HCON 93 RDS 
and Commerce of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans-
portation of the Senate a report on the results of the 
review. 
(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report shall in-
clude the Secretary’s recommendations with respect 
to— 
(A) the sufficiency of existing Federal and 
State laws and regulations to ensure the safety 
of gas and hazardous liquid gathering lines; 
(B) the economic impacts, technical prac-
ticability, and challenges of applying existing 
Federal regulations to gathering lines that are 
not currently subject to Federal regulation 
when compared to the public safety benefits; 
and 
(C) subject to a risk-based assessment, the 
need to modify or revoke existing exemptions 
from Federal regulation for gas and hazardous 
liquid gathering lines. 
(c) 
OFFSHORE
GATHERING
LINES.—Section 
60108(c) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) If, after reviewing existing Federal and State 
regulations for hazardous liquid gathering lines located 
offshore in the United States, including within the inlets 
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of the Gulf of Mexico, the Secretary determines it is ap-
propriate, the Secretary shall issue regulations, after no-
tice and an opportunity for a hearing, subjecting offshore 
hazardous liquid gathering lines and hazardous liquid 
gathering lines located within the inlets of the Gulf of 
Mexico to the same standards and regulations as other 
hazardous liquid gathering lines. The regulations issued 
under this paragraph shall not apply to production pipe-
lines or flow lines.’’. 
SEC. 22. EXCESS FLOW VALVES. 
Section 60109(e)(3) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub-
paragraph (C); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION
BRANCH
SERVICES, 
MULTIFAMILY
FACILITIES, AND
SMALL
COM-
MERCIAL FACILITIES.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of the Pipeline 
Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation 
Act of 2011, and after issuing a final report on 
the evaluation of the National Transportation 
Safety Board’s recommendation on excess flow 
valves in applications other than service lines 
serving one single family residence, the Sec-
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retary, if appropriate, shall by regulation re-
quire the use of excess flow valves, or equivalent 
technology, where economically, technically, and 
operationally feasible on new or entirely re-
placed distribution branch services, multifamily 
facilities, and small commercial facilities.’’. 
SEC. 23. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE OPERATING PRESSURE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601, as amended by this 
Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 60139. Maximum allowable operating pressure 
‘‘(a) VERIFICATION OF RECORDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall require each owner or operator of a pipe-
line facility to conduct, not later than 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this section, a 
verification of the records of the owner or operator 
relating to the interstate and intrastate gas trans-
mission pipelines of the owner or operator in class 
3 and class 4 locations and class 1 and class 2 high- 
consequence areas. 
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the verification 
shall be to ensure that the records accurately reflect 
the physical and operational characteristics of the 
pipelines described in paragraph (1) and confirm the 
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established maximum allowable operating pressure of 
the pipelines. 
‘‘(3) 
ELEMENTS.—The 
verification 
process 
under this subsection shall include such elements as 
the Secretary considers appropriate. 
‘‘(b) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(1) DOCUMENTATION
OF
CERTAIN
PIPE-
LINES.—Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this section, each owner or operator of 
a pipeline facility shall identify and submit to the 
Secretary documentation relating to each pipeline 
segment of the owner or operator described in sub-
section (a)(1) for which the records of the owner or 
operator are insufficient to confirm the established 
maximum allowable operating pressure of the seg-
ment. 
‘‘(2) EXCEEDANCES OF MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE 
OPERATING PRESSURE.—If there is an exceedance of 
the maximum allowable operating pressure with re-
spect to a gas transmission pipeline of an owner or 
operator of a pipeline facility that exceeds the build- 
up allowed for operation of pressure-limiting or con-
trol devices, the owner or operator shall report the 
exceedance to the Secretary and appropriate State 
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authorities on or before the 5th day following the 
date on which the exceedance occurs. 
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE OP-
ERATING PRESSURE.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In the case of a trans-
mission line of an owner or operator of a pipeline fa-
cility identified under subsection (b)(1), the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) require the owner or operator to re-
confirm a maximum allowable operating pres-
sure as expeditiously as economically feasible; 
and 
‘‘(B) determine what actions are appro-
priate for the pipeline owner or operator to take 
to maintain safety until a maximum allowable 
operating pressure is confirmed. 
‘‘(2) INTERIM
ACTIONS.—In determining the 
actions for an owner or operator of a pipeline facility 
to take under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall 
take into account potential consequences to public 
safety and the environment, potential impacts on 
pipeline system reliability and deliverability, and 
other factors, as appropriate. 
‘‘(d) TESTING REGULATIONS.— 
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