I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2958 
To require notification of appropriate emergency response authorities when 
damage to underground pipeline facilities occurs or is discovered. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 17, 2005 
Mr. MURPHY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require notification of appropriate emergency response 
authorities when damage to underground pipeline facili-
ties occurs or is discovered. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pipeline Safety Emer-
gency Notification Act’’ or ‘‘Marc and Chelsea’s Law’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Over 2,000,000 miles of pipelines transport 
the bulk of natural gas and petroleum products in 
the United States. 
(2) According to the Pipeline and Hazardous 
Materials Safety Administration, since 1986 there 
have been 421 fatalities and 1,906 injuries as a re-
sult of 7,607 incidents that damaged the Nation’s 
pipelines. 
These 
incidents 
have 
resulted 
in 
$1,700,000,000 in property damage. 
(3) The leading cause of incidents to distribu-
tion pipelines is external force damage during exca-
vation work near pipelines. 
(4) Existing Federal law and regulations re-
quire pipeline owners and operators to have emer-
gency procedures to address pipeline emergencies. In 
addition, the Office of Pipeline Safety has worked 
closely with the Common Ground Alliance to develop 
best practices which recommend the immediate noti-
fication of 9–1–1 and facility owner or operators in 
the event of serious damage to a pipeline. However, 
Federal law does not explicitly require such notifica-
tion, and laws and enforcement mechanisms vary 
from State to State. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to mini-
mize the danger to life, health, or property that may result
from damage incurred to underground pipeline facilities 
by requiring the notification of appropriate emergency re-
sponse authorities in such instances. 
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY ALERT REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 60114 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘and 
emergency alert requirements’’ after ‘‘sys-
tems’’; 
(2) in the heading of subsection (a), by insert-
ing ‘‘ONE-CALL
NOTIFICATION
SYSTEM’’ before 
‘‘MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); and 
(4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(c) EMERGENCY ALERT REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Any person, including a 
government employee or contractor, who while en-
gaged in demolition, excavation, tunneling, or con-
struction in the vicinity of a pipeline facility— 
‘‘(A) becomes aware of damage to the pipe-
line facility that may endanger life or cause se-
rious bodily harm or damage to property; or