I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5678 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 26, 2006 
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. OBERSTAR) (both by request): in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 
Energy and Commerce and Resources, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for enhanced safety and environmental protection 
in pipeline transportation, to provide for enhanced reli-
ability in the transportation of the Nation’s energy prod-
ucts by pipeline, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, 
UNITED STATES CODE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Pipeline Safety and Reliability Improvement Act of 
2006’’. 
(b) AMENDMENT
OF 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. 
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 
Sec. 1. Short title; amendment of title 49, United States Code; table of con-
tents. 
Sec. 2. Pipeline safety and damage prevention. 
Sec. 3. Energy transportation infrastructure reliability. 
Sec. 4. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 2. PIPELINE SAFETY AND DAMAGE PREVENTION. 
(a) ONE-CALL CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) Section 60114 is amended by adding at the 
end a new subsection (d) to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—Any person who engages in 
excavation activity without first using an available one-call 
notification system to establish the location of under-
ground facilities in the excavation area, who disregards lo-
cation information or markings established by a pipeline 
facility operator, or who fails to take reasonable steps to 
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ensure safe excavation to prevent damage to a pipeline, 
shall be subject to any action available under this chapter, 
including a civil action under section 60120, an adminis-
trative action under this chapter, including the assessment 
of civil penalties under section 60122, and, if appropriate, 
a criminal action under section 60123.’’. 
(2) Section 60122(a)(1) is amended in the first 
sentence by inserting ‘‘, 60114(d),’’ between ‘‘section 
60114(b)’’ and ‘‘or 60118(a) of this title’’. 
(b) STATE DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAMS.— 
(1) Section 60105(b)(4) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(4) has committed to establishing a program 
designed to prevent damage by excavation, demoli-
tion, tunneling, or construction activity to the pipe-
line facilities to which the certification applies that 
subjects persons who violate the applicable require-
ments of that program to civil penalties and other 
enforcement actions that are substantially the same 
as are provided under this chapter, and addresses 
the elements in section 60134(b);’’. 
(2) Chapter 601 is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
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‘‘§ 60134. State damage prevention programs 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to qualify for a grant 
under this section, each State authority (including a mu-
nicipality if the agreement applies to intrastate gas pipe-
line transportation) having an annual certification in ac-
cordance with section 60105 or an agreement in accord-
ance with section 60106 shall have an effective damage 
prevention program that meets the requirements of sub-
section (b). 
‘‘(b) DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— 
An effective damage prevention program includes the fol-
lowing elements: 
‘‘(1) Participation by operators, excavators, and 
other stakeholders in the development and imple-
mentation of methods for establishing and maintain-
ing effective communications between stakeholders 
from receipt of an excavation notification until suc-
cessful completion of the excavation, as appropriate. 
‘‘(2) A process for fostering and ensuring the 
support and partnership of stakeholders, including 
excavators, operators, locators, designers, and local 
government in all phases of the program. 
‘‘(3) A process for reviewing the adequacy of a 
pipeline operator’s internal performance measures 
regarding persons performing locating services and 
quality assurance programs. 
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‘‘(4) Participation by operators, excavators, and 
other stakeholders in the development and imple-
mentation of effective employee training programs to 
ensure that operators, the one-call center, the en-
forcing agency, and the excavators have partnered to 
design and implement training for the employees of 
operators, excavators, and locators. 
‘‘(5) A process for fostering and ensuring active 
participation by all stakeholders in public education 
for damage prevention activities. 
‘‘(6) A process for resolving disputes that de-
fines the State authority’s role as a partner and 
facilitator to resolve issues. 
‘‘(7) Enforcement of State damage prevention 
laws and regulations for all aspects of the excavation 
process, including public education, and the use of 
civil penalties for violations assessable by the appro-
priate State authority. 
‘‘(8) A process for fostering and promoting the 
use, by all appropriate stakeholders, of improving 
technologies that may enhance communications, un-
derground pipeline locating capability, and gathering 
and analyzing information about the accuracy and 
effectiveness of locating programs. 
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‘‘(9) A process for review and analysis of the ef-
fectiveness of each program element, including a 
means for implementing improvements identified by 
such program reviews. 
‘‘(c) GRANTS TO STATES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make a 
grant of financial assistance to a State that qualifies 
under this section to assist in improving the overall 
quality and effectiveness of a damage prevention 
program of a State. In making grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall take into consideration 
the commitment of each State to ensuring the effec-
tiveness of its damage prevention program, including 
legislative and regulatory actions taken by the State. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—If a State authority files 
an application for a grant under this section not 
later than September 30 of a calendar year, the Sec-
retary of Transportation shall review the State’s 
damage prevention program to determine its effec-
tiveness. For programs determined to be effective, 
the Secretary may make a grant of financial assist-
ance for the cost of the personnel, equipment, and 
activities the authority reasonably requires during 
the next calendar year to carry out an effective dam-
age prevention program as described in subsection 
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(b) of this section. A grant made under this section 
is not subject to the section 60107(a) limitation on 
the maximum percentage of funds to be paid by the 
Secretary. A State authority filing an application 
under this subsection shall demonstrate that the 
Governor (or chief executive) has designated it as 
the appropriate State authority to receive the grant 
funds. Funds provided under this section may not be 
used for lobbying or in direct support of litigation. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, the following amounts are author-
ized to be appropriated to the Secretary: 
‘‘(1) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2008 to be de-
rived from amounts appropriated to the Secretary 
under section 60125(c) of this title. 
‘‘(2) $1,750,000 for fiscal year 2009 to be de-
rived from amounts appropriated to the Secretary 
under section 60125(c) of this title. 
‘‘(3) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 to be de-
rived from amounts appropriated to the Secretary 
under section 60125(c) of this title. 
Such funds shall remain available until expended.’’. 
(3) The table of sections of chapter 601 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘60134. State damage prevention programs.’’. 
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(c) STATE
PIPELINE
SAFETY
GRANTS.—Section 
60107(a) is amended by striking ‘‘not more than 50 per-
cent’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘not more than 80 per-
cent’’. 
(d) DAMAGE PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOP-
MENT.—Section 60114 (as amended by this section) is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(e) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.—To the 
extent and in the amount provided in advance in appro-
priations acts, the Secretary may make grants to any or-
ganization or entity (not including for-profit entities) for 
the development of technologies that will facilitate the pre-
vention of pipeline damage caused by excavation activities, 
with emphasis on wireless and global positioning tech-
nologies having potential for use in connection with notifi-
cation systems and underground facility locating and 
marking services. If a grant is made pursuant to this sub-
section, the Secretary shall establish and follow appro-
priate procedures for awarding grants under this sub-
section and shall ensure that any funds granted are prop-
erly used. Funds provided under this subsection may not 
be used for lobbying or in direct support of litigation. The 
Secretary may also support such technology development 
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through cooperative agreements with trade associations, 
academic institutions, and other qualified organizations.’’. 
(e) SAFETY ORDERS.—Section 60117(l) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(l) SAFETY ORDERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make a 
grant of financial assistance to a State that qualifies 
under this section to assist in improving the overall 
quality and effectiveness of a damage prevention 
program of a State. In making grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall take into consideration 
the commitment of each State to ensuring the effec-
tiveness of its damage prevention program, including 
legislative and regulatory actions taken by the State. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—In making a determina-
tion under paragraph (1) of this section, the Sec-
retary shall, if relevant, consider— 
‘‘(A) the considerations specified in section 
60112(b); 
‘‘(B) the likelihood that the condition will 
impair the serviceability of a pipeline; 
‘‘(C) the likelihood that the condition will 
progress over time; 
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‘‘(D) the likelihood that the condition is 
present or could develop on other areas of the 
pipeline; and 
‘‘(E) other factors the Secretary considers 
appropriate.’’. 
(f) GAS PIPELINE INTEGRITY REASSESSMENT.—Sec-
tion 60109(c)(3)(B) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(B) Subject to paragraph (5), periodic re-
assessment of the facility at a minimum of once 
every 7 years, using methods described in sub-
paragraph (A), until the Secretary issues regu-
lations basing the reassessment intervals on 
technical data, risk factors, and engineering 
analyses.’’. 
(g) INTEGRITY PROGRAM ENFORCEMENT.—Section 
60109(c)(9)(A)(iii) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(iii) 
INADEQUATE
PROGRAMS.—If 
the Secretary determines that a risk anal-
ysis or integrity management program does 
not comply with the requirements of this 
subsection or regulations issued as de-
scribed in paragraph (2), has not been ade-
quately implemented, or is inadequate for 
the safe operation of a pipeline facility, the 
Secretary may conduct proceedings under 
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sections 60108(a), 60112, 60118(a) and 
(b), 60120, 60122, or any other section of 
this chapter, to enforce the requirements.’’. 
(h) LIMITATION ON INFLATIONARY ADJUSTMENTS.— 
Section 60122(a) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) The maximum civil penalty amounts available 
under this section are excepted from the inflation adjust-
ment requirements of section 4 of the Federal Civil Pen-
alties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by 
the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.’’. 
(i) DIRECT SALES LINES.—Subsection 60101(a) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘—’’ the first place it ap-
pears and all that follows through ‘‘(A) means 
a gas pipeline’’ and inserting ‘‘means a gas 
pipeline’’; 
(B) by striking subparagraph (B); 
(C) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and 
(D) by striking ‘‘(15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.); 
but’’ and inserting ‘‘(15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.).’’; 
and 
(2) in paragraph (9)— 
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