I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4578 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for minimum safety 
standards for underground gas storage facilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 
Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LOFGREN, 
Mr. BECERRA, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FARR, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 
LOWENTHAL, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. 
HUFFMAN, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. THOMPSON 
of California, Mr. POCAN, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, and Mr. 
CA´RDENAS) 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 amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for min-
imum safety standards for underground gas storage fa-
cilities, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Underground Gas 
Storage Safety Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REGULATION OF UNDERGROUND NATURAL GAS 
STORAGE FACILITIES. 
Section 60102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) UNDERGROUND
GAS
STORAGE
FACILI-
TIES.— 
‘‘(A) MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of the Underground Gas Storage Safety 
Act, the Secretary, in consultation with other 
relevant Federal agencies, shall prescribe strong 
minimum safety standards for underground gas 
storage facilities. 
‘‘(B) 
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
standards 
prescribed under subparagraph (A) shall at a 
minimum— 
‘‘(i) require operators to have com-
prehensive and up-to-date processes, proce-
dures, plans, mitigation measures, periodic 
assessments and reassessments, and emer-
gency plans in place to maintain the safety 
and integrity of all underground gas stor-
age facilities, whether operating, aban-
doned, idled, or plugged; and 
‘‘(ii) require compliance with all of the 
recommendations made by the Pipeline and 
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Hazardous Materials Safety Administra-
tion in the second paragraph of Advisory 
Bulletin ADB–2016–02, issued February 
2, 2016, except to the extent that the Sec-
retary establishes by clear and convincing 
evidence that it is not in the public inter-
est. 
‘‘(C) PREEMPTION.—A State authority 
may adopt additional or more stringent safety 
standards for intrastate underground gas stor-
age facilities. 
‘‘(5) EMERGENCY
TEMPORARY
REGULATORY 
REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Until the Secretary 
prescribes final standards under paragraph (4), 
all underground natural gas storage facilities 
shall at a minimum comply with the following: 
‘‘(i) All underground natural gas stor-
age in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and 
aquifer reservoirs shall comply with Amer-
ican Petroleum Institute Recommended 
Practice 1171, titled ‘Functional Integrity 
of Natural Gas Storage in Depleted Hy-
drocarbon Reservoirs and Aquifer Res-
ervoirs’, First Edition, issued September 
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2015, or a standard determined appro-
priate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(ii) All underground natural gas 
storage facilities in solution-mined salt cav-
erns shall comply with— 
‘‘(I) American Petroleum Insti-
tute Recommended Practice 1170, ti-
tled ‘Design and Operation of Solu-
tion-mined Salt Caverns Used for 
Natural Gas Storage’, First Edition, 
issued July 2015; and 
‘‘(II) to the extent not incon-
sistent with standards in the docu-
ment referred to in subclause (I), 
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Com-
mission standards titled ‘Natural Gas 
Storage in Salt Caverns—A Guide for 
State Regulators’. 
‘‘(iii) All underground natural gas 
storage facilities shall comply with all of 
the recommendations made by the Pipeline 
and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminis-
tration in the second paragraph of Advi-
sory Bulletin ADB–2016–02, issued Feb-
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