METHANE Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2469 To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the use of advanced leak detection technology for pipelines, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. KLO- BUCHAR, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the use of advanced leak detection technology for pipelines, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Methane Emissions 4 from Transmission Harm American Neighborhoods and 5 the Environment Act’’ or the ‘‘METHANE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2469.IS S2469 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2469 IS SEC. 2. LEAK DETECTION REQUIREMENTS AND METHANE 1 EMISSIONS FROM PIPELINES. 2 (a) LEAK DETECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 3 60109 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add- 4 ing at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(h) LEAK DETECTION REQUIREMENTS.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 7 after the date of enactment of this subsection, and 8 as part of the minimum standards for integrity man- 9 agement programs for distribution pipelines under 10 subsection (e), to the maximum extent practicable, 11 operators of distribution pipelines shall use advanced 12 leak detection technology described in paragraph (2). 13 ‘‘(2) ADVANCED LEAK DETECTION TECH- 14 NOLOGY.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Advanced leak detec- 16 tion technology referred to in paragraph (1) in- 17 cludes— 18 ‘‘(i) a high sensitivity methane detec- 19 tor mounted on a vehicle or aircraft, in- 20 cluding a drone, equipped with Global Po- 21 sitioning System technology, if that high 22 sensitivity methane detector and Global 23 Positioning System technology meet the 24 minimum performance standards described 25 in subparagraph (B); and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2469.IS S2469 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2469 IS ‘‘(ii) any other technology or combina- 1 tion of technologies that meet the min- 2 imum performance standards described in 3 subparagraph (B). 4 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM PERFORMANCE STAND- 5 ARDS.—The high sensitivity methane detector 6 and Global Positioning System technology re- 7 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(i) shall, at a 8 minimum— 9 ‘‘(i) collect latitude and longitude co- 10 ordinates and methane concentration data 11 simultaneously; 12 ‘‘(ii) measure methane concentrations 13 in parts per billion; and 14 ‘‘(iii) collect data points at a rate of 15 at least twice per second. 16 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 17 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 18 Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry out 19 this subsection.’’. 20 (b) METHANE EMISSIONS FROM PIPELINES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 of title 49, 22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 23 end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2469.IS S2469 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2469 IS ‘‘§ 60142. Methane emissions from pipelines 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent prac- 2 ticable, the owner or operator of a pipeline facility shall— 3 ‘‘(1) use the best available technology to cap- 4 ture natural gas when making repairs to the pipeline 5 facility; 6 ‘‘(2) use the best available technology, includ- 7 ing, as applicable, advanced leak detection tech- 8 nology described in section 60109(h)(2), to search 9 for and identify leaks in the pipeline facility; 10 ‘‘(3) develop or participate in a replacement or 11 repair program for pipeline facilities that— 12 ‘‘(A) are of a design, age, or material 13 known to be leaky; or 14 ‘‘(B) are known to be leaky based on oper- 15 ating history; and 16 ‘‘(4) report to the Secretary any event that in- 17 volves a release of gas from a pipeline facility that 18 results in an unintentional estimated gas loss of 19 50,000 cubic feet or more. 20 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 21 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pro- 22 mulgate regulations to carry out this section.’’. 23 (2) REPORTING THRESHOLD.—Not later than 24 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 25 Secretary of Transportation shall amend section 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2469.IS S2469 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2469 IS 191.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to 1 ensure that the quantity of unintentional estimated 2 gas loss necessary to be considered an ‘‘incident’’ 3 under that section is 50,000 cubic feet or more. 4 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 5 tions for chapter 601 of title 49, United States 6 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 7 to section 60141 the following: 8 ‘‘60142. Methane emissions from pipelines.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Sep 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2469.IS S2469 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS