II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2469 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the use of advanced 

leak detection technology for pipelines, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 

Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. 

HARRIS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) 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 require the use 

of advanced leak detection technology for pipelines, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Emissions 

5 from Transmission Harm American Neighborhoods and 

6 the Environment Act’’ or the ‘‘METHANE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LEAK DETECTION REQUIREMENTS AND METHANE 

2 EMISSIONS FROM PIPELINES. 

3 (a) LEAK DETECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

4 60109 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) LEAK DETECTION REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

8 after the date of enactment of this subsection, and 

9 as part of the minimum standards for integrity man10 agement programs for distribution pipelines under 

11 subsection (e), to the maximum extent practicable, 

12 operators of distribution pipelines shall use advanced 

13 leak detection technology described in paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(2) ADVANCED LEAK DETECTION TECH15 NOLOGY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Advanced leak detec17 tion technology referred to in paragraph (1) in18 cludes— 

19 ‘‘(i) a high sensitivity methane detec20 tor mounted on a vehicle or aircraft, in21 cluding a drone, equipped with Global Po22 sitioning System technology, if that high 

23 sensitivity methane detector and Global 

24 Positioning System technology meet the 

25 minimum performance standards described 

26 in subparagraph (B); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any other technology or combina2 tion of technologies that meet the min3 imum performance standards described in 

4 subparagraph (B). 

5 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM PERFORMANCE STAND6 ARDS.—The high sensitivity methane detector 

7 and Global Positioning System technology re8 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(i) shall, at a 

9 minimum— 

10 ‘‘(i) collect latitude and longitude co11 ordinates and methane concentration data 

12 simultaneously; 

13 ‘‘(ii) measure methane concentrations 

14 in parts per billion; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) collect data points at a rate of 

16 at least twice per second. 

17 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

19 Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

20 this subsection.’’. 

21 (b) METHANE EMISSIONS FROM PIPELINES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 of title 49, 

23 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 60142. Methane emissions from pipelines 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent prac3 ticable, the owner or operator of a pipeline facility shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) use the best available technology to cap5 ture natural gas when making repairs to the pipeline 

6 facility; 

7 ‘‘(2) use the best available technology, includ8 ing, as applicable, advanced leak detection tech9 nology described in section 60109(h)(2), to search 

10 for and identify leaks in the pipeline facility; 

11 ‘‘(3) develop or participate in a replacement or 

12 repair program for pipeline facilities that— 

13 ‘‘(A) are of a design, age, or material 

14 known to be leaky; or 

15 ‘‘(B) are known to be leaky based on oper16 ating history; and 

17 ‘‘(4) report to the Secretary any event that in18 volves a release of gas from a pipeline facility that 

19 results in an unintentional estimated gas loss of 

20 50,000 cubic feet or more. 

21 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pro23 mulgate regulations to carry out this section.’’. 

24 (2) REPORTING THRESHOLD.—Not later than 

25 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

26 Secretary of Transportation shall amend section 


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1 191.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to 

2 ensure that the quantity of unintentional estimated 

3 gas loss necessary to be considered an ‘‘incident’’ 

4 under that section is 50,000 cubic feet or more. 

5 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec6 tions for chapter 601 of title 49, United States 

7 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

8 to section 60141 the following: 

‘‘60142. Methane emissions from pipelines.’’. 

Æ 


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