II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 275 

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

and environmental protection in pipeline transportation, to provide for 

enhanced reliability in the transportation of the Nation’s energy products 

by pipeline, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2011 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. 

BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for enhanced safety and environmental protection in pipeline 

transportation, to provide for enhanced reliability in the 

transportation of the Nation’s energy products by pipeline, 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; AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, 

4 UNITED STATES CODE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

6 ‘‘Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 

7 2011’’. 


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1 (b) AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES

2 CODE.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever 

3 in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

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

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

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

7 Code. 

8 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; Amendment of Title 49, United States Code; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 3. Pipeline damage prevention. 

Sec. 4. Offshore gathering pipelines. 

Sec. 5. Automatic and remote-controlled shut-off valves. 

Sec. 6. Excess flow valves. 

Sec. 7. Integrity management. 

Sec. 8. Public education and awareness. 

Sec. 9. Government Accountability Office report. 

Sec. 10. Leak detection. 

Sec. 11. Incident notification. 

Sec. 12. Transportation-related onshore facility response plan compliance. 

Sec. 13. Pipeline infrastructure data collection. 

Sec. 14. International cooperation and consultation. 

Sec. 15. Gas and hazardous liquid gathering lines. 

Sec. 16. Transportation related oil flow lines. 

Sec. 17. Alaska project coordination. 

Sec. 18. Cost recovery for design reviews. 

Sec. 19. Special permits. 

Sec. 20. Biofuel pipelines. 

Sec. 21. Carbon dioxide pipelines. 

Sec. 22. Study of transportation of tar sands crude oil. 

Sec. 23. Study of non-petroleum hazardous liquids transported by pipeline. 

Sec. 24. Clarifications. 

Sec. 25. Additional resources. 

Sec. 26. Maintenance of effort. 

Sec. 27. Authorization of appropriations. 

10 SEC. 2. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

11 (a) PENALTY CONSIDERATIONS; MAJOR CON12 SEQUENCE VIOLATIONS.—Section 60122 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘the ability to pay,’’ in sub2 section (b)(1)(B); 

3 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 

4 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; and 

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES FOR MAJOR CONSEQUENCE VIOLA8 TIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person that the Sec10 retary of Transportation decides, after written notice 

11 and an opportunity for a hearing, has committed a 

12 major consequence violation of section 60114(b), 

13 60114(d), or 60118(a) of this title or a regulation 

14 prescribed or order issued under this chapter is lia15 ble to the United States Government for a civil pen16 alty of not more than $250,000 for each violation. 

17 A separate violation occurs for each day the violation 

18 continues. The maximum civil penalty under this 

19 paragraph for a related series of major consequence 

20 violations is $2,500,000. 

21 ‘‘(2) PENALTY CONSIDERATIONS.—In deter22 mining the amount of a civil penalty for a major 

23 consequence violation under this subsection, the Sec24 retary shall consider the factors prescribed in sub25 section (b). 


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1 ‘‘(3) MAJOR CONSEQUENCE VIOLATION DE2 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘major con3 sequence violation’ means a violation that contrib4 uted to an incident resulting in— 

5 ‘‘(A) 1 or more deaths; 

6 ‘‘(B) 1 or more injuries or illnesses requir7 ing in-patient hospitalization; or 

8 ‘‘(C) environmental harm exceeding 

9 $250,000 in estimated damage to the environ10 ment including property loss other than the 

11 value of natural gas or hazardous liquid lost, or 

12 damage to pipeline equipment.’’. 

13 (b) PENALTY FOR OBSTRUCTION OF INSPECTIONS

14 AND INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 60118(e) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Secretary may im16 pose a civil penalty under section 60122 of this title on 

17 a person who obstructs or prevents the Secretary from 

18 carrying out inspections or investigations under this chap19 ter.’’. 

20 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY CAPS INAPPLI21 CABLE.—Section 60120(a)(1) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: ‘‘The maximum amount of civil pen23 alties for administrative enforcement actions under section 

24 60122 of this title shall not apply to enforcement actions 

25 under this section.’’. 


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1 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE EN2 FORCEMENT ORDERS.—Section 60119(a) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking the subsection caption and in4 serting ‘‘(a) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS, ORDERS, 

5 AND OTHER FINAL AGENCY ACTIONS.—’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘about an application for a 

7 waiver under section 60118(c) or (d) of’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘under’’. 

9 SEC. 3. PIPELINE DAMAGE PREVENTION. 

10 (a) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR STATE ONE-CALL

11 NOTIFICATION PROGRAMS.—Section 6103(a) is amended 

12 to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to qualify for a 

15 grant under section 6106, a State one-call notifica16 tion program shall, at a minimum, provide for— 

17 ‘‘(A) appropriate participation by all un18 derground facility operators, including all gov19 ernment operators; 

20 ‘‘(B) appropriate participation by all exca21 vators, including all government and contract 

22 excavators; and 

23 ‘‘(C) flexible and effective enforcement 

24 under State law with respect to participation in, 

25 and use of, one-call notification systems. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS PROHIBITED.—A State one2 call notification program may not exempt munici3 palities, State agencies, or their contractors from its 

4 one-call notification system requirements.’’. 

5 (b) STATE DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAMS.—Sec6 tion 60134(a) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

8 paragraph (1); 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘(b).’’ in paragraph (2) and in10 serting ‘‘(b); and’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(3) does not provide any exemptions to mu13 nicipalities, State agencies, or their contractors from 

14 its one-call notification system requirements.’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall take effect 2 years after the date of en17 actment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 4. OFFSHORE GATHERING PIPELINES. 

19 Section 60102(k)(1) is amended by striking the last 

20 sentence and inserting ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of enactment of the Pipeline Transportation Safety 

22 Improvement Act of 2011, the Secretary shall issue regu23 lations, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, sub24 jecting offshore hazardous liquid gathering pipelines and 

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1 lets of the Gulf of Mexico to the same standards and regu2 lations as other hazardous liquid pipelines. The regula3 tions issued under this paragraph shall not apply to low4 stress distribution pipelines.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. AUTOMATIC AND REMOTE-CONTROLLED SHUT-OFF 

6 VALVES. 

7 Section 60102 is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(n) AUTOMATIC AND REMOTE-CONTROLLED SHUT10 OFF VALVES.—Not later than 2 years after the date of 

11 enactment of the Pipeline Transportation Safety Improve12 ment Act of 2011, the Secretary shall by regulation, after 

13 notice and an opportunity for a hearing, require the use 

14 of automatic or remote-controlled shut-off valves, or equiv15 alent technology, where economically, technically, and 

16 operationally feasible on transmission pipelines con17 structed or entirely replaced after the date on which the 

18 Secretary issues a final rule.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. EXCESS FLOW VALVES. 

20 Section 60109(e)(3) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub22 paragraph (C); and 

23 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION BRANCH SERVICES, 

2 MULTI-FAMILY FACILITIES, AND SMALL COM3 MERCIAL FACILITIES.—Not later than 2 years 

4 after the date of enactment of the Pipeline 

5 Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 

6 2011, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations, 

7 after notice and an opportunity for hearing, to 

8 require the use of excess flow valves, where eco9 nomically and technically feasible, on new or en10 tirely replaced distribution branch services, 

11 multi-family facilities, and small commercial fa12 cilities.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT. 

14 (a) EVALUATION.—Within 1 year after the date of 

15 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 

16 shall evaluate— 

17 (1) whether integrity management system re18 quirements, or elements thereof, should be expanded 

19 beyond high consequence areas (as defined under 

20 section 60109(a) of title 49, United States Code); 

21 and 

22 (2) with respect to gas pipeline facilities, wheth23 er applying the integrity management program re24 quirements to additional areas would mitigate the 

25 need for class location requirements. 


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1 (b) STANDARDS.—Not later than 1 year after com2 pletion of the evaluation, the Secretary shall prescribe 

3 such regulations, after notice and an opportunity for a 

4 hearing. 

5 (c) DATA REPORTING.—The Secretary shall collect 

6 any relevant data necessary to complete the evaluation re7 quired by subsection (a) and may collect such additional 

8 data pursuant to regulations promulgated under sub9 section (b) as may be necessary. 

10 SEC. 8. PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AWARENESS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 is amended by add12 ing at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 60138. Public education and awareness 

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

15 date of enactment of the Pipeline Transportation Safety 

16 Improvement Act of 2011, the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) maintain a monthly updated summary of 

18 all completed and final natural gas and hazardous 

19 liquid pipeline inspections conducted by or reported 

20 to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Ad21 ministration that includes— 

22 ‘‘(A) identification of the operator in23 spected; 

24 ‘‘(B) the type of inspection; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the results of the inspection, includ2 ing any deficiencies identified; and 

3 ‘‘(D) any corrective actions required to be 

4 taken by the operator to remediate such defi5 ciencies; 

6 ‘‘(2) maintain a comprehensive list, to be up7 dated annually, and individual copy of each gas 

8 emergency response plan pursuant to section 

9 60102(d)(5) of this title and of each hazardous liq10 uid pipeline operator’s facility response plan pursu11 ant to section 311(j)(5) of the Federal Water Pollu12 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)), excluding 

13 any proprietary or security-sensitive information 

14 that may be contained in an operator’s plan; 

15 ‘‘(3) excluding any proprietary or security-sen16 sitive information, as part of the National Pipeline 

17 Mapping System maintain a map of all currently 

18 designated high consequence areas in which pipelines 

19 are required to meet integrity management safety 

20 regulations and update the map annually; and 

21 ‘‘(4) maintain a current copy of any industry22 developed or professional organization pipeline safety 

23 standards that have been incorporated by reference 

24 into regulations, to the extent consistent with fair 

25 use. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The requirements of 

2 subsection (a) shall be considered to have been met if the 

3 information required to be made public is made available 

4 on the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminis5 tration’s public Web site. 

6 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO FOIA.—Nothing in this sec7 tion shall be construed to require disclosure of information 

8 or records that are exempt from disclosure under section 

9 552 of title 5.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

11 for chapter 601 is amended by inserting after the item 

12 relating to section 60137 the following: 

‘‘60138. Public education and awareness’’. 

13 SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT. 

14 The Comptroller General shall conduct a comprehen15 sive analysis of the safety risks, including the risk of acci16 dent and injury to individuals or the environment, from 

17 both onshore and offshore pipelines to which chapter 601 

18 of title 49, United States Code, does not apply, including 

19 gathering lines. The analysis shall also consider the safety 

20 risks and benefits of applying the regulations under sec21 tion 60109(e) of title 49, United States Code, to low-stress 

22 gas transmission lines. Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

24 submit a report on the results of this analysis to the Sen25 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 


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1 and the House of Representatives Committees on Trans2 portation and Infrastructure and on Energy and Com3 merce. 

4 SEC. 10. LEAK DETECTION. 

5 (a) LEAK DETECTION STUDY UPDATE.—Not later 

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

7 Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Senate 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

9 and the House of Representatives Committees on Trans10 portation and Infrastructure and on Energy and Com11 merce an updated report on leak detection systems utilized 

12 by operators of hazardous liquid pipelines and transpor13 tation-related flow lines. The report shall include an anal14 ysis of the technical limitations of current leak detection 

15 systems, including the systems’ ability to detect ruptures 

16 and small leaks that are ongoing or intermittent, and what 

17 can be done to foster development of better technologies. 

18 (b) LEAK DETECTION STANDARDS.—Not later than 

19 1 year after completion of the report, the Secretary may, 

20 based on the study in subsection (a), prescribe regulations, 

21 after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, requiring 

22 an operator of a hazardous liquid pipeline to use leak de23 tection technologies, particularly in high consequence 

24 areas. 


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1 SEC. 11. INCIDENT NOTIFICATION. 

2 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 

4 (1) prescribe regulations, after notice and an 

5 opportunity for a hearing, that establish time limits 

6 for accident and incident telephonic or electronic no7 tification by pipeline operators to State and local 

8 government officials and emergency responders when 

9 a spill or rupture occurs; and 

10 (2) review procedures for pipeline operators and 

11 the National Response Center to provide thorough 

12 and coordinated notification to all relevant emer13 gency response officials and revise such procedures 

14 as appropriate. 

15 SEC. 12. TRANSPORTATION-RELATED ONSHORE FACILITY 

16 RESPONSE PLAN COMPLIANCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

18 section 311(m)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

19 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(m)(2)) are each amended by striking 

20 ‘‘Administrator or’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator, the 

21 Secretary of Transportation, or’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

23 311(b)(6)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

24 (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘oper25 ating or’’ and inserting ‘‘operating, the Secretary of 

26 Transportation, or’’. 


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1 SEC. 13. PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE DATA COLLECTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 60132(a) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘and gathering lines’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(4) Any other geospatial, technical, or other 

6 related pipeline data, including design and material 

7 specifications, that the Secretary determines is nec8 essary to carry out the purposes of this section. The 

9 Secretary shall give reasonable notice to operators 

10 that the data are being requested.’’. 

11 (b) DISCLOSURE LIMITED TO FOIA REQUIRE12 MENTS.—Section 60132 is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE LIMITED.—The Secretary 

15 may not disclose information collected pursuant to sub16 section (a) except to the extent permitted by section 552 

17 of title 5.’’. 

18 SEC. 14. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND CONSULTA19 TION. 

20 Section 60117 is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(o) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND CONSULTA23 TION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND TECHNICAL

25 ASSISTANCE.—If the Secretary determines that it 

26 would benefit the United States, subject to guidance 


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1 from the Secretary of State, the Secretary may en2 gage in activities supporting cooperative inter3 national efforts to share information about the risks 

4 to the public and the environment from pipelines 

5 and means of protecting against those risks. Such 

6 cooperation may include the exchange of information 

7 with domestic and appropriate international organi8 zations to facilitate efforts to develop and improve 

9 safety standards and requirements for pipeline 

10 transportation in or affecting interstate or foreign 

11 commerce. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—To the extent prac13 ticable, subject to guidance from the Secretary of 

14 State, the Secretary may consult with interested au15 thorities in Canada, Mexico, and other interested au16 thorities, as needed, to ensure that the respective 

17 pipeline safety standards and requirements pre18 scribed by the Secretary and those prescribed by 

19 such authorities are consistent with the safe and re20 liable operation of cross-border pipelines. 

21 ‘‘(3) DIFFERENCES IN INTERNATIONAL STAND22 ARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this section 

23 requires that a standard or requirement prescribed 

24 by the Secretary under this chapter be identical to 


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1 a standard or requirement adopted by an inter2 national authority.’’. 

3 SEC. 15. GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID GATHERING LINES. 

4 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall complete 

6 a review of all exemptions for gas and hazardous liquid 

7 gathering lines. Based on this review the Secretary shall 

8 submit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent10 atives Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure 

11 and on Energy and Commerce containing the Secretary’s 

12 recommendations with respect to the modification or rev13 ocation of existing exemptions. 

14 SEC. 16. TRANSPORTATION-RELATED OIL FLOW LINES. 

15 Section 60102, as amended by section 5, is further 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(o) TRANSPORTATION-RELATED OIL FLOW

18 LINES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary may 

20 collect geospatial, technical, or other pipeline data on 

21 transportation-related oil flow lines, including un22 regulated transportation-related oil flow lines. 

23 ‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION-RELATED OIL FLOW

24 LINE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘trans25 portation-related oil flow line’ means a pipeline 


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1 transporting oil off of the grounds of the well where 

2 it originated across areas not owned by the producer 

3 regardless of the extent to which the oil has been 

4 processed, if at all. 

5 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 

6 authorizes the Secretary to prescribe standards for 

7 the movement of oil through production, refining, or 

8 manufacturing facilities, or through oil production 

9 flow lines located on the grounds of wells.’’. 

10 SEC. 17. ALASKA PROJECT COORDINATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601, as amended by sec12 tion 8 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘§ 60139. Alaska project coordination 

15 ‘‘The Secretary may provide technical assistance to 

16 the State of Alaska for the purpose of achieving coordi17 nated and effective oversight of the construction, expan18 sion, or operation of pipeline systems in Alaska. The as19 sistance may include— 

20 ‘‘(1) conducting coordinated inspections of pipe21 line systems subject to the respective authorities of 

22 the Department of Transportation and the State of 

23 Alaska; 

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1 tegrity risks associated with operating pipeline sys2 tems in the unique conditions of Alaska; 

3 ‘‘(3) training inspection and enforcement per4 sonnel and consulting on the development and imple5 mentation of inspection protocols and training pro6 grams; and 

7 ‘‘(4) entering into cooperative agreements, 

8 grants, or other transactions with the State of Alas9 ka, the Joint Pipeline Office, other Federal agencies, 

10 and other public and private agencies to carry out 

11 the objectives of this section.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 for chapter 601, as amended by section 8 of this Act, is 

14 further amended by inserting the following after the item 

15 relating to section 60138: 

‘‘60139. Alaska project coordination’’. 

16 SEC. 18. COST RECOVERY FOR DESIGN REVIEWS. 

17 Section 60117(n) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(n) COST RECOVERY FOR DESIGN REVIEWS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(A) REVIEW COSTS.—For any project de21 scribed in subparagraph (B), if the Secretary 

22 conducts facility design safety reviews in con23 nection with a proposal to construct, expand, or 

24 operate a new gas or hazardous liquid pipeline 

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1 ing construction inspections and oversight, the 

2 Secretary may require the person or entity pro3 posing the project to pay the costs incurred by 

4 the Secretary relating to such reviews. If the 

5 Secretary exercises the cost recovery authority 

6 described in this section, the Secretary shall 

7 prescribe a fee structure and assessment meth8 odology that is based on the costs of providing 

9 these reviews and shall prescribe procedures to 

10 collect fees under this section. This authority is 

11 in addition to the authority provided in section 

12 60301 of this title, but the Secretary may not 

13 collect fees under this section and section 

14 60301 for the same design safety review. 

15 ‘‘(B) PROJECTS TO WHICH APPLICABLE.— 

16 Subparagraph (A) applies to any project that— 

17 ‘‘(i) has design and construction costs 

18 totaling at least $3,400,000,000; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) uses new or novel technologies or 

20 designs. 

21 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—For any new pipeline 

22 construction project in which the Secretary will con23 duct design reviews, the person or entity proposing 

24 the project shall notify the Secretary and provide the 

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1 dures, and related materials at least 120 days prior 

2 to the commencement of construction. 

3 ‘‘(3) DEPOSIT AND USE.—There is established 

4 a Pipeline Safety Design Review Fund in the Treas5 ury of the United States. The Secretary shall deposit 

6 funds paid under this subsection into the Fund. 

7 Funds deposited under this section are authorized to 

8 be appropriated for the purposes set forth in this 

9 chapter. Fees authorized under this section shall be 

10 collected and available for obligation only to the ex11 tent and in the amount provided in advance in ap12 propriations Acts.’’. 

13 SEC. 19. SPECIAL PERMITS. 

14 Section 60118(c)(1) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) ISSUANCE OF WAIVERS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On application of an 

17 owner or operator of a pipeline facility, the Sec18 retary by order may waive compliance with any 

19 part of an applicable standard prescribed under 

20 this chapter with respect to the facility on 

21 terms the Secretary considers appropriate, if 

22 the Secretary determines that the waiver is not 

23 inconsistent with pipeline safety. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

2 whether to grant a waiver, the Secretary shall 

3 consider— 

4 ‘‘(i) the fitness of the applicant to 

5 conduct the activity authorized by the 

6 waiver in a manner that is consistent with 

7 pipeline safety; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the applicant’s compliance his9 tory; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the applicant’s accident history; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iv) any other information or data 

13 the Secretary considers relevant to making 

14 the determination. 

15 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—A waiver of 

16 one or more pipeline operating requirements 

17 shall be reviewed by the Secretary 5 years after 

18 its effective date. In reviewing a waiver, the 

19 Secretary shall consider any change in owner20 ship or control of the pipeline, any change in 

21 the conditions around the pipeline, and other 

22 factors as appropriate. The Secretary may mod23 ify, suspend, or revoke a waiver after such re24 view under with subparagraph (E). 


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1 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC NOTICE AND HEARING.—The 

2 Secretary may act on a waiver under this sec3 tion only after public notice and an opportunity 

4 for a hearing, which may consist of publication 

5 of notice in the Federal Register that an appli6 cation for a waiver has been filed and providing 

7 the public with the opportunity to review and 

8 comment on the application. If a waiver is 

9 granted, the Secretary shall state in the order 

10 and associated analysis the reasons for granting 

11 it. 

12 ‘‘(E) NONCOMPLIANCE AND MODIFICA13 TION, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION.—After no14 tice to a holder of a waiver and opportunity to 

15 show cause, the Secretary may modify, suspend, 

16 or revoke a waiver issued under this section for 

17 failure to comply with its terms or conditions, 

18 intervening changes in Federal law, a material 

19 change in circumstances affecting safety, in20 cluding erroneous information in the applica21 tion, or any other reason. If necessary to avoid 

22 a significant risk of harm to persons, property, 

23 or the environment, the Secretary may waive 

24 the show cause procedure and make the action 

25 immediately effective.’’. 


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1 SEC. 20. BIOFUEL PIPELINES. 

2 Section 60101(a)(4) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

4 subparagraph (A); 

5 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub6 paragraph (C); and 

7 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(B) non-petroleum fuels, including 

10 biofuels that are flammable, toxic, or corrosive 

11 or would be harmful to the environment if re12 leased in significant quantities, and’’. 

13 SEC. 21. CARBON DIOXIDE PIPELINES. 

14 Section 60102(i) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(i) PIPELINES TRANSPORTING CARBON DIOXIDE.— 

16 The Secretary shall prescribe minimum safety standards 

17 for the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline in ei18 ther a liquid or gaseous state.’’. 

19 SEC. 22. STUDY OF THE TRANSPORTATION OF TAR SANDS 

20 CRUDE OIL 

21 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall complete 

23 a comprehensive review of hazardous liquid pipeline regu24 lations to determine whether these regulations are suffi25 cient to regulate pipelines used for the transportation of 

26 tar sands crude oil. In conducting this review, the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Feb 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S275.IS S275

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1 retary shall conduct an analysis of whether any increase 

2 in risk of release exists for pipelines transporting tar 

3 sands crude oil. The Secretary shall report the results of 

4 this review to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation, and the House of Represent6 atives Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure 

7 and on Energy and Commerce. 

8 SEC. 23. STUDY OF NON-PETROLEUM HAZARDOUS LIQUIDS 

9 TRANSPORTED BY PIPELINE. 

10 The Secretary of Transportation may conduct an 

11 analysis of the transportation of non-petroleum hazardous 

12 liquids by pipeline for the purpose of identifying the extent 

13 to which pipelines are currently being used to transport 

14 non-petroleum hazardous liquids, such as chlorine, from 

15 chemical production facilities across land areas not owned 

16 by the producer that are accessible to the public. The anal17 ysis should identify the extent to which the safety of the 

18 lines is unregulated by the States and evaluate whether 

19 the transportation of such chemicals by pipeline across 

20 areas accessible to the public would present significant 

21 risks to public safety, property, or the environment in the 

22 absence of regulation. The results of the analysis shall be 

23 made available to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation and the House of RepresentVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Feb 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S275.IS S275

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1 atives Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure 

2 and on Energy and Commerce. 

3 SEC. 24. CLARIFICATIONS. 

4 (a) AMENDMENT OF PROCEDURES CLARIFICA5 TION.—Section 60108(a)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘an 

6 intrastate’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’. 

7 (b) OWNER AND OPERATOR CLARIFICATION.—Sec8 tion 60102(a)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘owners and 

9 operators’’ and inserting in their place the words ‘‘any or 

10 all of the owners or operators’’. 

11 (c) ONE-CALL ENFORCEMENT CLARIFICATION.— 

12 Section 60114(f) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: ‘‘This subsection does not apply to proceedings 

14 against persons who are pipeline operators.’’. 

15 SEC. 25. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent funds are appro17 priated, the Secretary of Transportation shall increase the 

18 personnel of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

19 Administration by a total of 39 full-time employees to 

20 carry out the pipeline safety program and the administra21 tion of that program, of which at least— 

22 (1) 9 employees shall be added in fiscal year 

23 2011; 

24 (2) 10 employees shall be added in fiscal year 

25 2012; 


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1 (3) 10 employees shall be added in fiscal year 

2 2013; and 

3 (4) 10 employees shall be added in fiscal year 

4 2014. 

5 (b) FUNCTIONS.—In increasing the number of em6 ployees under subsection (a), the Secretary shall focus on 

7 hiring employees— 

8 (1) to conduct data collection, analysis, and re9 porting; 

10 (2) to develop, implement, and update informa11 tion technology; 

12 (3) to conduct inspections of pipeline facilities 

13 to determine compliance with applicable regulations 

14 and standards; 

15 (4) to provide administrative, legal, and other 

16 support for pipeline enforcement activities; and 

17 (5) to support the overall pipeline safety mis18 sion of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

19 Administration, including training of pipeline en20 forcement personnel. 

21 SEC. 26. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT. 

22 Section 60107(b) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS.—After notifying and consulting 

24 with a State authority, the Secretary may withhold any 

25 part of a payment when the Secretary decides that the 


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1 authority is not carrying out satisfactorily a safety pro2 gram or not acting satisfactorily as an agent. The Sec3 retary may pay an authority under this section only when 

4 the authority ensures the Secretary that it will provide the 

5 remaining costs of a safety program and that the total 

6 State amount spent for a safety program (excluding 

7 grants of the United States Government) will at least 

8 equal the average amount spent for gas and hazardous 

9 liquid safety programs for fiscal years 2004 through 2006, 

10 except when the Secretary waives the requirements of this 

11 subsection. The Secretary shall grant such a waiver if a 

12 State can demonstrate an inability to maintain or increase 

13 the required funding share of its pipeline safety program 

14 at or above the level required by this subsection due to 

15 economic hardship in that State.’’. 

16 SEC. 27. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID.— 

18 (1) Section 60125(a)(1) is amended by striking 

19 subparagraphs (A) through (D) and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2011, $92,206,000, of 

22 which $9,200,000 is for carrying out such sec23 tion 12 and $36,958,000 is for making grants; 


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1 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 2012, $96,144,000, of 

2 which $9,600,000 for carrying out such section 

3 12 and $39,611,000 is for making grants; 

4 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 2013, $99,876,000, of 

5 which $9,900,000 is for carrying out such sec6 tion 12 and $41,148,000 is for making grants; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(D) for fiscal year 2014, $102,807,000, 

9 of which $10,200,000 is for carrying out such 

10 section 12 and $42,356,000 is for making 

11 grants.’’. 

12 (2) Section 60125(a)(2) is amended by striking 

13 subparagraphs (A) through (D) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2011, $18,905,000, of 

16 which $7,562,000 is for carrying out such sec17 tion 12 and $7,864,000 is for making grants; 

18 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 2012, $19,661,000, of 

19 which $7,864,000 is for carrying out such sec20 tion 12 and $7,864,000 is for making grants; 

21 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 2013, $20,000,000, of 

22 which $8,000,000 is for carrying out such sec23 tion 12 and $8,000,000 is for making grants; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) for fiscal year 2014, $20,000,000, of 

2 which $8,000,000 is for carrying out such sec3 tion 12 and $8,000,000 is for making grants.’’. 

4 (b) EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANTS.—Section 

5 60125(b)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘2007 through 2010’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘2011 through 2014’’. 

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

8 6107 is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘2007 through 2010.’’ in sub10 section (a) and inserting ‘‘2011 through 2014.’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘2007 through 2010.’’ in sub12 section (b) and inserting ‘‘2011 through 2014.’’; and 

13 (3) by striking subsection (c). 

14 (d) STATE DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAMS.—Sec15 tion 60134 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to pro18 vide grants under this section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal 

19 years 2011 through 2014. The funds shall remain avail20 able until expended.’’. 

21 (e) COMMUNITY PIPELINE SAFETY INFORMATION

22 GRANTS.—Section 60130 is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ in subsection (a)(1) 

24 and inserting ‘‘$100,000’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘2003 through 2010.’’ in sub2 section (d) and inserting ‘‘2011 through 2014.’’. 

3 (f) PIPELINE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND DE4 VELOPMENT.—Section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improve5 ment Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 note) is amended— 

6 (1) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(3) ONGOING PIPELINE TRANSPORTATION RE9 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—After the initial 5- 

10 year program plan has been carried out by the par11 ticipating agencies, the Secretary of Transportation 

12 shall prepare a research and development program 

13 plan every 5 years thereafter and shall transmit a 

14 report to Congress on the status and results-to-date 

15 of implementation of the program each year that 

16 funds are appropriated for carrying out the plan.’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘2003 through 2006.’’ in sub19 section (f) and inserting ‘‘2011 through 2014.’’. 

Æ 


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