109 HR 5782 IH: Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of
U.S. House of Representatives
2006-07-13
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.Short title; amendment of
title 49, United States Code; table of contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of
2006
.
(b)Amendment of
title 49, United States CodeExcept as otherwise expressly
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of
an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference
shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of title 49,
United States Code.
(c)
Sec. 1. Short title; amendment of title 49, United States Code;
table of contents.
Sec. 2. Pipeline safety and damage prevention.
Sec. 3. Distribution integrity management program rulemaking
deadline.
Sec. 4. Pipeline control management.
Sec. 5. Low-stress pipelines.
Sec. 6. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 7. Standards to implement NTSB
recommendations.
2.Pipeline safety
and damage prevention
(a)One-call civil
enforcement
(1)Section 60114 is amended by adding at the end the
following:
(d)Any
person who engages in excavation activity without first using an available
one-call notification system to establish the location of underground pipeline
facilities in the excavation area or who disregards location information or
markings established by an operator of a pipeline facility, and any operator of
a pipeline facility who fails to respond to a location request in order to
prevent damage to the pipeline or fails to take reasonable steps, in response
to such a request, to ensure accurate marking of the location of the pipeline
in order to prevent damage to the pipeline, shall be subject to a civil action
under section 60120 or assessment of a civil penalty under section
60122.
(e)The
Secretary may not conduct an enforcement proceeding under subsection (d) within
the boundaries of a State that has the authority to impose penalties described
in section 60134(b)(7) against persons who violate that State’s damage
prevention laws and is imposing such penalties.
.
(2)Section 60122(a)(1) is amended in the first sentence by
inserting , 60114(d),
after section
60114(b)
.
(b)State damage
prevention programs
(1)Section
60105(b)(4) is amended to read as follows:
(4)has agreed to take
actions toward establishing a program designed to prevent damage by excavation,
demolition, tunneling, or construction activity to the pipeline facilities to
which the certification applies that subjects persons who violate the
applicable requirements of that program to civil penalties and other
enforcement actions that are substantially the same as are provided under this
chapter, and addresses the elements in section
60134(b);
.
(2)Chapter
601 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
60134.State damage
prevention programs
(a)The Secretary may
make a grant to a State authority (including a municipality with respect to
intrastate gas pipeline transportation) to assist in improving the overall
quality and effectiveness of a damage prevention program of the State authority
under subsection (e) if the State authority—
(1)(A)has an annual
certification in accordance with section 60105 for such fiscal year; or
(B)has an agreement with the Secretary in
accordance with section 60106; and
(2)has agreed to take actions toward
establishing an effective damage prevention program that meets the requirements
of subsection (b).
(b)Damage
prevention program elementsAn effective damage prevention
program includes the following elements:
(1)Participation by
operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and
implementation of methods for establishing and maintaining effective
communications between stakeholders from receipt of an excavation notification
until successful completion of the excavation, as appropriate.
(2)A process for
fostering and ensuring the support and partnership of stakeholders, including
excavators, operators, locators, designers, and local government in all phases
of the program.
(3)A process for
reviewing the adequacy of a pipeline operator’s internal performance measures
regarding persons performing locating services and quality assurance
programs.
(4)Participation by
operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and
implementation of effective employee training programs to ensure that
operators, the one-call center, the enforcing agency, and the excavators have
partnered to design and implement training for the employees of operators,
excavators, and locators.
(5)A process for
fostering and ensuring active participation by all stakeholders in public
education for damage prevention activities.
(6)A process for
resolving disputes that defines the State authority’s role as a partner and
facilitator to resolve issues.
(7)Enforcement of
State damage prevention laws and regulations for all aspects of the damage
prevention process, including public education, and the use of civil penalties
for violations assessable by the appropriate State authority.
(8)A process for
fostering and promoting the use, by all appropriate stakeholders, of improving
technologies that may enhance communications, underground pipeline locating
capability, and gathering and analyzing information about the accuracy and
effectiveness of locating programs.
(9)A process for
review and analysis of the effectiveness of each program element, including a
means for implementing improvements identified by such program reviews.
(c)In making grants under this section, the Secretary shall
take into consideration the commitment of each State to ensuring the
effectiveness of its damage prevention program, including legislative and
regulatory actions taken by the State.
(d)If
a State authority files an application for a grant under this section not later
than September 30 of a calendar year and demonstrates that the Governor (or
chief executive) of the State has designated it as the appropriate State
authority to receive the grant, the Secretary shall review the State’s damage
prevention program to determine its effectiveness.
(e)Grants for
effective programsFor a program of a State authority the
Secretary determines to be effective, the Secretary may make a grant to the
State authority for the cost of the personnel, equipment, and activities the
State authority reasonably requires during the next calendar year to carry out
its damage prevention program in accordance with subsection (b).
(f)Nonapplicability
of limitationA grant made under this section is not subject to
the section 60107(a) limitation on the maximum percentage of funds to be paid
by the Secretary.
(g)Limitation on
use of fundsFunds provided under this section may not be used
for lobbying or in direct support of litigation.
(h)To
carry out this section, the Secretary shall make available (from amounts
appropriated to the Secretary under section 60125(b) for each of fiscal years
2008 through 2012) the following respective amounts:
(1)$1,500,000 for
fiscal year 2008.
(2)$1,750,000 for
fiscal year 2009.
(3)$2,000,000 for
fiscal year 2010.
(4)$2,500,000 for
fiscal year 2011.
(5)$3,000,000 for
fiscal year 2012.
Such
funds shall remain available until
expended..
(3)The analysis for
chapter 601 is amended by adding at the end the following:
60134. State damage prevention
programs.
.
(c)State pipeline
safety grantsSection 60107(a) is amended by striking not
more than 50 percent
and inserting not more than 80
percent
.
3.Distribution
integrity management program rulemaking deadlineSection 60109 of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
(e)Distribution
Integrity Management Programs
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this subsection, the Secretary shall prescribe minimum standards for integrity
management programs for distribution pipelines.
(2)Additional
authority of secretaryIn carrying out this subsection, the
Secretary may require operators of distribution pipelines to continually
identify and assess risks on their distribution lines, to remediate conditions
that present a potential threat to line integrity, and to monitor program
effectiveness.
(3)The minimum standards shall include criteria for requiring
operators of natural gas distribution systems—
(A)to install excess
flow valves on single-family residential service lines that are installed or
replaced after the date of enactment of this subsection on the basis of
feasibility and risk analysis; and
(B)to report to the
Secretary annually on the number of excess flow valves installed on their
systems under subparagraph (A).
(4)The
Secretary shall determine which distribution pipelines will be subject to the
minimum standards.
(5)Development and
implementationEach operator of a distribution pipeline that
Secretary determines is subject to the minimum standards prescribed by the
Secretary under this subsection shall develop and implement an integrity
management program in accordance with those
standards.
.
4.Pipeline control
management
(a)Not
later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Transportation shall issue regulations establishing standards for managing gas
and hazardous liquid pipelines to reduce risks associated with human factors,
including fatigue.
(b)In carrying out
this section, the Secretary may require operators of gas and hazardous liquid
pipelines to evaluate the risks associated with human factors, including
fatigue, and take measures to reduce such risks with respect to their
pipelines.
(c)The
Secretary shall determine which pipelines are subject to the standards issued
under this section.
(d)Each operator of a pipeline that the Secretary
determines is subject to the standards established by the Secretary under this
section shall manage the control of the pipeline in accordance with those
standards.
5.Section 60102(k) of
title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
(k)Low-stress
hazardous liquid pipelines
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this paragraph, the Secretary shall issue minimum standards for the
transportation of hazardous liquids by low-stress pipelines located in
proximity to areas unusually sensitive to environmental damage as defined by
the Secretary under section 60109(b) and by regulation.
(2)Low-stress
pipeline definedFor purposes of this subsection, a
low-stress pipeline
means a hazardous liquid pipeline that is
operated in its entirety at a stress level of 20 percent or less of the
specified minimum yield strength of the line pipe of the pipeline and has a
diameter of greater than 85/8 inches.
(3)The
Secretary shall determine which low-stress pipelines are subject to the minimum
standards issued under this subsection.
(4)Each
operator of a low-stress pipeline that the Secretary determines is subject to
the minimum standards issued by the Secretary under this subsection shall
operate the pipeline in accordance with those
standards.
.
6.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)Section 60125(a) is amended to read as
follows:
(a)To carry out this chapter (except for section
60107) related to gas and hazardous liquid, the following amounts are
authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Transportation:
(1)For fiscal year
2007, $55,497,000, of which $39,872,000 is to be derived from user fees
collected under section 60301 and $15,625,000 is to be derived from the Oil
Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 9509 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986.
(2)For fiscal year
2008, $57,997,000, of which $42,651,000 is to be derived from such fees and
$15,346,000 is to be derived from the Fund.
(3)For fiscal year
2009, $60,482,000, of which $44,839,000 is to be derived from such fees and
$16,003,000 is to be derived from the Fund.
(4)For fiscal year
2010, $62,375,000, of which $46,444,000 is to be derived from such fees and
$15,931,000 is to be derived from the Fund.
(5)For fiscal year
2011, $62,375,000, of which $46,444,000 is to be derived from such fees and
$15,931,000 is to be derived from the Fund.
(6)For fiscal year
2012, $62,375,000, of which $46,444,000 is to be derived from such fees and
$15,931,000 is to be derived from the
Fund.
.
(b)Section 60125(b)(1) is amended to read as follows:
(1)To carry out section 60107, the
following amounts are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of
Transportation:
(A)For fiscal year 2007, $20,238,000, of
which $17,053,000 is to be derived from user fees collected under section 60301
and $3,185,000 is to be derived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
(B)For fiscal year 2008, $23,221,000, of
which $19,567,000 is to be derived from such fees and $3,654,000 is to be
derived from the Fund. Of the amounts so appropriated, $1,500,000 shall be
available for grants to States under section 60134.
(C)For fiscal year 2009, $24,513,000, of
which $20,656,000 is to be derived from such fees and $3,857,000 is to be
derived from the Fund. Of the amount so appropriated, $1,750,000 shall be
available for grants to States under section 60134.
(D)For fiscal year 2010, $25,855,000, of
which $21,786,000 is to be derived from such fees and $4,069,000 is to be
derived from the Fund. Of the amount so appropriated, $2,000,000 shall be
available for grants to States under section 60134.
(E)For fiscal year 2011, $25,855,000, of which
$21,786,000 is to be derived from such fees and $4,069,000 is to be derived
from the Fund. Of the amount so appropriated, $2,000,000 shall be available for
grants to States under section 60134.
(F)For fiscal year 2012, $25,855,000, of which
$21,786,000 is to be derived from such fees and $4,069,000 is to be derived
from the Fund. Of the amount so appropriated, $2,000,000 shall be available for
grants to States under section
60134.
.
(c)Section 60125 is amended—
(1)by striking
subsection (c); and
(2)by redesignating
subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively.
(d)Emergency
response grantsSection 60125(c)(2) (as redesignated by
subsection (c)(2) of this section) is amended by striking 2003 through
2006
and inserting 2007 through 2012
.
(e)One-call
notification programsSection 6107 is amended—
(1)in subsection (a)
by striking fiscal years 2003 through 2006
and inserting
fiscal years 2007 through 2012
; and
(2)in subsection (b)
by striking for fiscal years 2003 through 2006
and inserting
for fiscal years 2007 through 2012
.
7.Standards to
implement NTSB recommendationsNot later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue standards
that implement the following recommendations contained in the National
Transportation Safety Board’s report entitled Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisition (SCADA) in Liquid Pipelines
and adopted November 29,
2005:
(1)Implementation of the American Petroleum
Institute’s Recommended Practice 165 for the use of graphics on the supervisory
control and data acquisition screens.
(2)Implementation of
a standard for pipeline companies to review and audit alarms on monitoring
equipment.
(3)Implementation of
standards for pipeline controller training that include simulator or
noncomputerized simulations for controller recognition of abnormal pipeline
operating conditions, in particular, leak events.