‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION
OF
REPORT.—The Sec-
retary shall provide a copy of the report to appro-
priate Federal agencies and to States for further
distribution to appropriate local authorities.
‘‘(3) ADOPTION OF PRACTICES, LAWS, AND OR-
DINANCES.—The Secretary shall encourage Federal
agencies and State and local governments to adopt
and implement appropriate practices, laws, and ordi-
nances, as identified in the report, to address the
risks and hazards associated with encroachment
upon pipeline rights-of-way.’’.
SEC. 9. DAMAGE PREVENTION.
(a) DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Sec-
retary of Transportation shall develop and implement a
strategic plan to reduce the annual number of pipeline re-
leases caused by outside force damage by 25 percent with-
in 4 years of the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The strategic plan shall
include, at a minimum, a description of the efforts of the
Secretary—
(1) to expand and improve public education ac-
tivities to inform excavators, facility operators, em-
ployees of State and local highway departments, and
the public about the importance of preventing dam-
age to pipelines and underground facilities and the
importance of pipeline rights-of-way;
(2) to expand the Secretary’s judicial and pros-
ecutorial education activities and campaigns to in-
crease awareness of the importance of preventing
damage to pipelines and underground facilities;
(3) to advance technology to improve contact
with one-call notification systems and to help mark
and locate pipelines and associated facilities before
any excavation activity begins;
(4) to identify, validate, and promote technology
transfer of the best practices used to prevent dam-
age to underground facilities and to update the re-
port entitled ‘‘Common Ground’’; and
(5) to develop means to implement rec-
ommendations specified in ‘‘Common Ground’’.
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
transmit to Congress a report containing the strategic
plan.
SEC. 10. IMPROVED DATA AND DATA AVAILABILITY.
Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall develop
and implement a comprehensive plan for the collection and
use of gas and hazardous liquid pipeline data to revise the
causal categories on the accident report forms and to
eliminate overlapping and confusing categories and in-
clude subcategories. The plan shall include components to
provide the capability to perform sound accident trend
analysis and evaluations of pipeline operator performance
using normalized accident data.
SEC. 11. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
Chapter 601 is amended—
(1) in section 60102(a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘(a)(1)’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘The Secretary of Transpor-
tation’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(a) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation’’;
(B) by moving the remainder of the text of
paragraph (1), including subparagraphs (A)
and (B) but excluding subparagraph (C), 2 ems
to the right; and
(C) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘QUALI-
FICATIONS OF PIPELINE OPERATORS.—’’ before
‘‘The qualifications’’;
(2) in section 60110(b) by striking ‘‘cir-
cumstances’’ and all that follows through ‘‘operator’’
and inserting the following: ‘‘circumstances, if any,
under which an operator’’;
(3) in section 60114 by redesignating sub-
section (d) as subsection (c); and
(4) in section 60122(a) by striking ‘‘section
60114(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 60114(b)’’.
SEC. 12. PIPELINE FACILITIES OVERSIGHT AND MONI-
TORING.
(a) ADVISORY FUNCTION.—The function of a Re-
gional Advisory Council under this section shall be advi-
sory only.
(b) PURPOSE.—Each Regional Advisory Council shall
be responsible for safety and environmental monitoring of
pipeline facilities that may impact the State in which the
Regional Advisory Council does business.
(c) SUITS BARRED.—No Regional Advisory Council
established under this section may sue any person or pub-
lic or private entity concerning any matter arising under
this section except for the performance of contracts.
(d) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) STATE
DESIGNATION.—The Secretary of
Transportation shall designate not more than 3
States the Governor of each of which may establish
not more than 3 Regional Advisory Councils in ac-
cordance with this section.
(2) STATE
SELECTION
CRITERIA.—The Sec-
retary shall establish State selection criteria and
make the designation of States to participate in the
pilot program. The criteria shall include the fol-
lowing:
(A) The State experienced a major acci-
dent involving a hazardous liquid or gas trans-
mission facility in the 5-year period ending on
the date of enactment of this Act.
(B) The Governor of the State requests the
designation.
(C) The legislative body of the State has
passed legislation indicating its desire to involve
the State in hazardous liquid or gas trans-
mission facility regulation or oversight, or both.
(e) MEMBERSHIP.—Each Council shall be composed
of voting members and nonvoting members, as follows:
(1) VOTING MEMBERS.—There shall be 11 vot-
ing members who shall be residents of the State
wherein the Council will do business with 1 rep-
resentative appointed by the Governor of the State
participating in the pilot program to represent each
of the following interests, taking into consideration
the need for regional balance on the Council:
(A) Emergency responders.
(B) Fish and wildlife organizations the
members of which depend on fisheries and wild-
life resources at risk, directly or indirectly, from
pipeline ruptures and spills.
(C) Environmental organizations.
(D) At least 2 representatives selected by
1 or more statewide associations of local gov-
ernments.
(E) Pipeline right-of-way property owners.
(F) Native American tribes.
(G) The general public.
(2) NONVOTING
MEMBERS.—One ex-officio,
nonvoting representative shall be designated by, and
represent, each of the following:
(A) The Environmental Protection Agency.
(B) Each agency of the participating State
with jurisdiction over intrastate pipeline safety
and environmental protection.
(C) The fire marshal or other official of
the participating State with similar duties if
there is no State fire marshal.
(D) The agency of the participating State
with jurisdiction over pipeline spill response.
(E) The pipeline industry.
(f) TERMS.—