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retary, or, in the case of an intrastate pipeline facility oper-
ator, the appropriate State regulatory agency, may review
and certify the plans to determine if they are sufficient to
provide a safe operating environment and shall periodically
review the plans to ensure the continuation of a safe oper-
ation. The Secretary may establish minimum standards for
pipeline personnel training and evaluation, which may in-
clude written examination, oral examination, work per-
formance history review, observation during performance
on the job, on the job training, simulations, or other forms
of assessment.
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit a
report to the Congress evaluating the effectiveness of
operator 
qualification 
and 
training 
efforts,
including—
(A) actions taken by inspectors;
(B) recommendations made by inspectors
for changes to operator qualification and train-
ing programs; and
(C) industry and employee organization re-
sponses to those actions and recommendations.
(2) CRITERIA.—The Secretary may establish cri-
teria for use in evaluating and reporting on operator
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qualification and training for purposes of this sub-
section.
(3) DUE DATE.—The Secretary shall submit the
report required by paragraph (1) to the Congress 3
years after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 764. PIPELINE INTEGRITY INSPECTION PROGRAM.
Section 60109 is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(c) INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT.—
‘‘(1) GENERAL
REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary
shall promulgate regulations requiring operators of
hazardous liquid pipelines and natural gas trans-
mission pipelines to evaluate the risks to the opera-
tor’s pipeline facilities in areas identified pursuant to
subsection (a)(1), and to adopt and implement a pro-
gram for integrity management that reduces the risk
of an incident in those areas. The regulations shall be
issued no later than 1 year after the Secretary has
issued standards pursuant to subsections (a) and (b)
of this section or by December 31, 2003, whichever is
sooner.
‘‘(2) STANDARDS
FOR
PROGRAM.—In promul-
gating regulations under this section, the Secretary
shall require an operator’s integrity management
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plan to be based on risk analysis and each plan shall
include, at a minimum—
‘‘(A) periodic assessment of the integrity of
the pipeline through methods including internal
inspection, pressure testing, direct assessment, or
other effective methods. The assessment period
shall be no less than every 5 years unless the De-
partment of Transportation Inspector General,
after consultation with the Secretary determines
there is not a sufficient capability or it is
deemed unnecessary because of more technically
appropriate monitoring or creates undue inter-
ruption of necessary supply to fulfill the require-
ments under this paragraph;
‘‘(B) clearly defined criteria for evaluating
the results of the periodic assessment methods
carried out under subparagraph (A) and proce-
dures to ensure identified problems are corrected
in a timely manner; and
‘‘(C) measures, as appropriate, that prevent
and mitigate unintended releases, such as leak
detection, integrity evaluation, restrictive flow
devices, or other measures.
‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR PROGRAM STANDARDS.—In
deciding how frequently the integrity assessment
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methods carried out under paragraph (2)(A) must be
conducted, an operator shall take into account the po-
tential for new defects developing or previously identi-
fied structural defects caused by construction or in-
stallation, the operational characteristics of the pipe-
line, and leak history. In addition, the Secretary may
establish a minimum testing requirement for opera-
tors of pipelines to conduct internal inspections.
‘‘(4) STATE ROLE.—A State authority that has
an agreement in effect with the Secretary under sec-
tion 60106 is authorized to review and assess an op-
erator’s risk analyses and integrity management
plans required under this section for interstate pipe-
lines located in that State. The reviewing State au-
thority shall provide the Secretary with a written as-
sessment of the plans, make recommendations, as ap-
propriate, to address safety concerns not adequately
addressed in the operator’s plans, and submit docu-
mentation explaining the State-proposed plan revi-
sions. The Secretary shall carefully consider the
State’s proposals and work in consultation with the
States and operators to address safety concerns.
‘‘(5) MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec-
retary of Transportation shall review the risk anal-
ysis and program for integrity management required
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under this section and provide for continued moni-
toring of such plans. Not later than 2 years after the
implementation of integrity management plans under
this section, the Secretary shall complete an assess-
ment and evaluation of the effects on safety and the
environment of extending all of the requirements
mandated by the regulations described in paragraph
(1) to additional areas. The Secretary shall submit
the assessment and evaluation to Congress along with
any recommendations to improve and expand the uti-
lization of integrity management plans.
‘‘(6) OPPORTUNITY FOR LOCAL INPUT ON INTEG-
RITY MANAGEMENT.—Within 18 months after the date
of enactment of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act
of 2003, the Secretary shall, by regulation, establish
a process for raising and addressing local safety con-
cerns about pipeline integrity and the operator’s pipe-
line integrity plan. The process shall include—
‘‘(A) a requirement that an operator of a
hazardous liquid or natural gas transmission
pipeline facility provide information about the
risk analysis and integrity management plan re-
quired under this section to local officials in a
State in which the facility is located;
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‘‘(B) a description of the local officials re-
quired to be informed, the information that is to
be provided to them and the manner, which may
include traditional or electronic means, in which
it is provided;
‘‘(C) the means for receiving input from the
local officials that may include a public forum
sponsored by the Secretary or by the State, or
the submission of written comments through tra-
ditional or electronic means;
‘‘(D) the extent to which an operator of a
pipeline facility must participate in a public
forum sponsored by the Secretary or in another
means for receiving input from the local officials
or in the evaluation of that input; and
‘‘(E) the manner in which the Secretary
will notify the local officials about how their con-
cerns are being addressed.’’.
SEC. 765. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 60112 is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—After notice and an op-
portunity for a hearing, the Secretary of Transportation