Title: Pipeline Safety Pilot Program Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Pipeline Safety Pilot Program Act
This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish and carry out pilot safety-enhancing testing programs through FY2026 to evaluate innovative technologies and operational practices testing the safe operation of natural gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities.
Such programs (1) may not exceed 5% of the total pipeline mileage of all hazardous liquid or natural gas pipelines in the United States; (2) are prohibited from being conducted in high population areas, high consequence areas, or unusually sensitive areas; and (3) are limited to a duration of four years.
DOT may select up to five owners or operators of pipeline facilities to carry out a testing program under a single application.
The bill allows states to opt-out of the testing programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8085 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8085

   To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Transportation to carry out a pipeline safety enhancement program, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 21, 2020

 Mr. Veasey (for himself, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Latta, and Mr. Balderson) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined 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 direct the Secretary of 
Transportation to carry out a pipeline safety enhancement program, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pipeline Safety Pilot Program Act''.

SEC. 2. ADVANCEMENT OF NEW PIPELINE SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES AND APPROACHES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 601 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 60142. Pipeline safety enhancement programs
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish and carry out 
limited safety-enhancing testing programs during the period of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2026 to evaluate innovative technologies and 
operational practices testing the safe operation of--
            ``(1) a natural gas pipeline facility; or
            ``(2) a hazardous liquid pipeline facility.
    ``(b) Limitations.--
            ``(1) In general.--Such testing programs may not exceed--
                    ``(A) 5 percent of the total miles of hazardous 
                liquid pipelines in the United States; and
                    ``(B) 5 percent of the total miles of natural gas 
                pipelines in the United States.
            ``(2) Individual operator mileage limitation.--The 
        Secretary shall limit the mileage an individual operator can 
        test under each program established under subsection (a) to the 
        lesser of--
                    ``(A) 50 percent of the total pipeline mileage in 
                the operator's system; or
                    ``(B) 1,000 miles.
            ``(3) High population areas; high consequence areas.--Any 
        program established under subsection (a) shall not be located 
        in a high population area (as defined in section 195.450 of 
        title 49, Code of Federal Regulations) or a high consequence 
        area (as defined in section 192.903 of title 49, Code of 
        Federal Regulations).
            ``(4) Unusually sensitive areas.--Any program established 
        under subsection (a) shall not be located in an unusually 
        sensitive area (as described in section 60109(b)).
            ``(5) High consequence areas for hazardous liquid 
        pipelines.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
                submit to Congress a report containing an examination 
                of the benefits and costs of prohibiting testing in 
                high consequence areas (as defined in section 195.450 
                of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations) for hazardous 
                liquid pipelines.
                    ``(B) Contents of report.--The report described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall examine the safety benefits of 
                allowing testing for hazardous liquid pipelines in high 
                consequence areas and whether additional testing 
                conditions are required to protect such areas while 
                conducting the program established under subsection (a) 
                in such areas.
            ``(6) Restriction.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall not approve 
                a program under this section until the report required 
                under paragraph (5) is submitted to Congress.
                    ``(B) Exception.--The limitation in subparagraph 
                (A) shall not apply if--
                            ``(i) the Secretary determines that there 
                        is a need for a program under this section; and
                            ``(ii) more than 1 year has passed since 
                        the date of enactment of this section.
    ``(c) Duration.--The term of a testing program established under 
subsection (a) shall be not more than a period of 4 years beginning on 
the date of approval of the program.
    ``(d) Safety Standards.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall require, as a 
        condition of approval of a testing program under subsection 
        (a), that the safety measures in the testing program are 
        designed to achieve a level of safety that is greater than, or 
        equivalent to, the level of safety required by this chapter.
            ``(2) Determination.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may issue an order 
                under subparagraph (A) of section 60118(c)(1) to 
                accomplish the purpose of a testing program for a term 
                not to exceed the time period described in subsection 
                (c) if the condition described in paragraph (1) is met, 
                as determined by the Secretary.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--An order under subparagraph (A) 
                shall pertain only to those regulations that would 
                otherwise prevent the use of the safety technology to 
                be tested under the testing program.
    ``(e) Considerations.--In establishing a testing program under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider--
            ``(1) the accident or incident record of the owners or 
        operators participating in the program;
            ``(2) whether the owners or operators participating in the 
        program have a safety management system in place and how the 
        application for such program proposes to eliminate or mitigate 
        any potential safety risks;
            ``(3) a description of any measures or activities the 
        owners or operators participating in the program propose to 
        eliminate or mitigate any environmental risks;
            ``(4) a description of any previous testing and the outcome 
        of such testing of the proposed safety technology through a 
        research and development program carried out by--
                    ``(A) the Secretary;
                    ``(B) collaborative research development 
                organizations; or
                    ``(C) other institutions;
            ``(5) whether there have been other testing programs 
        granted under subsection (a) similar to the proposed safety 
        technology and the outcome of such programs; and
            ``(6) whether the pipeline segments tested by the program 
        could affect, or are outside of, high consequence areas (as 
        defined in sections 192.903 and 195.450 of title 49, Code of 
        Federal Regulations) and unusually sensitive areas (as 
        described in section 60109(b)).
    ``(f) Multiple Operators.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may select up to 5 owners 
        or operators to carry out a testing program under subsection 
        (a) in a single application.
            ``(2) Determination.--In selecting owners or operators 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine that each 
        testing program proposed by such owners or operators--
                    ``(A) meet the requirements of subsection (d)(1);
                    ``(B) test a similar technology, best practice, or 
                related set of technologies and best practices; and
                    ``(C) provides appropriate testing conditions for 
                the technologies or practices being used.
            ``(3) Authority to revoke participation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If an owner or operator 
                participating in a program established under subsection 
                (a), the Secretary may revoke permission to participate 
                in such program if--
                            ``(i) the owner or operator is involved in 
                        an accident or incident and the testing program 
                        is determined to be the cause or a contributing 
                        factor of such accident or incident; or
                            ``(ii) the Secretary determines revocation 
                        of permission is warranted for public safety 
                        reasons.
    ``(g) Data and Findings.--
            ``(1) In general.--As a participant in a testing program 
        established under subsection (a), an owner or operator shall 
        submit to the Secretary detailed findings and a summary of data 
        collected as a result of participation in the testing program.
            ``(2) Public report.--To the extent practicable, the 
        Secretary shall make a yearly interim report publicly available 
        on the website of the Department of Transportation for any 
        ongoing testing program established under subsection (a) 
        summarizing the progress of such program.
    ``(h) Authority To Revoke Participation.--The Secretary shall 
immediately revoke participation in a testing program under subsection 
(a) if--
            ``(1) the participant has an accident or incident involving 
        a death, or personal injury necessitating in-patient 
        hospitalization and the testing program is determined to be the 
        cause or a contributing factor to such accident or incident;
            ``(2) the participant fails to comply with the terms and 
        conditions of the testing program; or
            ``(3) in the determination of the Secretary, continued 
        participation in the testing program by the participant would 
        be unsafe.
    ``(i) Authority To Terminate Program.--The Secretary shall 
immediately terminate a testing program under subsection (a) if 
continuation of the testing program would not be consistent with the 
goals and objectives of this chapter.
    ``(j) State Rights.--
            ``(1) Exemption.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), if a 
        State submits to the Secretary notice that the State requests 
        an exemption from any testing program considered for 
        establishment under this section, the State shall be exempt.
            ``(2) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall not grant a 
                requested exemption under paragraph (1) after a testing 
                program is established.
                    ``(B) Late notice.--The Secretary shall not grant a 
                requested exemption under paragraph (1) if the notice 
                submitted under that paragraph is submitted to the 
                Secretary more than 10 days after the date on which the 
                Secretary issues an order providing an effective date 
                for the testing program.
            ``(3) Exception.--A State shall be eligible to withdraw 
        from a testing program if an owner or operator conducting such 
        testing program in such State has an incident involving a 
        death, a personal injury necessitating in-patient 
        hospitalization, or a reportable accident (within the meaning 
        of sections 195.50 and 191.3 of title 49, Code of Federal 
        Regulations), and the testing program is determined to be the 
        cause or a contributing factor to such incident.
            ``(4) Effect.--If a State has not submitted a notice 
        requesting an exemption under paragraph (1), the State shall 
        not enforce any law (including regulations) that is 
        inconsistent with a testing program in effect in the State 
        under this section.
    ``(k) Program Review Process and Public Notice.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall publish in the 
        Federal Register a notice of each testing program under 
        subsection (a), including the order to be considered, and 
        provide an opportunity for public comment for not less than 60 
        days.
            ``(2) Communication with states.--
                    ``(A) In general.--As part of carrying out the 
                process described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
                individually notify, at the time described in paragraph 
                (1), the relevant authorities in the States such 
                testing programs would be conducted in.
                    ``(B) Notification contents.--The notification 
                described in subparagraph (A) shall include a specific 
                list of the laws or regulations that the State would 
                not be allowed to enforce pursuant to subsection (j)(4) 
                should such testing program go into effect, and the 
                ability of the State to request an exemption from the 
                program.
            ``(3) Response from secretary.--Not later than the date on 
        which the Secretary issues an order providing an effective date 
        of a testing program noticed under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall respond to each comment submitted under that paragraph.
    ``(l) Report to Congress.--At the conclusion of each testing 
program, the Secretary shall make publicly available on the website of 
the Department of Transportation a report containing--
            ``(1) the findings and conclusions of the Secretary with 
        respect to the testing program; and
            ``(2) any recommendations of the Secretary with respect to 
        the testing program, including any recommendations for 
        amendments to laws (including regulations) and the 
        establishment of standards, that--
                    ``(A) would enhance the safe operation of 
                interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities; 
                and
                    ``(B) are technically, operationally, and 
                economically feasible.
    ``(m) Standards.--If a report under subsection (l) indicates that 
it is practicable to establish technically, operationally, and 
economically feasible standards for the use of a safety-enhancing 
technology and any corresponding operational practices tested by the 
testing program described in the report, the Secretary, as soon as 
practicable after submission of the report, may promulgate regulations 
consistent with chapter 5 of title 5 (commonly known as the 
`Administrative Procedures Act') that--
            ``(1) allow operators of interstate gas or hazardous liquid 
        pipeline facilities to use the relevant technology or practice 
        to the extent practicable; and
            ``(2) establish technically, operationally, and 
        economically feasible standards for the capability and 
        deployment of the technology or practice.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 601 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 60141 the following:

``60142. Pipeline safety enhancement programs.''.
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