Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act of 2015

To amend title 49, United States Code, to enhance pipeline safety, to provide communities with access to improved information concerning the equipment and operations of pipeline facilities, and for other purposes. 1. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act of 2015 (b) Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—Information transparency Sec. 101. References to title 49, United States Code. Sec. 102. Notice to property owners and residents. Sec. 103. Facility operation information standards. Sec. 104. Availability of industry standards and procedures adopted in regulations by reference. Sec. 105. Considerations for identification of high-consequence areas. TITLE II—Pipeline spill prevention Sec. 201. Assessment of oil spill impacts and response in the Great Lakes. Sec. 202. Great Lakes Basin water crossing study and alternatives assessment. Sec. 203. Prohibition on transport of crude oil on Great Lakes. Sec. 204. Definition of worst case discharge. I Information transparency 101. References to title 49, United States Code Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of title 49, United States Code. 102. Notice to property owners and residents Section 60102(c)(4) (C) Notice to property owners and residents (i) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall prescribe minimum standards to require the owner or operator of a pipeline facility to notify all owners and residents of property located within 2,000 feet of a transmission line of the facility of— (I) the proximity of the property to the transmission line; and (II) in the case of a transmission line located on private residential property, the specific location of the line on the property. (ii) Required information The notice under clause (i) shall include, at a minimum— (I) a method for electronic access to the information described in clause (i) through the Geospatial Platform or such other Federal data archive as the Secretary considers appropriate; (II) information on how to obtain a map of the pipeline system through the National Pipeline Mapping System; and (III) such other information as the Secretary considers appropriate. (iii) Deadlines The notice under clause (i) shall be provided not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph and at least once every 3 years thereafter. . 103. Facility operation information standards Section 60102(d) (1) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and indenting appropriately; (2) in paragraph (3), by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and indenting appropriately; (3) in paragraph (5), by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (C) as clauses (i) through (iii), respectively, and indenting appropriately; (4) by designating paragraphs (1) through (6) as subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and indenting appropriately; and (5) by striking The Secretary shall include— (1) In general Subject to paragraph (2), not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act of 2015 (A) to maintain information related to operating the facility as required by the standards prescribed under this chapter; and (B) to provide that information, including any updates and changes, to the Secretary, State regulatory officials, State and local emergency responders, and such other entities as the Secretary considers appropriate. (2) Local emergency responders In the case of a local emergency responder, the Secretary shall provide the information described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (E), and (F) of paragraph (4) only to the extent applicable to the local district. (3) Maintenance The Secretary shall keep on file the information submitted to the Secretary under paragraphs (1) and (2). (4) Information The information shall include— . 104. Availability of industry standards and procedures adopted in regulations by reference Section 60102 (q) Availability of industry standards and procedures adopted in regulations by reference (1) In general The Secretary shall ensure that industry standards and procedures adopted by reference as part of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program under this chapter are easily available to the public free of charge. (2) Application This subsection shall apply to regulations issued before, on, or after the date of enactment of this subsection. . 105. Considerations for identification of high-consequence areas Section 60109 (g) Considerations for identification of high-Consequence areas In identifying high-consequence areas under this chapter, the Secretary shall consider— (1) the age of the pipe; (2) whether the pipe at issue can be inspected using the most modern instrumented internal inspection devices; (3) whether the pipe at issue crosses open waters of the Great Lakes; and (4) the type of commodity (including the type and grade of petroleum product) being transported through the pipe. . II Pipeline spill prevention 201. Assessment of oil spill impacts and response in the Great Lakes (a) Assessment (1) In general The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research, in consultation with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of other relevant agencies, shall— (A) identify measures to respond to spills or leaks of oil in the Great Lakes; and (B) conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of such measures in preventing significant or substantial harm to the public health or welfare, including fish, shellfish, wildlife, public and private property, shorelines, and beaches of the Great Lakes system. (2) Elements The assessment required under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) new scientific research on the impacts of a spill or leak of oil or a hazardous substance in fresh water under a wide range of meteorological and hydrological conditions, including an evaluation of the impacts of different types of petroleum, including synthetic oil from tar sands; (B) an evaluation of oil spill or leak prevention and response plans (including techniques to address submerged oil recovery and recovery in ice-choked waters) in order to identify vulnerabilities and existing threats to the Great Lakes system; and (C) recommendations to foster improvements to safety technologies, spill response planning, clean-up techniques, and environmental protection systems. (b) Report to Congress Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the assessment required under subsection (a). 202. Great Lakes Basin water crossing study and alternatives assessment (a) Survey required Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, working with pipeline facility owners, operators, and State governments, shall conduct a comprehensive water crossing survey of all intrastate and interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facilities that cross waterways in the Great Lakes Basin in the waters of the United States (as defined in the final rule of the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency entitled Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States (b) Elements The survey required under subsection (a) shall— (1) produce a comprehensive map of all hazardous pipeline waterway crossings in the Great Lakes Basin, including lakes, rivers, and streams; (2) evaluate the condition and structural integrity of pipelines at each crossing, considering factors that include pipeline thickness, diameter, weld integrity, internal and external corrosion, age, pressure, control and shut-off valves, burial depths, water depths, currents, and ice cover; (3) identify risks of leak and rupture resulting from pipeline integrity failures, or any other vulnerability at the pipeline water crossings; (4) identify gaps in data and information that exist in the pipeline network in the Great Lakes Basin, and request information related to pipeline integrity or risks from owners and operators with facilities that cross lakes, rivers, and streams; and (5) produce recommendations to prevent future leaks, ruptures, and failures that could result in damage to waterways and natural resources in the Great Lakes Basin. (c) National Research Council study (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall enter into a joint agreement with the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences to conduct a study in connection with the survey under this section. (2) Elements The study conducted under this subsection shall include— (A) a study covering the elements described under paragraphs (4) and (5) of subsection (b); (B) consideration of ways in which review of facility response plans as required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 ( 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq. Federal Water Pollution Control Act 33 U.S.C. 1344 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (C) a risk assessment analysis for alternative transportation options to the hazardous liquid pipeline facility that crosses from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Lower Peninsula of Michigan through the Straits of Mackinac, including— (i) no action (status quo); (ii) rerouting; (iii) decommissioning and abandoning; (iv) replacing; (v) modifying operations (such as limiting pipeline product transport to only natural gas liquids); and (vi) other transportation means. 203. Prohibition on transport of crude oil on Great Lakes Section 108 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1258 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following: (e) Prohibition on transport of crude oil on Great Lakes Notwithstanding any other provision of law, effective beginning on the date of enactment of the Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act of 2015 . 204. Definition of worst case discharge Section 311(a)(24)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(24)(B) , including conditions in which waters that may receive a discharge are covered in whole or in part by ice

Summary: Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to prescribe minimum standards to require the owner or operator of a pipeline facility to notify all owners and residents of property located within 2,000 feet of a transmission line of: the property's proximity to the line, and the line's specific location if it is on private residential property. DOT shall ensure that industry standards and procedures adopted as part of the federal pipeline safety regulatory program are easily available to the public free of charge. In identifying high-consequence areas, DOT shall consider specified features of a pipe, including its age, whether it can be inspected using the most modern instrumented internal inspection devices, whether it crosses open waters of the Great Lakes, and the type of commodity it transports. The Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research shall: identify measures to respond to spills or leaks of oil in the Great Lakes; and assess their effectiveness in preventing significant or substantial harm to the public health or welfare. DOT shall: conduct a comprehensive water crossing survey of all intrastate and interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facilities that cross U.S. waterways in the Great Lakes Basin; and enter into a joint agreement with the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences to identify gaps in data and information in the Basin pipeline network, and make recommendations to prevent future leaks, ruptures, and failures that could result in damage to Basin waterways and natural resources. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is amended to: prohibit vessel transportation of crude oil and crude oil derived from oil sands on the Great Lakes; and include in the meaning of "worst-case discharge," in the case of an offshore or onshore facility, the largest foreseeable discharge in adverse weather conditions (as in current law) in which waters that may receive a discharge are covered by ice.