

22 (2) ELEMENTS.—The study conducted under 

23 this subsection shall include— 


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1 (A) a study covering the elements de2 scribed under paragraphs (4) and (5) of sub3 section (b); 

4 (B) consideration of ways in which review 

5 of facility response plans as required by the Oil 

6 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) 

7 and approval of permits under section 404 of 

8 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

9 U.S.C. 1344) in accordance with the National 

10 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

11 4321 et seq.) of future and existing pipelines 

12 that cross waterways in the Great Lakes Basin 

13 would help prevent spills in the Great Lakes; 

14 and 

15 (C) a risk assessment analysis for alter16 native transportation options to the hazardous 

17 liquid pipeline facility that crosses from the 

18 Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Lower Pe19 ninsula of Michigan through the Straits of 

20 Mackinac, including— 

21 (i) no action (status quo); 

22 (ii) rerouting; 

23 (iii) decommissioning and abandoning; 

24 (iv) replacing; 


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1 (v) modifying operations (such as lim2 iting pipeline product transport to only 

3 natural gas liquids); and 

4 (vi) other transportation means. 

5 SEC. 203. PROHIBITION ON TRANSPORT OF CRUDE OIL ON 

6 GREAT LAKES. 

7 Section 108 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

8 Act (33 U.S.C. 1258) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub10 section (f); and 

11 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON TRANSPORT OF CRUDE OIL ON

14 GREAT LAKES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

15 law, effective beginning on the date of enactment of the 

16 Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act of 2015, 

17 crude oil (as that term is defined in section 2101 of title 

18 46, United States Code) and crude oil derived from oil 

19 sands may not be transported on the Great Lakes by ves20 sel (as that term is defined in section 3 of title 1, United 

21 States Code).’’. 

22 SEC. 204. DEFINITION OF WORST CASE DISCHARGE. 

23 Section 311(a)(24)(B) of the Federal Water Pollu24 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(24)(B)) is amended 

25 by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘, including conditions in which waters that may receive 

2 a discharge are covered in whole or in part by ice’’. 

Æ 


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