I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6494 

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

transportation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 29, 2023 

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri (for himself, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 

NEHLS, and Mr. PAYNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

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

safety in pipeline transportation, 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 ‘‘Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety 

6 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘PIPES Act of 2023’’. 

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. 

Sec. 2. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Workforce development. 

Sec. 5. Regulatory updates. 

Sec. 6. Incorporation by reference. 

Sec. 7. Inspection activity reporting. 

Sec. 8. Technical safety standards committees. 

Sec. 9. Sense of Congress on PHMSA engagement prior to rulemaking activities. 

Sec. 10. Office of Public Engagement. 

Sec. 11. Class location changes. 

Sec. 12. Pipeline operating status. 

Sec. 13. Rights-of-way management. 

Sec. 14. Study on composite materials for pipelines. 

Sec. 15. Competitive Academic Agreement Program. 

Sec. 16. Geohazard mitigation study. 

Sec. 17. Special permit program. 

Sec. 18. Excavation damage prevention. 

Sec. 19. Integrity management study. 

Sec. 20. Hydrogen study. 

Sec. 21. Penalty for causing a defect in or disrupting operation of pipeline infrastructure. 

Sec. 22. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 23. Liquefied natural gas regulatory coordination. 

Sec. 24. Pipeline safety voluntary information-sharing system. 

Sec. 25. Carbon dioxide pipelines. 

Sec. 26. Opportunity for formal hearing. 

Sec. 27. State pipeline safety grants reporting. 

Sec. 28. Inspection of in-service breakout tanks. 

Sec. 29. Disclosure of safety information assessment. 

Sec. 30. Assessment of certain pipeline safety definitions. 

Sec. 31. Report assessing the costs of pipeline failures. 

Sec. 32. Study on localized emergency alert system for pipeline facilities incidents. 

1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

3 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

4 subsection (a) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(a) GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From fees collected under 

7 section 60301, there are authorized to be appro8 priated to the Secretary to carry out section 12 of 

9 the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 

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1 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355) and the 

2 provisions of this chapter relating to gas and haz3 ardous liquid— 

4 ‘‘(A) $181,400,000 for fiscal year 2024, of 

5 which— 

6 ‘‘(i) $9,000,000 shall be used to carry 

7 out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Im8 provement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 

9 note; Public Law 107–355); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) $73,000,000 shall be used for 

11 making grants; 

12 ‘‘(B) $189,800,000 for fiscal year 2025, of 

13 which— 

14 ‘‘(i) $9,000,000 shall be used to carry 

15 out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Im16 provement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 

17 note; Public Law 107–355); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) $75,000,000 shall be used for 

19 making grants; and 

20 ‘‘(C) $198,200,000 for fiscal year 2026, of 

21 which— 

22 ‘‘(i) $9,000,000 shall be used to carry 

23 out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Im24 provement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 

25 note; Public Law 107–355); and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) $77,000,000 shall be used for 

2 making grants; 

3 ‘‘(D) $206,600,000 for fiscal year 2027, of 

4 which— 

5 ‘‘(i) $9,000,000 shall be used to carry 

6 out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Im7 provement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 

8 note; Public Law 107–355); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) $79,000,000 shall be used for 

10 making grants. 

11 ‘‘(2) TRUST FUND AMOUNTS.—In addition to 

12 the amounts authorized to be appropriated under 

13 paragraph (1), there are authorized to be appro14 priated from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund es15 tablished by section 9509(a) of the Internal Revenue 

16 Code of 1986 to carry out section 12 of the Pipeline 

17 Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 

18 note; Public Law 107–355) and the provisions of 

19 this chapter relating to hazardous liquid— 

20 ‘‘(A) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, of 

21 which— 

22 ‘‘(i) $2,000,000, pursuant to the au23 thority in section 12(f) of the Pipeline 

24 Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 

25 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355), 

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1 shall be used to carry out section 12 of 

2 such Act; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) $11,000,000 shall be used for 

4 making grants; 

5 ‘‘(B) $30,500,000 for fiscal year 2025, of 

6 which— 

7 ‘‘(i) $2,000,000, pursuant to the au8 thority in section 12(f) of the Pipeline 

9 Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 

10 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355), 

11 shall be used to carry out section 12 of 

12 such Act; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) $11,500,000 shall be used for 

14 making grants; and 

15 ‘‘(C) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, of 

16 which— 

17 ‘‘(i) $2,000,000, pursuant to the au18 thority in section 12(f) of the Pipeline 

19 Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 

20 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355), 

21 shall be used to carry out section 12 of 

22 such Act; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) $12,000,000 shall be used for 

24 making grants; 

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1 ‘‘(D) $31,500,000 for fiscal year 2027, of 

2 which— 

3 ‘‘(i) $2,000,000, pursuant to the au4 thority in section 12(f) of the Pipeline 

5 Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 

6 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355), 

7 shall be used to carry out section 12 of 

8 such Act; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) $12,500,000 shall be used for 

10 making grants. 

11 ‘‘(3) UNDERGROUND NATURAL GAS STORAGE

12 FACILITY SAFETY ACCOUNT.—From fees collected 

13 under section 60302, there is authorized to be ap14 propriated to the Secretary to carry out section 

15 60141 $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

16 through 2027. 

17 ‘‘(4) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.—From 

18 amounts made available to the Secretary under 

19 paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall use, to 

20 carry out section 104(a) of the PIPES Act of 2023 

21 and section 102(c) of the Protecting our Infrastruc22 ture of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 

23 (Public Law 116–260)— 

24 ‘‘(A) $3,400,000 for fiscal year 2024, of 

25 which— 

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1 ‘‘(i) $2,890,000 shall be from 

2 amounts made available under paragraph 

3 (1)(A); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) $510,000 shall be from amounts 

5 made available under paragraph (2)(A); 

6 ‘‘(B) $5,100,000 for fiscal year 2025, of 

7 which— 

8 ‘‘(i) $4,335,000 shall be from 

9 amounts made available under paragraph 

10 (1)(B); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) $765,000 shall be from amounts 

12 made available under paragraph (2)(B); 

13 ‘‘(C) $6,800,000 for fiscal year 2026, of 

14 which— 

15 ‘‘(i) $5,780,000 shall be from 

16 amounts made available under paragraph 

17 (1)(C); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) $1,020,000 shall be from 

19 amounts made available under paragraph 

20 (2)(C); and 

21 ‘‘(D) $8,500,000 for fiscal year 2027, of 

22 which— 

23 ‘‘(i) $7,225,000 shall be from 

24 amounts made available under paragraph 

25 (1)(D); and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) $1,275,000 shall be from 

2 amounts made available under paragraph 

3 (2)(D).’’. 

4 (b) OPERATIONAL EXPENSES.—Section 2(b) of the 

5 PIPES Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–183; 130 Stat. 515) 

6 is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and 

7 inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

9 ‘‘(2) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

10 ‘‘(3) $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 

11 ‘‘(4) $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.’’. 

12 (c) ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION PROGRAMS.—Section 

13 6107 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by strik14 ing ‘‘$1,058,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

15 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,060,000 for each of fiscal years 

16 2024 through 2027’’. 

17 (d) EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANTS.—Section 

18 60125(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2021 through 2023’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘fiscal years 2024 through 2027’’. 

21 (e) PIPELINE SAFETY INFORMATION GRANTS TO

22 COMMUNITIES.—Section 60130(c)(1) of title 49, United 

23 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘$2,000,000 for each 

24 of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to carry out this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6494.IH H6494
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1 tion.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘, to carry out this sec2 tion, the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) $2,250,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

4 ‘‘(B) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

5 ‘‘(C) $2,750,000 for fiscal year 2026. 

6 ‘‘(D) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.’’. 

7 (f) DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAMS.—Section 

8 60134(i) of title 49, United States Code, is amended in 

9 the first sentence by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2021 through 

10 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2024 through 2027’’. 

11 (g) PIPELINE INTEGRITY PROGRAM.—Section 12(f) 

12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 

13 U.S.C. 60101 note) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘$3,000,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$2,000,000’’; and 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘2021 through 2023’’ and in17 serting ‘‘2024 through 2027’’. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

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

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (8)(B) by inserting ‘‘and car22 bon dioxide’’ after ‘‘hazardous liquid’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (18) by inserting ‘‘, a carbon 

24 dioxide pipeline facility,’’ after ‘‘gas pipeline facil25 ity’’; 

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1 (3) in paragraph (19) by inserting ‘‘, trans2 porting carbon dioxide,’’ after ‘‘transporting gas’’; 

3 (4) in paragraph (24) by inserting ‘‘, carbon di4 oxide,’’ after ‘‘a gas’’; 

5 (5) in paragraph (25) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

8 (4), (5), (6), (9), (7), (10), (8), (11), (12), (13), 

9 (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (23), (24), (25), 

10 (20), (21), (22), and (26) as paragraphs (4), (5), 

11 (6), (7), (8), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), 

12 (18), (19), (20), (21), (23), (24), (25), (27), (28), 

13 (29), (30), (32), (33), and (35), respectively, and 

14 transferring the paragraphs so as to appear in nu15 merical order; 

16 (7) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so re17 designated, the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) ‘carbon dioxide’ means a product stream 

19 consisting of more than 50 percent carbon dioxide 

20 molecules in any state of matter except solid; 

21 ‘‘(2) ‘carbon dioxide pipeline facility’— 

22 ‘‘(A) means a pipeline, a right of way, a 

23 facility, a building, or equipment used, or in24 tended to be used, in transporting carbon dioxVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6494.IH H6494
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1 ide or treating carbon dioxide during the trans2 portation of such carbon dioxide; but 

3 ‘‘(B) does not include any storage facility, 

4 piping, or equipment covered by the exclusion in 

5 section 60102(i)(3)(B)(ii); 

6 ‘‘(3) ‘de-identified’ means the process by which 

7 all information that is likely to establish the identity 

8 of the specific persons, organizations, or entities 

9 submitting reports, data, or other information is re10 moved from reports, data, or other information;’’; 

11 (8) by inserting after paragraph (8), as so re12 designated, the following: 

13 ‘‘(9) ‘interstate carbon dioxide pipeline facility’ 

14 means a carbon dioxide pipeline facility used to 

15 transport carbon dioxide in interstate or foreign 

16 commerce; 

17 ‘‘(10) ‘intrastate carbon dioxide pipeline facility’ 

18 means a carbon dioxide pipeline facility that is not 

19 an interstate carbon dioxide facility;’’; 

20 (9) by inserting after paragraph (21), as so re21 designated, the following: 

22 ‘‘(22) ‘non-public pipeline safety data and infor23 mation’ means any pipeline safety data or informa24 tion regardless of form or format, that a company 

25 does not disclose, disseminate, or make available to 

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1 the public or that is not otherwise in the public do2 main;’’; 

3 (10) by inserting after paragraph (25), as so 

4 redesignated, the following: 

5 ‘‘(26) ‘public information’ means any data or 

6 information, regardless of form or format, that a 

7 company discloses, disseminates, or makes available 

8 to the public or that is otherwise in the public do9 main;’’; 

10 (11) by inserting after paragraph (30), as so 

11 redesignated, the following: 

12 ‘‘(31) ‘transporting carbon dioxide’ means the 

13 movement of carbon dioxide or the storage of carbon 

14 dioxide incidental to the movement of carbon dioxide 

15 by pipeline, in or affecting, interstate or foreign 

16 commerce;’’; and 

17 (12) by inserting after paragraph (33), as so 

18 redesignated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(34) ‘Tribal’ means relating to Indian Tribes, 

20 as such term is defined in section 102 of the Feder21 ally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 

22 U.S.C. 5130); and’’. 

23 SEC. 4. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 

24 (a) ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOY25 EES.—In addition to the personnel level authorized for the 

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1 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 

2 as of the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

3 of such Administration may increase the number of full4 time equivalent employees in the Office of Pipeline Safety 

5 by not more than 30 positions for employees who have 

6 advanced engineering, scientific, or other technical exper7 tise (or equivalent experience) to— 

8 (1) develop and implement pipeline safety poli9 cies and regulations; and 

10 (2) fulfill congressional rulemaking mandates. 

11 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans13 portation shall submit to Congress a report on— 

14 (1) any progress made on implementation of 

15 subsection (a); 

16 (2) the implementation of the recruitment and 

17 retention incentives authorized in section 102 of the 

18 PIPES Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–260); 

19 (3) barriers and challenges to hiring and reten20 tion at the Administration; 

21 (4) staffing levels of inspection and enforcement 

22 personnel of the Administration; and 

23 (5) any additional workforce needs of the Ad24 ministration. 

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1 (c) EFFECT ON EXISTING REGULATION.—Section 

2 102(c) of the PIPES Act of 2020 (49 U.S.C. 60101 note) 

3 is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(3) EFFECT ON EXISTING REGULATION.—In 

6 implementing the incentives described in paragraph 

7 (1), the Secretary, in consultation with the Adminis8 trator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safe9 ty Administration, may waive existing regulations.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. REGULATORY UPDATES. 

11 (a) DEFINITION OF OUTSTANDING MANDATE.—In 

12 this section, the term ‘‘outstanding mandate’’ means— 

13 (1) a final rule required to be issued under the 

14 Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Cre15 ation Act of 2011 (Public Law 112–90) that has not 

16 been published in the Federal Register; 

17 (2) a final rule required to be issued under the 

18 PIPES Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–183) that has 

19 not been published in the Federal Register; 

20 (3) a final rule required to be issued under the 

21 PIPES Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–260) that has 

22 not been published in the Federal Register; and 

23 (4) any other final rule regarding gas or haz24 ardous liquid pipeline facilities that— 

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1 (A) has not been published in the Federal 

2 Register; and 

3 (B) is required to be issued under this Act 

4 or any other Act. 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 (1) PERIODIC UPDATES.—Not later than 30 

7 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

8 every 30 days thereafter until each outstanding 

9 mandate is published in the Federal Register, the 

10 Secretary of Transportation shall publish on a pub11 licly available website of the Department of Trans12 portation an update regarding the status of each 

13 such mandate in accordance with subsection (c). 

14 (2) NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESS.—On publica15 tion of a final rule in the Federal Register for an 

16 outstanding mandate, the Secretary shall submit to 

17 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans18 portation of the Senate and the Committees on 

19 Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and 

20 Commerce of the House of Representatives a notifi21 cation of such publication. 

22 (c) CONTENTS.—An update published or a notifica23 tion submitted under subsection (b)(1) shall contain, as 

24 applicable— 

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1 (1) with respect to information relating to the 

2 Administration— 

3 (A) a description of the work plan for each 

4 outstanding mandate; 

5 (B) an updated rulemaking timeline for 

6 each outstanding mandate; 

7 (C) the staff allocations with respect to 

8 each outstanding mandate; 

9 (D) any resource constraints affecting the 

10 rulemaking process for each outstanding man11 date; 

12 (E) any other details associated with the 

13 development of each outstanding mandate that 

14 affect the progress of the rulemaking process 

15 with respect to that outstanding mandate; and 

16 (F) a description of all rulemakings re17 garding gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facili18 ties published in the Federal Register that are 

19 not identified under subsection (b)(2); and 

20 (2) with respect to information relating to the 

21 Office of the Secretary— 

22 (A) the date that the outstanding mandate 

23 was submitted to the Office of the Secretary for 

24 review; 

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1 (B) the reason that the outstanding man2 date is under review beyond 45 days; 

3 (C) the staff allocations within the Office 

4 of the Secretary with respect to each out5 standing mandate; 

6 (D) any resource constraints affecting re7 view of the outstanding mandate; 

8 (E) an estimated timeline of when review 

9 of the outstanding mandate will be complete, as 

10 of the date of the update; 

11 (F) if applicable, the date that the out12 standing mandate was returned to the Adminis13 tration for revision and the anticipated date for 

14 resubmission to the Office of the Secretary; 

15 (G) the date that the outstanding mandate 

16 was submitted to the Office of Management and 

17 Budget for review; and 

18 (H) a statement of whether the out19 standing mandate remains under review by the 

20 Office of Management and Budget. 

21 SEC. 6. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 60102 of title 49, United 

23 States Code, is amended by striking subsection (l) and in24 serting the following: 

25 ‘‘(l) UPDATING STANDARDS.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

2 once every 4 years, or if an interested person other3 wise petitions in accordance with section 190.331 of 

4 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

5 regulation), the Secretary shall review, and update 

6 as necessary, incorporated industry standards that 

7 have been adopted, either partially or in full, as part 

8 of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program 

9 under this chapter that are modified and published 

10 by a standards development organization, as such 

11 term is defined in section 2(a) of the National Coop12 erative Research and Production Act of 1993 (15 

13 U.S.C. 4301(a)). 

14 ‘‘(2) DISCRETION IN ADOPTING INDUSTRY

15 STANDARDS.—The Secretary may decline to adopt 

16 an industry standard that is inconsistent with appli17 cable law or otherwise impracticable, including in 

18 circumstances where the use of an industry standard 

19 would not serve the needs of the Federal pipeline 

20 safety regulatory program, or would impose undue 

21 burdens. 

22 ‘‘(3) LIST OF INDUSTRY STANDARDS.—The 

23 Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) maintain a publicly available list of 

25 all industry standards considered for adoption 

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1 under this chapter and the agency’s adjudica2 tion of each considered standard; 

3 ‘‘(B) include the reasoning for not adopt4 ing an industry standard, whether in full or in 

5 part, on the list under subparagraph (A); and 

6 ‘‘(C) submit to the Committee on Trans7 portation and Infrastructure and the Com8 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

9 of Representatives and the Committee on Com10 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen11 ate such list not later than— 

12 ‘‘(i) 30 days after completion of such 

13 list; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) 30 days after the date of any 

15 subsequent revisions to such list. 

16 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY.—Any industry 

17 standards incorporated by reference, or portions 

18 thereof, shall be made available by the entity that 

19 developed such standards free of charge for viewing 

20 on a publicly available website.’’. 

21 (b) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

23 of the United States shall— 

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1 (1) conduct a review to determine compliance 

2 with section 60102(l)(4) of title 49, United States 

3 Code; and 

4 (2) submit to the Committee on Transportation 

5 and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy 

6 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and 

7 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans8 portation of the Senate a report on the review con9 ducted under paragraph (1). 

10 SEC. 7. INSPECTION ACTIVITY REPORTING. 

11 (a) INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT PRIORITIES.— 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish, and 

14 make available to the public in an electronically accessible 

15 format, a report containing the inspection and enforce16 ment priorities of the Office of Pipeline Safety of the Pipe17 line and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for 

18 fiscal years 2024 through 2027. Such report shall include 

19 a description of— 

20 (1) how the Administrator will use the priorities 

21 to guide the inspection program of such Office; 

22 (2) how the inspection and enforcement prior23 ities will improve pipeline safety; and 

24 (3) how the Administrator communicates and 

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1 forcement priorities with regional offices and State 

2 inspectors operating under delegated authority. 

3 (b) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Prior to publication of 

4 the inspection and enforcement priorities under subsection 

5 (a), the Administrator shall solicit through notice in the 

6 Federal Register public comment on such priorities. 

7 (c) SUMMARY OF PIPELINE INSPECTIONS.—Not later 

8 than June 1 of each year beginning with the year after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

10 make available to the public in an electronically accessible 

11 format a summary of Federal and State pipeline inspec12 tions conducted under direct or delegated authority of title 

13 49, United States Code, during the previous calendar year, 

14 to include— 

15 (1) the date of the inspection; 

16 (2) the name of the pipeline owner or operator; 

17 (3) the pipeline system or segment inspected; 

18 (4) the region or regions of the Pipeline and 

19 Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in which 

20 the inspected system or segment operates; 

21 (5) the State or States in which the inspected 

22 system or segment operates; and 

23 (6) any violations, or proposed violations, found 

24 as a result of pipeline inspections. 

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1 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL SAFETY STANDARDS COMMITTEES. 

2 (a) COMMITTEE REPORTS ON PROPOSED STAND3 ARDS.—Section 60115(c)(1) of title 49, United States 

4 Code, is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘, if appli6 cable’’ after ‘‘each proposed standard’’; and 

7 (2) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ‘‘, if appli8 cable’’ after ‘‘each proposed standard’’. 

9 (b) REPORT.—Section 60115(c)(2) of title 49, United 

10 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and provide written 

11 notification of such reasons to the Committee on Trans12 portation and Infrastructure and the Committee on En13 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and 

14 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

15 of the Senate at the time a final rulemaking relating to 

16 the standard is issued’’ after ‘‘publish the reasons’’. 

17 (c) FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS.—Section 60115(e) of 

18 title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘up 

19 to 4’’ and inserting ‘‘2’’. 

20 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PHMSA ENGAGEMENT 

21 PRIOR TO RULEMAKING ACTIVITIES. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that— 

23 (1) the Secretary of Transportation should en24 gage with pipeline stakeholder groups, including 

25 State pipeline safety programs with an approved cer26 tification under section 60105 of title 49, United 

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1 States Code, and the public during predrafting 

2 stages of rulemaking activities and use, to the great3 est extent practicable, properly docketed ex parte 

4 discussions during rulemaking activities in order 

5 to— 

6 (A) inform the work of the Secretary; 

7 (B) assist the Administrator of the Pipe8 line and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminis9 tration in developing the scope of a rule; and 

10 (C) reduce the timeline for issuance of pro11 posed and final rules; and 

12 (2) when it would reduce the time required for 

13 the Secretary to adjudicate public comments, the 

14 Administrator should publicly provide information 

15 describing the rationale behind a regulatory decision 

16 included in proposed regulations in order to better 

17 allow for the public to provide clear and informed 

18 comments on such regulations. 

19 SEC. 10. OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. 

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

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor22 tation shall rename the Community Liaison Services with23 in the Office of Pipeline Safety of the Pipeline and Haz24 ardous Materials Safety Administration as the Office of 

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1 Public Engagement (hereinafter in this section referred to 

2 as the ‘‘Office’’). 

3 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Office are to— 

4 (1) proactively engage with pipeline stake5 holders, including the public, pipeline operators, 

6 public safety organizations, and government officials, 

7 to raise awareness of pipeline safety practices; 

8 (2) promote the adoption and increased use of 

9 safety programs and activities; 

10 (3) inform the public of pipeline safety regula11 tions and best practices; and 

12 (4) assist the public with inquiries regarding 

13 pipeline safety. 

14 (c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Office shall ensure that 

15 activities carried out by the Office and information prod16 ucts developed by the Office are accessible to the public. 

17 (d) COMMUNITY LIAISONS.—The Office shall incor18 porate positions known as ‘‘community liaisons’’ under the 

19 Community Liaison Services. 

20 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

22 to Congress a report on the implementation of this section. 

23 SEC. 11. CLASS LOCATION CHANGES. 

24 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe 

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1 a final rule amending the safety standards for class loca2 tion changes in parts 191 and 192 of title 49, Code of 

3 Federal Regulations, based on the notice of proposed rule4 making published by the Pipeline and Hazardous Mate5 rials Safety Administration on October 14, 2020, titled 

6 ‘‘Pipeline Safety: Class Location Change Requirements’’ 

7 (85 Fed. Reg. 65142), including consideration of all docu8 ments in Docket No. PHMSA–2017–0151. 

9 SEC. 12. PIPELINE OPERATING STATUS. 

10 Section 60143(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the date of enactment of the PIPES Act of 

16 2023, the Secretary shall issue a notice of proposed 

17 rulemaking prescribing the applicability of the pipe18 line safety requirements to idled natural gas or other 

19 gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines.’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) in paragraph (2) by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(E) CONSIDERATION.—In promulgating 

24 regulations under this section, the Secretary 

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1 shall consider the adoption of industry con2 sensus standards.’’. 

3 SEC. 13. RIGHTS-OF-WAY MANAGEMENT. 

4 Section 60108(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF MAINTAINING

7 RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As part of the review con9 ducted under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall 

10 allow for an alternative method of maintaining 

11 rights-of-way for pipelines and other pipeline facili12 ties under a voluntary program carried out by the 

13 operator if such alternative method achieves a level 

14 of safety at least equal to the level of safety required 

15 by regulations issued under this chapter. 

16 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—An operator considering im17 plementing an alternative method described under 

18 subparagraph (A) may consider incorporating into 

19 the plan for implementing such method 1 or more 

20 conservation practices, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) integrated vegetation management 

22 practices, including reduced mowing; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the development of habitat and forage 

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1 ing or planting of diverse native forbs and 

2 grasses; 

3 ‘‘(iii) practices relating to maintenance 

4 strategies that promote early successional vege5 tation or limit disturbance during periods of 

6 highest use by target pollinator species and 

7 other wildlife on pipeline or facilities rights-of8 way, including— 

9 ‘‘(I) increasing mowing height; 

10 ‘‘(II) reducing mowing frequency; and 

11 ‘‘(III) refraining from mowing mon12 arch and other pollinator habitat during 

13 periods in which monarchs or other polli14 nators are present; 

15 ‘‘(iv) an integrated vegetation management 

16 plan that may include approaches such as me17 chanical tree and brush removal and targeted 

18 and judicious use of herbicides and mowing to 

19 address incompatible or undesirable vegetation 

20 while promoting compatible and beneficial vege21 tation on pipeline and facilities rights-of-way; 

22 ‘‘(v) planting or seeding of deeply rooted, 

23 regionally appropriate perennial grasses and 

24 wildflowers, including milkweed, to enhance 

25 habitat; 

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1 ‘‘(vi) removing shallow-rooted grasses from 

2 planting and seeding mixes, except for use as 

3 nurse or cover crops; or 

4 ‘‘(vii) obtaining expert training or assist5 ance on wildlife and pollinator-friendly prac6 tices, including— 

7 ‘‘(I) native plant identification; 

8 ‘‘(II) establishment and management 

9 of regionally appropriate native plants; 

10 ‘‘(III) land management practices; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(IV) integrated vegetation manage13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(C) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section 

15 exempts an operator from compliance with the appli16 cable requirements under this chapter or any appli17 cable regulations promulgated under this chapter. 

18 ‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) AVAILABLE GUIDANCE.—In developing 

20 such alternative methods, an operator shall con21 sult any available guidance issued by— 

22 ‘‘(I) the Secretary; or 

23 ‘‘(II) an applicable State agency car24 rying out compliance activities on behalf of 

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1 the Secretary in accordance with section 

2 60105. 

3 ‘‘(ii) LEADING INDUSTRY PRACTICES.—In 

4 the absence of the guidance described in clause 

5 (i), an operator may consult leading industry 

6 practices and guidance to develop and imple7 ment such alternative methods.’’. 

8 SEC. 14. STUDY ON COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR PIPE9 LINES. 

10 (a) STUDY ON USE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS.— 

11 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

12 Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall complete a 

13 study assessing the potential and existing use of pipelines 

14 constructed with composite materials to safely transport 

15 hydrogen and hydrogen blended with natural gas. 

16 (b) STUDY CONSIDERATIONS.—In completing the 

17 study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider— 

18 (1) any commercially available composite pipe19 line materials; 

20 (2) any completed or ongoing tests and data re21 garding composite pipeline materials available to the 

22 Secretary or other Federal agencies; and 

23 (3) any recommended standards, including con24 sensus standards, and Federal agency authorizations 

25 relating to use of composite pipeline materials. 

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1 (c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—To ensure adequate 

2 public participation in completing the study under sub3 section (a), the Secretary shall— 

4 (1) hold a public meeting with interested stake5 holders, including the affected industries, interest 

6 groups, and other individuals with relevant expertise; 

7 (2) release a draft version of the study for pub8 lic comment for a period of not less than 60 days; 

9 and 

10 (3) address any substantive comments sub11 mitted by the public during the public comment pe12 riod under paragraph (2) in preparing the final 

13 study. 

14 (d) PUBLIC MEETING.—Not later than 60 days after 

15 the closing of the public comment period under subsection 

16 (c)(2), the Secretary shall hold a public meeting to present 

17 the findings of the study under this section and any re18 sponses to public comments received under such sub19 section. 

20 SEC. 15. COMPETITIVE ACADEMIC AGREEMENT PROGRAM. 

21 (a) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Competi23 tive Academic Agreement Program pursuant to sec24 tion 60117(l) of title 49, United States Code, the 

25 Secretary of Transportation may allow for a 100- 

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1 percent Federal share of financial assistance for a 

2 project carried out by small and mid-sized institu3 tions. 

4 (2) WRITTEN REQUEST REQUIRED.—The Sec5 retary may only allow the use of a 100-percent Fed6 eral share under paragraph (1) if the applicable in7 stitution has provided a written request to the Sec8 retary prior to the award of Federal assistance 

9 under such Program. 

10 (3) SMALL AND MID-SIZED INSTITUTIONS DE11 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘small and 

12 mid-sized institutions’’ means academic institutions 

13 eligible for a grant under the Competitive Academic 

14 Agreement Program with a current total enrollment 

15 of 17,500 students or less, including graduate and 

16 undergraduate as well as full- and part-time stu17 dents. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Following any award of grants under 

19 the Competitive Academic Agreement Program, the Sec20 retary shall provide to Congress a written report detail21 ing— 

22 (1) the recipients of such grants; and 

23 (2) any grantees that were provided a 100-per24 cent Federal share under this section. 

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1 SEC. 16. GEOHAZARD MITIGATION STUDY. 

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

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

4 of the United States shall prepare a report containing— 

5 (1) the results of a study that— 

6 (A) evaluates Federal and State, as appli7 cable, requirements for gas, hazardous liquid, 

8 and carbon dioxide pipeline facility design, 

9 siting, construction, operation and maintenance, 

10 and integrity management relating to 

11 geohazards, including seismicity, land subsid12 ence, landslides, slope instability, frost heave, 

13 soil settlement, erosion, river scour, washouts, 

14 floods, unstable soil, water currents, hurricanes, 

15 dynamic geologic conditions, tsunamis, tor16 nados, wildfires, floods, ice storms, or other 

17 hazards that may cause a pipeline to move or 

18 be affected by abnormal external loads; 

19 (B) evaluates any industry consensus 

20 standards or best practices related to the re21 quirements described in subparagraph (A); 

22 (C) evaluates the implementation by opera23 tors of Federal and State regulations related to 

24 geohazards and application of recommendations 

25 included in the Advisory Bulletin of the Pipeline 

26 and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 

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1 titled ‘‘Pipeline Safety: Potential for Damage to 

2 Pipeline Facilities Caused by Earth Movement 

3 and Other Geological Hazards’’, issued on May 

4 2, 2019 (PHMSA–019–0087); 

5 (D) identifies any discrepancies in the re6 quirements described in subparagraph (A) and 

7 advisories, industry consensus standards, or 

8 best practices for operators of gas, hazardous 

9 liquid, and carbon dioxide pipeline facilities; 

10 and 

11 (E) identifies any areas relating to 

12 geohazards not addressed under subparagraphs 

13 (A) through (D); and 

14 (2) any recommendations of the Government 

15 Accountability Office based on the results of the 

16 study under paragraph (1). 

17 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Upon completion of the 

18 report under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 

19 submit to the Secretary of Transportation, the Committee 

20 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

21 Representatives, the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

22 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

23 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the 

24 report. 

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1 SEC. 17. SPECIAL PERMIT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) COMPLIANCE AND WAIVERS.—Section 

3 60118(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON TERMS.—The Sec6 retary shall impose no terms on a waiver under 

7 this paragraph that do not apply to known 

8 pipeline safety risks applicable to the standard 

9 being waived under subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(D) PUBLICATION.—Upon completion of 

11 the application requirements under section 

12 190.341 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula13 tions, or successor regulations, the Secretary 

14 shall publish notice of the application in the 

15 Federal Register. 

16 ‘‘(E) REVIEW OF APPLICATION.—The Sec17 retary shall complete a review of each such ap18 plication not later than 18 months after pub19 lishing a notice in the Federal Register de20 scribed in subparagraph (D) with respect to the 

21 application.’’. 

22 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

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

25 Transportation shall submit to the Committee on 

26 Transportation and Infrastructure and Committee 

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1 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

3 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

4 on the implementation by the Administrator of the 

5 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminis6 tration of the amendment made by subsection (a). 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 

8 paragraph (1) shall include— 

9 (A) a listing of each special permit applica10 tion applied for under section 60118(c)(1) of 

11 title 49, United States Code; 

12 (B) a brief summary of the purpose of 

13 each such special permit; 

14 (C) the date on which each such applica15 tion was received; 

16 (D) the date on which each such applica17 tion was completed or, in the absence of com18 pletion, the status of the application; 

19 (E) the date on which the Secretary issued 

20 a determination on the application; and 

21 (F) the explanation of the Secretary for 

22 any decision made outside the review period 

23 identified in section 60118(c)(1)(E) of title 49, 

24 United States Code, if applicable. 

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1 (c) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 submission of the report under subsection (b), the Comp3 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 

4 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the 

5 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

6 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report assess8 ing the Secretary’s implementation of, and compliance 

9 with, subparagraphs (C) through (E) of section 

10 60118(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code. 

11 SEC. 18. EXCAVATION DAMAGE PREVENTION. 

12 (a) GRANTS TO STATES.—Section 6106 of title 49, 

13 United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘adoption or 

15 progress toward adoption of the leading practices 

16 listed in subsection (b) and’’ before ‘‘legislative and 

17 regulatory’’; 

18 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

19 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

20 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(b) LEADING PRACTICES.—A State one-call pro23 gram shall consider implementing leading practices that— 

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1 ‘‘(1) identify the size and scope of a one-call 

2 ticket for standard locate requests, including process 

3 exceptions for special large project tickets; 

4 ‘‘(2) restrict the longevity of a one-call ticket 

5 for standard locate requests, which may include 

6 process exceptions for special large project tickets; 

7 ‘‘(3) examine and limit exemptions to one-call 

8 programs to prevent common excavation damage in9 cidents, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) excavation or demolition performed 

11 by the owner of a single-family residential prop12 erty; 

13 ‘‘(B) any excavation of 18 inches or less 

14 when maintenance activities are performed; 

15 ‘‘(C) repairing, connecting, adjusting, or 

16 conducting routine maintenance of a private or 

17 public underground utility facility; and 

18 ‘‘(D) municipalities, public works organiza19 tions, and State departments of transportation 

20 for road maintenance; 

21 ‘‘(4) specify tolerance zone horizontal dimen22 sions and requirements for hand-dig, hydro, vacuum 

23 excavation, and other nonintrusive methods; 

24 ‘‘(5) specify emergency excavation notification 

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1 vation and identifying the notification requirements 

2 for an emergency excavation; 

3 ‘‘(6) specify the responsibilities of the exca4 vator, including the reporting of damages due to ex5 cavation activities; 

6 ‘‘(7) define who is an excavator and what is 

7 considered excavation; 

8 ‘‘(8) require the use of white lining or electronic 

9 white lining; 

10 ‘‘(9) require a positive response, such as the 

11 utility, municipality, or other entity placing the 

12 marks positively responds to the notification center 

13 and the excavator checks for a positive response be14 fore beginning excavation; 

15 ‘‘(10) encourage newly installed underground 

16 facilities to be locatable; 

17 ‘‘(11) require the marking of lines and laterals, 

18 including sewer lines and laterals; 

19 ‘‘(12) encourage training programs and require20 ments for third-party excavators performing exca21 vation activities that are not subject to pipeline con22 struction requirements under part 192 or part 195 

23 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; 

24 ‘‘(13) encourage robust training for locate pro25 fessionals; and 

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1 ‘‘(14) encourage the use of commercially avail2 able technologies to locate underground facilities, 

3 such as geographic information systems and en4 hanced positive response.’’. 

5 (b) STATE DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAMS.—Sec6 tion 60134(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘In making grants’’ and insert9 ing the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In making grants’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating criteria 

13 for determining the effectiveness of the damage pre14 vention program of a State, the Secretary shall con15 sider whether the State has, at a minimum— 

16 ‘‘(A) effective, active, and consistent en17 forcement of State one-call laws (including con18 sistency in the application of enforcement re19 sources, fines, and penalties to all relevant 

20 stakeholders, such as operators, locators, and 

21 excavators); 

22 ‘‘(B) reporting requirements, to the local 

23 one-call center for excavation damage events on 

24 pipelines and other underground facilities, that 

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1 are not privately owned, including (if available 

2 at the time of the reporting)— 

3 ‘‘(i) information about the nature of 

4 the incident, including the facility damaged 

5 and the apparent cause of such damage 

6 (with supporting documentation); 

7 ‘‘(ii) the organizations or entities in8 volved; 

9 ‘‘(iii) the impact to public safety, util10 ity operations, and customer service; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) the impact to the environment; 

12 ‘‘(C) data reporting requirements, to a 

13 nonprofit organization specifically established 

14 for the purpose of reducing construction-related 

15 damage to underground facilities, of damage 

16 and near-miss events to underground facilities 

17 from excavation damage, including root cause, 

18 facility damaged, type of excavator, work per19 formed, equipment type, and State; and 

20 ‘‘(D) performance measures to determine 

21 the effectiveness of excavation damage preven22 tion efforts.’’. 

23 SEC. 19. INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT STUDY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after the 

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1 tation shall enter into an agreement with the National 

2 Academies under which the National Academies shall con3 duct a study of the effectiveness of integrity management 

4 regulations applicable to natural gas and hazardous liquid 

5 pipeline facilities. 

6 (b) DATA SOURCES.—In carrying out the study 

7 under subsection (a), the National Academies shall— 

8 (1) use publicly available data from the Pipeline 

9 and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 

10 State pipeline regulatory agencies, and other public 

11 sources; and 

12 (2) consult with pipeline stakeholders in the de13 velopment of findings under the study, including 

14 State and Federal regulators, pipeline operators, 

15 public safety organizations, and environmental orga16 nizations. 

17 (c) ELEMENTS.—The study described under sub18 section (a) shall include— 

19 (1) a review of previous assessments of integrity 

20 management program implementation produced by 

21 or for the Secretary or the National Transportation 

22 Safety Board; 

23 (2) a review of the implementation and enforce24 ment by the Secretary of integrity management reg25 ulations and any modifications of the regulations 

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1 issued by the Secretary pursuant to section 60109 of 

2 title 49, United States Code; 

3 (3) a trend analysis and assessment of pipeline 

4 safety incidents, accidents, and repairs for high con5 sequence and non-high consequence areas, including 

6 comparing— 

7 (A) the frequency of such incidents, acci8 dents, and repairs before and after the imple9 mentation of the Federal integrity management 

10 requirements described in subsection (a); and 

11 (B) the frequency of such incidents, acci12 dents, and repairs during the period of time 

13 such integrity management requirements have 

14 been in effect; 

15 (4) development of metrics to gauge the effec16 tiveness of the implementation and enforcement of 

17 such integrity management regulations; 

18 (5) an assessment of how integrity management 

19 informs operator activities, including planning and 

20 completion of repairs, and whether the implementa21 tion of integrity management regulations by opera22 tors of pipeline facilities has had a demonstrable ef23 fect on improving gas and hazardous liquid pipeline 

24 safety; and 

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1 (6) identification of areas where pipeline safety 

2 has improved and where it has not improved due to 

3 integrity management. 

4 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall— 

5 (1) require the National Academies to submit to 

6 the Secretary a report on the results of the study 

7 under subsection (a); and 

8 (2) not later than 2 years after the date of en9 actment of this Act, submit to the Committee on 

10 Transportation and Infrastructure and the Com11 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

12 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate such re14 port. 

15 SEC. 20. HYDROGEN STUDY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

17 United States shall conduct a study on existing natural 

18 gas pipeline systems that, as a result of hydrogen-natural 

19 gas blending, contain a percentage of hydrogen that is 

20 greater than 5 percent by volume to identify the changes 

21 that operators have implemented, including— 

22 (1) modifications or alternatives to— 

23 (A) odorants and leak-detection methods; 

24 (B) pipeline materials; and 

25 (C) operational standards; and 

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1 (2) modifications to pipeline infrastructure. 

2 (b) ADDITIONAL CONTENTS.—The study under sub3 section (a) shall include— 

4 (1) an identification of any technical challenges 

5 with repurposing existing natural gas infrastructure 

6 to allow such infrastructure to be used for hydrogen7 natural gas blended service; and 

8 (2) an examination of hydrogen-natural gas 

9 blended pipeline systems currently operating, includ10 ing in the United States, the United Kingdom, Can11 ada, Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong. 

12 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 

13 under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall con14 sider— 

15 (1) any changes that domestic and international 

16 operators of natural gas pipeline systems have im17 plemented to the processes, pipeline materials, me18 tering, and operational standards used by such oper19 ators to account for the operation and integrity of 

20 natural gas pipeline systems that use a hydrogen 

21 content at variable percentages above 5 percent by 

22 volume; and 

23 (2) how such operators have taken into account 

24 the effects of hydrogen-natural gas blending on dif25 ferent types of— 

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1 (A) natural gas pipeline systems materials, 

2 including cast iron, steel, composite pipe, and 

3 plastic pipe; and 

4 (B) components of such systems, including 

5 valves and meters. 

6 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

8 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra9 structure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

10 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

12 report on the results of the study conducted under sub13 section (a). 

14 (e) RULEMAKING.—The results of the study under 

15 subsection (a) should inform the rulemaking efforts of the 

16 Secretary relating to hydrogen-natural gas blending. The 

17 Secretary may determine that rulemaking efforts related 

18 to hydrogen should be advanced before completion of the 

19 study under subsection (a). 

20 (f) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

21 section shall be construed to prohibit or otherwise limit 

22 the authority of the Secretary to issue regulations relating 

23 to hydrogen prior to the submission of the report under 

24 subsection (d). 

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1 SEC. 21. PENALTY FOR CAUSING A DEFECT IN OR DIS2 RUPTING OPERATION OF PIPELINE INFRA3 STRUCTURE. 

4 Section 60123 of title 49, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(e) PENALTY FOR CAUSING A DEFECT IN OR DIS7 RUPTING OPERATION OF PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person shall be fined 

9 under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 10 

10 years, or both, if the person knowingly and will11 fully— 

12 ‘‘(A) causes a defect in a pipe, pump, com13 pressor, or valve in the possession of a pipeline 

14 operator to be used in construction of any pipe15 line facility described in subsection (b) that 

16 would affect the integrity or safe operation of 

17 any such facility; or 

18 ‘‘(B) disrupts the operation of any pipeline 

19 facility described in subsection (b) by causing 

20 or undertaking the unauthorized or unplanned 

21 turning or manipulation of a valve. 

22 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

23 ‘in the possession of a pipeline operator’ means, with 

24 respect to a pipe, pump, compressor, or valve, that 

25 such pipe, pump, compressor, or valve is— 

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1 ‘‘(A) in transit to a pipeline component 

2 staging site or construction site; 

3 ‘‘(B) at a pipeline component staging site; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(C) at a construction site.’’. 

6 SEC. 22. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

7 Section 60122(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$2,500,000’’. 

10 SEC. 23. LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS REGULATORY COORDI11 NATION. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Secretary 

13 of Transportation shall establish and convene a Liquefied 

14 Natural Gas Regulatory Safety Working Group (in this 

15 section referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’) through the 

16 National Center of Excellence for Liquefied Natural Gas 

17 Safety to clarify the authority of Federal agencies in the 

18 authorizing and oversight of LNG facilities, other than 

19 peak shaving facilities, and improve coordination of the 

20 authority of such agencies. 

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group shall 

23 consist of certain representatives of the Federal gov24 ernment, as such term is defined in section 

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1 lic Law 116–260), as designated by the Secretary of 

2 Transportation or appropriate Federal agency lead3 ership. 

4 (2) CHAIR.—The Administrator of the Pipeline 

5 and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration or a 

6 designee of the Administrator shall serve as chair of 

7 the Working Group, unless an alternate member of 

8 the working group is selected by unanimous consent 

9 of the Working Group. 

10 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHAIR.—The Chair 

11 of the Working Group shall establish an agenda and 

12 schedule for the Working Group to accomplish the 

13 objectives described in subsection (c). 

14 (c) EVALUATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group shall 

16 evaluate individual Federal agency authorities per17 taining to the siting and design, construction, oper18 ation and maintenance, and operational and process 

19 safety regulations of LNG facilities. 

20 (2) NEGOTIATION.—The Working Group shall 

21 negotiate Federal agency agreements pursuant to 

22 subsection (d) to establish procedures for— 

23 (A) the application of the respective au24 thorities of each Federal agency in ensuring 

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1 safety in a manner to ensure effective regula2 tion of LNG facilities in the public interest; 

3 (B) resolving conflicts concerning overlap4 ping jurisdiction among the Federal agencies; 

5 and 

6 (C) avoiding, to the extent possible and if 

7 appropriate, conflicting or duplicative regula8 tion, inspection protocols, and reporting obliga9 tions. 

10 (d) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING AND INTER11 AGENCY AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the agencies represented 

13 on the Working Group shall enter into interagency agree14 ments or memorandums of understanding regarding best 

15 practices and individual agency safety oversight enforce16 ment responsibilities regarding LNG facilities, other than 

17 peak shaving facilities. 

18 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

19 after entering into interagency agency agreements or 

20 memorandum of understanding under subsection (d), the 

21 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transpor22 tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy 

23 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

24 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

25 the Senate a report on the memorandum of understanding 

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1 or interagency agreements and how such memorandum or 

2 agreements have contributed to improved safety and en3 forcement oversight coordination of LNG facilities. 

4 (f) LNG DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

5 ‘‘LNG’’ means liquefied natural gas. 

6 SEC. 24. PIPELINE SAFETY VOLUNTARY INFORMATION7 SHARING SYSTEM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 of title 49, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘§ 60144. Voluntary information-sharing system 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish a confidential voluntary information-sharing sys15 tem (referred to in this section as ‘VIS’) to encour16 age the sharing of pipeline safety data and informa17 tion in a non-punitive context in order to improve 

18 the safety of gas, carbon dioxide, and hazardous liq19 uid gathering, transmission, and distribution pipe20 lines and facilities, including storage facilities. 

21 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the VIS is to 

22 establish a comprehensive, systematic, and inte23 grated structure to gather, evaluate, and quantify 

24 critical pipeline safety data and information and to 

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1 sons learned across the pipeline industry in an effort 

2 to improve pipeline safety, including damage preven3 tion efforts, while protecting participant confiden4 tiality. 

5 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT.—In 

6 establishing the VIS under this section, the Sec7 retary shall implement and manage such VIS based 

8 on the Pipeline Safety Voluntary Information-Shar9 ing System Recommendation Report prepared pur10 suant to section 10 of the Protecting Our Infra11 structure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 

12 2016 (49 U.S.C. 60108 note). 

13 ‘‘(4) INAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The VIS 

14 shall not be considered a Federal advisory committee 

15 and shall not be subject to the requirements of chap16 ter 10 of title 5. 

17 ‘‘(b) GOVERNANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Governing Board, a Pro19 gram Manager, a Third-Party Information Manager, 

20 and Issue Analysis Teams shall govern the VIS. 

21 ‘‘(2) GOVERNING BOARD.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the date of enactment of this section, 

24 the Administrator of the Pipeline and Haz25 ardous Materials Safety Administration shall 

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1 appoint a Governing Board after consulting 

2 with public and private pipeline safety stake3 holders. 

4 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD.—The 

5 Governing Board shall be comprised of at least 

6 9 members and shall represent a balanced 

7 cross-section of pipeline safety stakeholders 

8 with pipeline safety knowledge or experience as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(i) at least 3 individuals shall be se11 lected from departments, agencies, instru12 mentalities of the Federal Government, 

13 Territories, State governments, or local 

14 governments, 1 of which shall be the Ad15 ministrator. 

16 ‘‘(ii) at least 3 individuals shall be se17 lected from the gas, carbon dioxide, or haz18 ardous liquid industries, such as operators, 

19 trade associations, inspection technology, 

20 coating, and cathodic protection vendors, 

21 and pipeline inspection organizations. 

22 ‘‘(iii) at least 3 individuals shall be se23 lected from public safety advocate organi24 zations, such as pipeline safety and envi25 ronmental advocacy groups, public safetyVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6494.IH H6494
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1 focused research institutions, or labor and 

2 worker safety representatives. 

3 ‘‘(C) BOARD TERMS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each member of 

5 the Governing Board shall be appointed for 

6 a term of 3 years, with the terms of 3 of 

7 the members expiring each year. 

8 ‘‘(ii) TERM EXPIRATION.—The term 

9 of at least 1 member of each of the 3 

10 stakeholder groups established in subpara11 graph (B) shall expire each year. 

12 ‘‘(iii) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—In the 

13 initial appointment of members, terms of 

14 1, 2, and 3 years shall be established to 

15 allow the terms of 3 members to expire 

16 thereafter each year. 

17 ‘‘(iv) REAPPOINTMENT.—Each mem18 ber may be reappointed for consecutive 3- 

19 year terms. 

20 ‘‘(D) CO-CHAIRS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Governing 

22 Board shall be co-chaired by— 

23 ‘‘(I) the Administrator; 

24 ‘‘(II) a representative of the 

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1 paragraph (B)(ii), who shall be ap2 pointed with advice and consent of the 

3 Governing Board; and 

4 ‘‘(III) a representative of the 

5 stakeholder group described in sub6 paragraph (B)(iii), who shall be ap7 pointed with advice and consent of the 

8 Governing Board. 

9 ‘‘(ii) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The co10 chairs of the Governing Board shall be 

11 jointly responsible for organizing and con12 ducting meetings of the Governing Board. 

13 ‘‘(E) AUTHORITY.—The Governing Board 

14 shall make decisions by a super-majority of two15 thirds plus 1 of the Governing Board members 

16 and shall have the authority to— 

17 ‘‘(i) govern and provide strategic over18 sight to the VIS; 

19 ‘‘(ii) develop governance documents, 

20 including a Governing Board charter that 

21 is made available to the public, and that 

22 describes the scope of the authority and 

23 objectives of the Board; 

24 ‘‘(iii) select a Third-Party Data Man25 ager described in paragraph (4) with exVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6494.IH H6494
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1 pertise in data protection, aggregation, and 

2 analytics and geographic information sys3 tems; 

4 ‘‘(iv) approve the criteria and proce5 dures governing how the Third-Party Data 

6 Manager described in paragraph (4) will 

7 receive and accept pipeline safety data and 

8 information and who will have the author9 ity to view VIS data; 

10 ‘‘(v) establish and appoint members to 

11 Issue Analysis Teams described in para12 graph (5) that consist of technical and 

13 subject matter experts; 

14 ‘‘(vi) collaborate with Issue Analysis 

15 Teams described in paragraph (5) to iden16 tify the issues and topics to be analyzed; 

17 ‘‘(vii) collaborate with Issue Analysis 

18 Teams described in paragraph (5) to speci19 fy the type of de-identified pipeline safety 

20 data and information that Issue Analysis 

21 Teams need in order to analyze the issues 

22 identified under clause (vi) and topics; 

23 ‘‘(viii) determine the information to be 

24 disseminated; 

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1 ‘‘(ix) determine the reports to be dis2 seminated; 

3 ‘‘(x) at least once per year, issue a re4 port to the public on VIS processes, mem5 bership of the Governing Board, issues or 

6 topics being investigated and analyzed, 

7 pipeline safety data and information that 

8 the VIS has requested for submission to 

9 the VIS, and safety trends identified; and 

10 ‘‘(xi) perform other functions as the 

11 Governing Board decides are necessary or 

12 appropriate consistent with the purpose of 

13 the VIS. 

14 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM MANAGER.—The Administrator 

15 shall provide the day-to-day program management 

16 and administrative support for the VIS, including 

17 oversight of the Third-Party Data Manager de18 scribed in paragraph (4). 

19 ‘‘(4) THIRD-PARTY DATA MANAGER.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Third-Party Data 

21 Manager shall provide data management and 

22 data oversight services for the VIS. 

23 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In fulfilling the 

24 responsibilities described in subparagraph (A), 

25 the Third-Party Data Manager shall— 

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1 ‘‘(i) accept pipeline safety data and 

2 information submitted to the VIS that 

3 meets the criteria and procedures estab4 lished by the Governing Board under para5 graph (2)(E)(iv); 

6 ‘‘(ii) de-identify, securely store, and 

7 manage pipeline safety data and informa8 tion that is accepted by the VIS; 

9 ‘‘(iii) collaborate with Issue Analysis 

10 Teams described in paragraph (5) to ag11 gregate and analyze de-identified pipeline 

12 safety data and information that is accept13 ed by the VIS; 

14 ‘‘(iv) prepare reports as requested by 

15 the Governing Board regarding the type of 

16 pipeline safety data and information that 

17 is managed by the VIS; and 

18 ‘‘(v) make recommendations regarding 

19 the management of pipeline safety data 

20 and information, as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(5) ISSUE ANALYSIS TEAMS.—Issue Analysis 

22 Teams of the VIS shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) work with the Third-Party Data 

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1 gate and analyze de-identified pipeline safety 

2 data and information accepted by the VIS; 

3 ‘‘(B) collaborate with the Governing Board 

4 to identify issues and topics for analysis and 

5 submit internal reports and recommendations to 

6 the Governing Board; and 

7 ‘‘(C) prepare reports as requested by the 

8 Governing Board regarding issues and topics 

9 identified for additional research by the Gov10 erning Board. 

11 ‘‘(6) PARTICIPATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The submission of 

13 pipeline safety data and information to the VIS 

14 by any person shall be voluntary, with no per15 son compelled to participate in or submit data 

16 or information for inclusion in the VIS. 

17 ‘‘(B) ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION.— 

18 The VIS shall implement policies to ensure that 

19 all operator data or information submitted has 

20 been authorized by the operator for submission. 

21 ‘‘(C) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—The 

22 Governing Board shall encourage the voluntary 

23 sharing of pipeline safety data and information 

24 among operators of gas, carbon dioxide, and 

25 hazardous liquid gathering, transmission, and 

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1 distribution pipelines and facilities, employees, 

2 labor unions, contractors, in-line inspection 

3 service providers, non-destructive evaluation ex4 perts, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

5 Safety Administration, representatives of State 

6 pipeline safety agencies, local and Tribal gov7 ernments, pipeline safety advocacy groups, 

8 manufacturers, research and academic institu9 tions, and other pipeline stakeholders. 

10 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION SHARING.— 

11 ‘‘(1) INCLUSIONS.—Pipeline safety data and in12 formation accepted by the VIS may include— 

13 ‘‘(A) pipeline integrity risk analysis infor14 mation; 

15 ‘‘(B) lessons learned from accidents and 

16 near misses; 

17 ‘‘(C) process improvements; 

18 ‘‘(D) technology deployment practices; 

19 ‘‘(E) information obtained through VIS 

20 pipeline safety surveys of pipeline operator em21 ployees, as long as such surveys are voluntarily 

22 agreed to by the pipeline operator; and 

23 ‘‘(F) pipeline safety data and information 

24 which may lead to the identification of pipeline 

25 safety risks. 

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1 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(A) CONFIDENTIALITY.—To facilitate the 

4 sharing of otherwise non-public pipeline safety 

5 data and information (hereinafter known as 

6 ‘non-public information’) in the VIS, non-public 

7 information accepted by the VIS and which 

8 may be analyzed, stored, or managed by the 

9 VIS shall be kept confidential by the VIS. 

10 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subpara11 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

12 public information that may be submitted to the 

13 VIS or to non-public information that is re14 quired to be submitted to any Federal, State, 

15 local, or Tribal agency under any other provi16 sion of law. 

17 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF DE-IDENTIFIED, NON18 PUBLIC INFORMATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub20 sections (e) and (f), the Governing Board may 

21 approve the disclosure of de-identified, non-pub22 lic information by the VIS or by the Adminis23 trator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

24 Safety Administration based on analysis of the 

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1 ings or recommendations that the Governing 

2 Board in the sole discretion of the Board deter3 mines to publish or authorizes the Adminis4 trator to publish to improve pipeline safety. 

5 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC REPORTS.—In issuing public 

6 reports under subsection (b)(2)(E)(x), the Gov7 erning Board shall approve the disclosure of de8 identified, non-public information by the VIS 

9 that the Governing Board determines is nec10 essary to adequately describe and illustrate the 

11 issues and topics being investigated and ana12 lyzed by the VIS. 

13 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), no person, including any VIS Governing 

15 Board member, the Program Manager, the Third16 Party Data Manager described in subsection (b)(4), 

17 an Issue Analysis Team member described in sub18 section (b)(5), or any Federal, State, local, or Tribal 

19 agency, having or obtaining access to non-public in20 formation by virtue of the acceptance of such infor21 mation to the VIS, shall release or communicate VIS 

22 held non-public information, in either an identified 

23 or de-identified form, to any person that does not 

24 have the authority to view VIS data. 

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1 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY OF FOIA.—Any non-public in2 formation that is accepted by the VIS and which may be 

3 analyzed, stored, or managed by the VIS and subsequently 

4 obtained by the Secretary or the Administrator by virtue 

5 of the acceptance of such information to the VIS shall be 

6 exempt from the requirements of section 552 of title 5 

7 and specifically exempt from release under subsection 

8 (b)(3) of such section. 

9 ‘‘(f) EXCLUSIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) EXCLUDED EVIDENCE.—Except as pro11 vided in paragraph (3), non-public information ac12 cepted by the VIS and which may be analyzed, 

13 stored, or managed by the VIS shall not be obtained 

14 from the VIS— 

15 ‘‘(A) for use as evidence for any purpose in 

16 any Federal, State, local, Tribal, or private liti17 gation, including any action or proceeding; or 

18 ‘‘(B) to initiate any enforcement action or 

19 civil litigation against a pipeline operator or 

20 employees or contractors of such operator relat21 ing to a probable violation under this chapter 

22 (including any regulation promulgated or order 

23 issued under this chapter). 

24 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION FROM DISCOVERY.—Except as 

25 provided in paragraph (3), non-public information 

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1 accepted by the VIS and which may be analyzed, 

2 stored, or managed by the VIS shall not be subject 

3 to discovery from the VIS in any Federal, State, 

4 local, Tribal, or private litigation or other pro5 ceeding. 

6 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIONS.—The ex7 clusions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 

8 not apply to non-public information accepted by the 

9 VIS that is— 

10 ‘‘(A) evidence of a criminal violation; 

11 ‘‘(B) not related to the established purpose 

12 of the VIS described in subsection (a)(2); 

13 ‘‘(C) otherwise required to be reported to 

14 the Secretary under part 191 (including infor15 mation about an incident or accident), part 

16 192, part 194, part 195, or part 199 of title 

17 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

18 regulations), or required to be reported under 

19 the requirements of a State authority; or 

20 ‘‘(D) developed or obtained from a source 

21 other than the VIS, including through discovery 

22 from a person or an entity other than the VIS 

23 in an enforcement action or private litigation. 

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1 ‘‘(g) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed to affect Federal, State, or local 

3 pipeline safety law. 

4 ‘‘(h) NO EFFECT ON DISCOVERY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

6 this section or any rule, regulation, or amendment 

7 issued pursuant to this section shall be construed to 

8 create a defense to a discovery request or otherwise 

9 limit or affect the discovery of pipeline safety data 

10 and information arising from a cause of action au11 thorized under any under Federal, State, or local 

12 law. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

14 apply to exclusions from discovery from the VIS as 

15 described in subsection (f)(2). 

16 ‘‘(i) EXPENSES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Members of the VIS Gov18 erning Board and Issue Analysis Teams may be paid 

19 expenses under section 5703 of title 5. 

20 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A payment 

21 under this subsection shall not be construed to make 

22 a member of the VIS Governing Board an officer or 

23 employee of the Federal Government. 

24 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Paragraph (1) 

25 shall not apply to members of the VIS Governing 

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1 Board that are employees of the Federal Govern2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(j) REPORT ON VIS.—Not later than 2 years after 

4 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

5 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra6 structure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

7 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

8 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 

9 and make publicly available, a report that includes— 

10 ‘‘(1) a detailed accounting of the allocation and 

11 uses of expenditures authorized under this section; 

12 ‘‘(2) an estimate of the annual cost to maintain 

13 the VIS program, including an assessment and pro14 jection of costs associated with the Third-Party 

15 Data Manager, data sourcing and storage, data gov16 ernance, data architecture, data consumption, and 

17 the VIS operations and administration by the Pipe18 line and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; 

19 ‘‘(3) the methodology for determining the esti20 mate under paragraph (2); 

21 ‘‘(4) the number of expected participants in the 

22 VIS program; 

23 ‘‘(5) the number of Pipeline and Hazardous 

24 Materials Safety Administration positions needed to 

25 maintain the VIS program; 

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1 ‘‘(6) the projected timeline for the implementa2 tion of the VIS program to meet the purposes under 

3 subsection (a)(2); and 

4 ‘‘(7) recommendations to ensure sufficient 

5 funding for the ongoing activities of the VIS pro6 gram, including a reasonable fee assessed on author7 ized participants in the VIS program. 

8 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated for the establishment 

10 of a voluntary information-sharing program under this 

11 section— 

12 ‘‘(1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

13 ‘‘(2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

14 ‘‘(3) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and 

15 ‘‘(4) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap17 ter 601 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

18 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘60144.Voluntary information-sharing system.’’. 

19 SEC. 25. CARBON DIOXIDE PIPELINES. 

20 (a) PURPOSE AND GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Section 

21 60102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (1)(B)(i) by inserting 

24 ‘‘or carbon dioxide’’ after ‘‘hazardous liquids’’; 

25 and 

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1 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

2 (i) by redesignating clause (ii) and 

3 (iii) as clause (iii) and (iv), respectively; 

4 and 

5 (ii) by inserting after clause (i) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(ii) carbon dioxide pipeline safety in8 formation;’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘or carbon di10 oxide pipeline facility’’ after ‘‘hazardous liquid pipe11 line facility’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (d)(2)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

14 at the end; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking the 

16 semicolon and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) major carbon dioxide pipeline facili19 ties of the operator;’’; 

20 (4) in subsection (e) by striking ‘‘transportation 

21 of gas or hazardous liquid’’ and inserting ‘‘transpor22 tation of gas, hazardous liquid, or carbon dioxide’’; 

23 (5) in subsection (f)(1) by striking ‘‘natural gas 

24 transmission pipeline or hazardous liquid pipeline fa25 cilities’’ and inserting ‘‘natural gas transmission 

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1 pipeline, hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, or car2 bon dioxide pipeline facilities’’ each place it appears; 

3 (6) in subsection (i)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘a haz5 ardous liquid’’ and all that follows through 

6 ‘‘such a facility’’ and inserting ‘‘a pipeline facil7 ity in a liquid and supercritical state’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘ pre9 scribe the location of a carbon dioxide storage 

10 facility or to’’ before ‘‘regulate piping’’; 

11 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

12 paragraph (4); 

13 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(3) STORAGE OF CARBON DIOXIDE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—The 

17 Secretary shall prescribe minimum safety 

18 standards for the injection, withdrawal, and 

19 storage of carbon dioxide incidental to pipeline 

20 transportation. 

21 ‘‘(B) STORAGE OF CARBON DIOXIDE INCI22 DENTAL TO PIPELINE TRANSPORTATION.—In 

23 this paragraph, the term ‘storage of carbon di24 oxide incidental to pipeline transportation’— 

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1 ‘‘(i) means the temporary receipt and 

2 storage of carbon dioxide transported by 

3 pipeline for continued transport; but 

4 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

5 ‘‘(I) with respect to each State, 

6 the long-term containment of carbon 

7 dioxide in subsurface geologic forma8 tions or other activity subject to the 

9 requirements of a State underground 

10 injection control program prescribed 

11 by the Administrator of the Environ12 mental Protection Agency and appli13 cable to the State, or adopted by the 

14 State and approved by the Adminis15 trator, under part C of the Safe 

16 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h 

17 et seq.); or 

18 ‘‘(II) the temporary storage of 

19 carbon dioxide in any excepted pipe20 lines listed in paragraph (b) of section 

21 195.1 of title 49, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations, as of the date of enact23 ment of the PIPES Act of 2023.’’; 

24 and 

25 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(5) DISPERSION MODELING.— 

2 ‘‘(A) SAFETY STANDARDS.—The Secretary 

3 shall prescribe minimum safety standards to re4 quire each operator of a carbon dioxide pipeline 

5 facility to employ vapor dispersion modeling to 

6 identify high consequence areas, as defined at 

7 section 195.450 of title 49, Code of Federal 

8 Regulations, and paragraph (7)(I)(A) of Appen9 dix C to part 195 of such title, that could be 

10 affected by a release from such a pipeline. 

11 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In performing 

12 the vapor dispersion modeling under subpara13 graph (A), operators of a carbon dioxide pipe14 line facility shall consider— 

15 ‘‘(i) the topography surrounding the 

16 pipeline; 

17 ‘‘(ii) atmospheric conditions that 

18 could affect vapor dispersion; 

19 ‘‘(iii) pipeline operating characteris20 tics; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) additional substances present in 

22 the pipeline that could affect vapor disper23 sion. 

24 ‘‘(C) MAINTENANCE OF FILES.—The Sec25 retary shall require each operator of a carbon 

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1 dioxide pipeline facility to maintain records doc2 umenting the areas that could affect high con3 sequence areas, as determined using the vapor 

4 dispersion modeling required pursuant to sub5 paragraph (A), in the manual of written proce6 dures for operating, maintaining, and handling 

7 emergencies for such pipeline. 

8 ‘‘(D) PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE INFOR9 MATION.—In responding to a public request for 

10 information regarding carbon dioxide dispersion 

11 modeling, the Secretary may, taking into ac12 count public safety, security, and the need for 

13 public access, exclude from disclosure (as the 

14 Secretary determines appropriate)— 

15 ‘‘(i) security sensitive information re16 lated to strategies for responding to worst17 case carbon dioxide release scenarios; 

18 ‘‘(ii) security sensitive information re19 lated to carbon dioxide release plumes; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) security sensitive information re21 lated to plans for responding to a carbon 

22 dioxide release. 

23 ‘‘(E) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Noth24 ing in this section may be construed to require 

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1 empt from disclosure under section 552 of title 

2 5.’’. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of publishing a notice of proposed rule5 making titled ‘‘Pipeline Safety: Safety of Carbon Dioxide 

6 and Hazardous Liquid Pipelines’’ (or any other notice of 

7 proposed rulemaking covering substantially similar regu8 latory requirements), the Secretary shall issue a final rule 

9 based on such proposed rulemaking. The final rule shall 

10 address the issue of gaseous carbon dioxide as required 

11 under section 60102(i)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

12 and other carbon dioxide safety issues identified by the 

13 Secretary. 

14 (c) STATE PIPELINE SAFETY PROGRAM CERTIFI15 CATIONS.—Section 60105(b)(9)(A) of title 49, United 

16 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘natural gas and haz17 ardous liquid’’ and inserting ‘‘natural gas, hazardous liq18 uid, and carbon dioxide’’. 

19 (d) STATE PIPELINE SAFETY GRANTS.—Section 

20 60107(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

21 by inserting ‘‘or interstate carbon dioxide’’ after ‘‘inter22 state hazardous liquid’’. 

23 (e) INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE.—Section 60108 

24 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘gas pipe2 line facility or hazardous liquid pipeline facility’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘gas pipeline facility, hazardous liquid 

4 pipeline facility, or carbon dioxide pipeline facility’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) in subsection (e)(1) by striking ‘‘gas or haz7 ardous liquid pipeline facility’’ and inserting ‘‘gas 

8 pipeline facility, hazardous liquid pipeline facility, or 

9 carbon dioxide pipeline facility’’. 

10 (f) HIGH-DENSITY POPULATION AREAS AND ENVI11 RONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS.—Section 60109 of title 

12 49, United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘or carbon dioxide’’ after 

15 ‘‘by operators of hazardous liquid’’; 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘and carbon dioxide’’ 

17 after ‘‘each hazardous liquid’’ each place it ap18 pears; and 

19 (C) in clause (ii) by inserting ‘‘or carbon 

20 dioxide’’ after ‘‘there is a hazardous liquid’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘or carbon di23 oxide’’ after ‘‘there is a hazardous liquid’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (g)— 

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1 (A) in the heading by inserting ‘‘AND CAR2 BON DIOXIDE’’ after ‘‘LIQUID’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘or car4 bon dioxide’’ after ‘‘underwater hazardous liq5 uid’’. 

6 (g) TECHNICAL SAFETY STANDARDS COMMIT7 TEES.—Section 60115 of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘transporting hazardous 

11 liquid or operating a hazardous liquid pipeline 

12 facility’’ and inserting ‘‘transporting hazardous 

13 liquid, transporting carbon dioxide, operating a 

14 hazardous liquid pipeline facility, or operating a 

15 carbon dioxide pipeline facility’’ each place it 

16 appears; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘transporting hazardous 

18 liquid and of hazardous liquid pipeline facili19 ties’’ and inserting ‘‘transporting hazardous liq20 uid or transporting carbon dioxide and of haz21 ardous liquid pipeline facilities or carbon diox22 ide pipeline facilities’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(3)(B) by striking ‘‘the 

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1 serting ‘‘the natural gas industry, the hazardous liq2 uid industry, or the carbon dioxide industry’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (b)(4)(B) by striking ‘‘natural 

4 gas pipelines or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘natural gas pipelines, hazardous liq6 uid pipeline facilities, or carbon dioxide pipeline fa7 cilities’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (c)(1)(B) by striking ‘‘trans9 porting hazardous liquid and for hazardous liquid 

10 pipeline facilities’’ and inserting ‘‘transporting car11 bon dioxide, hazardous liquid pipeline facilities and 

12 carbon dioxide facilities’’; and 

13 (5) in subsection (d)(1) by striking ‘‘trans14 porting hazardous liquid and for hazardous liquid 

15 pipeline facilities’’ and inserting ‘‘transporting haz16 ardous liquid, transporting carbon dioxide, haz17 ardous liquid pipeline facilities, and carbon dioxide 

18 pipeline facilities’’. 

19 (h) PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—Section 60116 

20 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘gas pipeline facility, hazardous liquid pipeline facility, or 

23 carbon dioxide pipeline facility’’. 

24 (i) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—Section 60117 of 

25 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

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1 (1) in subsection (o)(1)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘liq3 uid pipeline facility or liquefied natural gas 

4 pipeline facility’’ and inserting ‘‘liquid pipeline 

5 facility, a liquefied natural gas pipeline facility, 

6 or a carbon dioxide pipeline facility’’; and 

7 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) by inserting 

8 ‘‘or carbon dioxide pipeline facility’’ after ‘‘haz9 ardous liquid pipeline facility’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (p)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘gas or 

12 hazardous liquid pipeline facilities’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘gas pipeline facilities, hazardous liquid 

14 pipeline facilities, or carbon dioxide pipeline fa15 cilities’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘gas or 

17 hazardous liquid pipeline facility’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘gas pipeline facility, hazardous liquid pipeline 

19 facility, or carbon dioxide pipeline facility’’. 

20 (j) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 60123(b) of title 

21 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘an inter22 state hazardous liquid pipeline facility, or either an intra23 state gas pipeline facility or intrastate hazardous liquid 

24 pipeline facility’’ and inserting ‘‘an interstate hazardous 

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1 line facility, or either an intrastate gas pipeline facility, 

2 an intrastate hazardous liquid pipeline facility, or an 

3 intrastate carbon dioxide facility’’. 

4 (k) EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANTS.—Section 

5 60125(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘gas or hazardous liquid pipelines’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘gas pipelines, hazardous liquid pipelines, or carbon 

8 dioxide pipelines’’. 

9 (l) DUMPING WITHIN PIPELINE RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 

10 Section 60128(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘interstate gas pipeline facility or 

12 interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘interstate gas pipeline facility, interstate hazardous liq14 uid pipeline facility, or interstate carbon dioxide pipeline 

15 facility’’. 

16 (m) VERIFICATION OF PIPELINE QUALIFICATION

17 PROGRAMS.—Section 60131(g) of title 49, United States 

18 Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

20 end; 

21 (2) in paragraph (2) by striking the period at 

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(3) with respect to a carbon dioxide pipeline 

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1 scribed with respect to a hazardous liquid pipeline 

2 facility under section 195.501 of such title.’’. 

3 (n) ENFORCEMENT TRANSPARENCY.—Section 

4 60135(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘gas and hazardous liquid pipeline’’ and in6 serting ‘‘gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide pipe7 line’’. 

8 (o) PIPELINE CONTROL ROOM MANAGEMENT.—Sec9 tion 60137 and title 49, United States Code, is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘gas or haz12 ardous liquid pipeline’’ and inserting ‘‘gas, haz13 ardous liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘gas or haz15 ardous liquid pipeline’’ and inserting ‘‘gas, haz16 ardous liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline’’; and 

17 (3) in subsection (e) by striking ‘‘gas or haz18 ardous liquid pipeline’’ and inserting ‘‘gas, haz19 ardous liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline’’. 

20 (p) PIPELINE SAFETY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMS.— 

21 Section 60142 of title 49, United States Code, is amend22 ed— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

25 the end; 

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1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

2 paragraph (3); and 

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(2) a carbon dioxide pipeline facility; or’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (k)(2)(A) by striking ‘‘inter7 state gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘interstate gas pipeline facilities, interstate 

9 hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, or interstate car10 bon dioxide pipeline facilities’’; and 

11 (3) in subsection (l)(1) by striking ‘‘interstate 

12 gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities’’ and in13 serting ‘‘interstate gas pipeline facilities, interstate 

14 hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, or interstate car15 bon dioxide pipeline facilities’’. 

16 (q) IDLED PIPELINES.—Section 60143 of title 49, 

17 United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(2) by inserting ‘‘carbon di19 oxide,’’ after ‘‘hazardous liquid,’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘gas trans21 mission and hazardous liquid pipelines’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘gas transmission, hazardous liquid, and carbon 

23 dioxide pipelines’’ each place it appears. 

24 (r) USER FEES.—Section 60301 of title 49, United 

25 States Code, is amended— 

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1 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘natural gas 

2 and hazardous liquids’’ and inserting ‘‘natural gas, 

3 hazardous liquids, and carbon dioxide’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘gas pipeline 

5 facility, or a hazardous liquid pipeline facility’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘gas pipeline facility, a hazardous liquid 

7 pipeline facility, or a carbon dioxide pipeline facil8 ity’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (d)(1)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ 

11 at the end; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) related to a carbon dioxide pipeline facility 

14 may be used only for an activity related to carbon 

15 dioxide under chapter 601 of this title; and’’. 

16 SEC. 26. OPPORTUNITY FOR FORMAL HEARING. 

17 (a) ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.—Section 

18 60117(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (I) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (2) in subparagraph (J) by striking the period 

22 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(K) allow the respondent an opportunity 

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1 ministrative law judge, in accordance with sec2 tion 554 of title 5, for a notice of probable vio3 lation enforcement matter— 

4 ‘‘(i) with a proposed civil penalty of at 

5 least $125,000; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) where the respondent can reason7 ably show the cost of the proposed compli8 ance action will exceed $125,000.’’. 

9 (b) PROTOCOLS FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Not later 

10 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

11 Secretary of Transportation shall publish protocols for 

12 hearings open to the public pursuant to section 

13 60117(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, that ensure 

14 an orderly process and protection of confidential informa15 tion. 

16 (c) REPORT ON USE OF FORMAL HEARING PROC17 ESS.—Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

19 on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee 

20 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor22 tation of the Senate a report detailing— 

23 (1) the number of hearings held pursuant to 

24 subparagraph (K) of section 60117(b)(1) of title 49, 

25 United States Code; 

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1 (2) the status of each such hearing; 

2 (3) an analysis comparing the informal hearing 

3 process and the formal hearing process that de4 scribes— 

5 (A) the length of time to resolve an en6 forcement action under section 60117 of title 

7 49, United States Code; 

8 (B) the cost of the enforcement action 

9 process to— 

10 (i) the respondent; and 

11 (ii) the Pipeline and Hazardous Mate12 rials Safety Administration; and 

13 (C) the number of cases that reach settle14 ment and the outcome of such cases; 

15 (4) any additional resources that are needed by 

16 the Secretary in response to implementing this pro17 vision for each fiscal year to carry out the amend18 ment made by subsection (a) and 

19 (5) any safety improvements identified as a re20 sult of the implementation of subparagraph (K) of 

21 section 60117(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code. 

22 SEC. 27. STATE PIPELINE SAFETY GRANTS REPORTING. 

23 Section 60107(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 

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1 (1) by striking ‘‘After notifying’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(1) WITHHOLDING OF PAYMENT.—’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(2) BUDGET ESTIMATE.—The budget esti5 mates of the Secretary for each fiscal year shall in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(A) a summary of amounts claimed, 

8 amounts reimbursed, and the percentages reim9 bursed in the preceding 3 fiscal years for the 

10 program under this section; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the estimated funding necessary to 

12 fund 80 percent of the cost of the personnel, 

13 equipment, and activities under this section for 

14 the subsequent calendar year.’’. 

15 SEC. 28. INSPECTION OF IN-SERVICE BREAKOUT TANKS. 

16 (a) INSPECTION OF IN-SERVICE BREAKOUT

17 TANKS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation may re19 view and, if determined appropriate, may amend the safety 

20 standards in part 195 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula21 tions, relating to the internal inspection of the bottoms 

22 of in-service breakout tanks to allow for risk-based inspec23 tions. 

24 (b) CONSIDERATION.—If the Secretary amends the 

25 safety standards described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

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1 may consider the 5th edition of standard 653 published 

2 by the American Petroleum Institute issued November 

3 2014 titled ‘‘Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Re4 construction’’. 

5 (c) SCOPE.—If the Secretary amends the safety 

6 standards described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

7 ensure that such standards achieve a level of safety that 

8 is equivalent to the level of safety required under such part 

9 195, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 29. DISCLOSURE OF SAFETY INFORMATION ASSESS11 MENT. 

12 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor14 tation shall conduct an assessment on how gas pipeline 

15 facility, hazardous liquid pipeline facility, and carbon diox16 ide pipeline facility owners and operators engage with, and 

17 provide safety information to, the public and State or local 

18 emergency response organizations. 

19 (b) SAFETY INFORMATION.—In conducting the as20 sessment required under subsection (a), the Secretary 

21 shall consider— 

22 (1) pipeline safety materials that the owners 

23 and operators of pipelines described in subsection 

24 (a) voluntarily provide to the public; 

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1 (2) methods of interaction between pipeline fa2 cility owners and operators and the public and State 

3 and local emergency response entities; 

4 (3) Federal, State, and local government regu5 lations governing information that pipeline facility 

6 owners and operators are required to share with the 

7 public; 

8 (4) industry consensus standards regarding the 

9 sharing of pipeline safety and emergency response 

10 information; 

11 (5) specific data that could be shared with local 

12 and State emergency response and planning agen13 cies, local public officials, and governing councils to 

14 enhance information sharing and pipeline safety, 

15 specifically— 

16 (A) the identification of general pipeline lo17 cation, or information including location, the 

18 products transported by pipeline or stored at an 

19 underground natural gas facility, data on 

20 breakout tanks or production facilities that in21 cludes pipeline classification and impact areas, 

22 and owner or operator emergency response 

23 planning materials; and 

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1 (B) information emergency response orga2 nizations ask pipeline owners and operators to 

3 voluntarily share with the public; 

4 (6) emergency response materials that pipeline 

5 facility owners and operators voluntarily provide to 

6 emergency response organizations; 

7 (7) how pipeline facility owners and operators 

8 communicate with emergency response organiza9 tions, including— 

10 (A) the functional quality and use of data 

11 shared through the National Pipeline Mapping 

12 System; and 

13 (B) the measures taken by emergency re14 sponse organizations to secure any sensitive in15 formation shared; 

16 (8) emergency response planning guidance and 

17 requirements issued by emergency response organi18 zations for pipeline facility owners and operators; 

19 and 

20 (9) changes emergency response organizations 

21 recommend to improve communication with the pub22 lic and emergency response coordination organiza23 tions. 

24 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the assessment 

25 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with both 

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1 large and small pipeline facility owners and operators, 

2 urban and rural State, local, and Tribal governments, 

3 emergency response organizations, and pipeline safety or4 ganizations. 

5 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS .—Not later than 180 

6 days after completion of the assessment in subsection (a), 

7 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transpor8 tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy 

9 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

10 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

11 the Senate, a report containing the findings of the assess12 ment under subsection (a) and any legislative rec13 ommendations of the Secretary. 

14 (e) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 

15 submission of the report under subsection (d), the Sec16 retary may issue guidance to improve pipeline safety infor17 mation sharing with the public and other interested par18 ties to advance pipeline safety. 

19 (f) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions contained in sec20 tion 60101(a) of title 49, United States Code, shall apply 

21 to this section. 

22 SEC. 30. ASSESSMENT OF CERTAIN PIPELINE SAFETY DEFI23 NITIONS. 

24 (a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

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1 tation shall evaluate the definition in section 

2 192.5(b)(3)(ii) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, 

3 and the definition of identified site in section 192.903 of 

4 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to determine the 

5 adequacy for protecting buildings and occupied outdoor fa6 cilities from pipeline safety incidents. 

7 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the evalua8 tion under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider— 

9 (1) whether to revise the definition of the occu10 pancy counts of these areas; 

11 (2) whether consistency in minimum occupancy 

12 thresholds throughout part 192 of title 49, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations, would improve safety; and 

14 (3) whether defining the occupancy counts in 

15 these areas as 20 or more persons on at least a total 

16 of 50 days within any 12-month period would im17 prove— 

18 (A) safety; and 

19 (B) the efficiency of carrying out class de20 terminations. 

21 (c) MODIFICATION OF DEFINITIONS.—The Secretary 

22 shall issue such regulations as the Secretary determines 

23 necessary to modify the definitions in subsection (a) to 

24 increase safety for the protection of buildings and occupied 

25 outdoor facilities from pipeline safety incidents. 

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1 SEC. 31. REPORT ASSESSING THE COSTS OF PIPELINE FAIL2 URES. 

3 (a) REPORT ASSESSING THE COSTS OF PIPELINE

4 FAILURES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of en5 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall 

6 enter into an agreement with the National Academies 

7 under which the National Academies shall, not later than 

8 3 years after such date of enactment, conduct a study of 

9 the direct and indirect costs related to the failure or shut10 down of a gas, hazardous liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline 

11 facility. 

12 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study described under sub13 section (a) may include an analysis of— 

14 (1) the direct and indirect costs related to a 

15 failure or shutdown of a gas, hazardous liquid, or 

16 carbon dioxide pipeline facility, including local com17 munity emergency response costs, local planning for 

18 emergency response, and local community impact 

19 costs of loss of product; 

20 (2) the costs to an operator of such a facility 

21 of complying with enforcement actions related to a 

22 pipeline facility failure or shutdown, such as correc23 tive action or consent orders, safety orders, and 

24 emergency orders; 

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1 bon dioxide pipeline facility resulting from a cyber 

2 attack or intrusion, including any economic and sup3 ply chain impacts; 

4 (4) the impact to emergency response planning 

5 and resources of local communities, operators of gas, 

6 hazardous liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline facilities, 

7 and the State, Federal, local, and Tribal govern8 ments in responding to and mitigating the impacts 

9 of a failure or shutdown of a gas, hazardous liquid, 

10 or carbon dioxide pipeline facility; 

11 (5) the costs of environmental remediation re12 sulting from a gas, hazardous liquid, or carbon diox13 ide pipeline facility failure or shutdown; 

14 (6) the economic impact of a gas, hazardous 

15 liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline facility failure or 

16 shutdown, including— 

17 (A) increases in product costs; 

18 (B) damage to public and private property; 

19 and 

20 (C) the potential costs of moving gas, haz21 ardous liquid, or carbon dioxide by other means 

22 of transportation, including by rail, truck, and 

23 barge; and 

24 (7) increased energy costs to households and 

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1 ardous liquid or carbon dioxide due to the shutdown 

2 or failure of a pipeline facility. 

3 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study under 

4 subsection (a), the National Academies shall consult with 

5 economists, State, Federal, local, and Tribal governments, 

6 emergency management officials, and pipeline stake7 holders, including pipeline facility operators and public 

8 safety and environmental groups. 

9 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Upon completion of the 

10 study conducted under subsection (a), the Secretary 

11 shall— 

12 (1) require the National Academies to submit to 

13 the Secretary a report on such study; and 

14 (2) submit to the Committees on Transpor15 tation and Infrastructure and Energy and Com16 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com17 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

18 the Senate a report containing the results of such 

19 study. 

20 SEC. 32. STUDY ON LOCALIZED EMERGENCY ALERT SYS21 TEM FOR PIPELINE FACILITIES INCIDENTS. 

22 (a) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than 18 months after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall submit to the Secretary of 

25 Transportation, the Committees on Transportation and 

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1 Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce of the House 

2 of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, 

3 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a study assess4 ing— 

5 (1) the need and feasibility of requiring owners 

6 and operators of covered facilities to establish and 

7 maintain a localized emergency alert system; and 

8 (2) whether such an alert system would be best 

9 maintained by State or local emergency management 

10 officials or owners and operators of such facilities. 

11 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 

12 under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall— 

13 (1) consider the feasibility, benefits, costs, and 

14 safety impacts to affected stakeholders, including 

15 owners and operators of covered facilities, the public, 

16 and State and local emergency management officials, 

17 of requiring a localized emergency alert system; 

18 (2) consider whether a localized emergency alert 

19 system can be established by such owners and opera20 tors or incorporated into existing public alert, broad21 cast, and electronic emergency alert systems, includ22 ing by assessing— 

23 (A) whether a localized emergency alert 

24 system established and maintained by an owner 

25 or operator of a covered facility would conflict 

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1 with, or impede the operation of, existing emer2 gency alert systems; 

3 (B) the feasibility, benefits, costs, and 

4 technological needs of incorporating facility sys5 tem data into existing emergency alert systems; 

6 (C) whether local emergency management 

7 organizations may need additional hardware, 

8 software, personnel, or communications support 

9 to incorporate a localized emergency alert sys10 tem into an existing emergency alert system; 

11 (D) whether other systems could support 

12 notification to the public of an incident or acci13 dent at a covered facility, such as the National 

14 Response Center, the Reverse-911 telecommuni15 cation system, or severe weather warning sys16 tems; and 

17 (E) whether localized emergency alert sys18 tems have been considered, studied, or imple19 mented in other high hazard industries, such as 

20 industrial gases, chemicals, petrochemicals, and 

21 petroleum refining, and the results of any study 

22 or implementation of such systems in such in23 dustries; 

24 (3) consult with owners and operators of large 

25 and small covered facilities, public safety advocacy 

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1 groups, and urban and rural State and local emer2 gency management officials; 

3 (4) assess the adequacy of existing practices of 

4 owners and operators of covered facilities in pro5 viding timely and pertinent safety communication 

6 about an incident or accident at such facility to local 

7 communities affected by such incident or accident; 

8 (5) assess whether there are legal hurdles to es9 tablishing a localized emergency alert system that 

10 uses voluntarily collected data or opt-in procedures, 

11 including any data security considerations; 

12 (6) consider the feasibility, benefits, costs, and 

13 other impacts to State and Federal safety regulators 

14 who would oversee any requirement of owners and 

15 operators of covered facilities; 

16 (7) assess the types of incidents and accidents 

17 at covered facilities, by commodities transported and 

18 the unique characteristics of such incident or acci19 dent, that should be reported through a localized 

20 emergency alert system and the content of the infor21 mation that should be provided; 

22 (8) assess which members of the public should 

23 receive communications from localized emergency 

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1 sequence areas, unusually sensitive areas, and any 

2 other defining characteristics as determined by the 

3 Comptroller General; and 

4 (9) consider whether any Federal requirements 

5 or mandates are needed in order to establish an ef6 fective localized emergency alert system for incidents 

7 or accidents at covered facilities. 

8 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Comptroller General 

9 shall include in the study conducted under subsection (a) 

10 any policy recommendations developed as a result of the 

11 information studied and assessed under subsection (b). 

12 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

14 facility’’ means a gas pipeline facility, a hazardous 

15 liquid pipeline facility, or a carbon dioxide pipeline 

16 facility, including a liquefied natural gas storage fa17 cility or an underground natural gas storage facility, 

18 as defined in section 60101 of title 49, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (2) LOCALIZED EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM.— 

21 The term ‘‘localized emergency alert system’’ means 

22 a system that provides to individuals in the imme23 diate vicinity of a covered facility an electronic notiVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:44 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6494.IH H6494
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1 fication of an incident or accident at such facility 

2 that presents an immediate risk to life or property. 

Æ