Pipeline Safety Pilot Program Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8085 To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transpor- tation 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 Sec- retary of Transportation to carry out a pipeline safety enhancement program, 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 ‘‘Pipeline Safety Pilot 4 Program Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8085 IH SEC. 2. ADVANCEMENT OF NEW PIPELINE SAFETY TECH- 1 NOLOGIES AND APPROACHES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 of title 49, United 3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘§ 60142. Pipeline safety enhancement programs 6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 7 and carry out limited safety-enhancing testing programs 8 during the period of fiscal years 2020 through 2026 to 9 evaluate innovative technologies and operational practices 10 testing the safe operation of— 11 ‘‘(1) a natural gas pipeline facility; or 12 ‘‘(2) a hazardous liquid pipeline facility. 13 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Such testing programs may 15 not exceed— 16 ‘‘(A) 5 percent of the total miles of haz- 17 ardous liquid pipelines in the United States; 18 and 19 ‘‘(B) 5 percent of the total miles of natural 20 gas pipelines in the United States. 21 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUAL OPERATOR MILEAGE LIMITA- 22 TION.—The Secretary shall limit the mileage an in- 23 dividual operator can test under each program es- 24 tablished under subsection (a) to the lesser of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8085 IH ‘‘(A) 50 percent of the total pipeline mile- 1 age in the operator’s system; or 2 ‘‘(B) 1,000 miles. 3 ‘‘(3) HIGH POPULATION AREAS; HIGH CON- 4 SEQUENCE AREAS.—Any program established under 5 subsection (a) shall not be located in a high popu- 6 lation area (as defined in section 195.450 of title 49, 7 Code of Federal Regulations) or a high consequence 8 area (as defined in section 192.903 of title 49, Code 9 of Federal Regulations). 10 ‘‘(4) UNUSUALLY SENSITIVE AREAS.—Any pro- 11 gram established under subsection (a) shall not be 12 located in an unusually sensitive area (as described 13 in section 60109(b)). 14 ‘‘(5) HIGH CONSEQUENCE AREAS FOR HAZ- 15 ARDOUS LIQUID PIPELINES.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 17 after the date of enactment of this section, the 18 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 19 containing an examination of the benefits and 20 costs of prohibiting testing in high consequence 21 areas (as defined in section 195.450 of title 49, 22 Code of Federal Regulations) for hazardous liq- 23 uid pipelines. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8085 IH ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report 1 described in subparagraph (A) shall examine 2 the safety benefits of allowing testing for haz- 3 ardous liquid pipelines in high consequence 4 areas and whether additional testing conditions 5 are required to protect such areas while con- 6 ducting the program established under sub- 7 section (a) in such areas. 8 ‘‘(6) RESTRICTION.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 10 not approve a program under this section until 11 the report required under paragraph (5) is sub- 12 mitted to Congress. 13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The limitation in sub- 14 paragraph (A) shall not apply if— 15 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines that 16 there is a need for a program under this 17 section; and 18 ‘‘(ii) more than 1 year has passed 19 since the date of enactment of this section. 20 ‘‘(c) DURATION.—The term of a testing program es- 21 tablished under subsection (a) shall be not more than a 22 period of 4 years beginning on the date of approval of the 23 program. 24 ‘‘(d) SAFETY STANDARDS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8085 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re- 1 quire, as a condition of approval of a testing pro- 2 gram under subsection (a), that the safety measures 3 in the testing program are designed to achieve a 4 level of safety that is greater than, or equivalent to, 5 the level of safety required by this chapter. 6 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 8 issue an order under subparagraph (A) of sec- 9 tion 60118(c)(1) to accomplish the purpose of 10 a testing program for a term not to exceed the 11 time period described in subsection (c) if the 12 condition described in paragraph (1) is met, as 13 determined by the Secretary. 14 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—An order under sub- 15 paragraph (A) shall pertain only to those regu- 16 lations that would otherwise prevent the use of 17 the safety technology to be tested under the 18 testing program. 19 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing a testing 20 program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall con- 21 sider— 22 ‘‘(1) the accident or incident record of the own- 23 ers or operators participating in the program; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8085 IH ‘‘(2) whether the owners or operators partici- 1 pating in the program have a safety management 2 system in place and how the application for such 3 program proposes to eliminate or mitigate any po- 4 tential safety risks; 5 ‘‘(3) a description of any measures or activities 6 the owners or operators participating in the program 7 propose to eliminate or mitigate any environmental 8 risks; 9 ‘‘(4) a description of any previous testing and 10 the outcome of such testing of the proposed safety 11 technology through a research and development pro- 12 gram carried out by— 13 ‘‘(A) the Secretary; 14 ‘‘(B) collaborative research development 15 organizations; or 16 ‘‘(C) other institutions; 17 ‘‘(5) whether there have been other testing pro- 18 grams granted under subsection (a) similar to the 19 proposed safety technology and the outcome of such 20 programs; and 21 ‘‘(6) whether the pipeline segments tested by 22 the program could affect, or are outside of, high 23 consequence areas (as defined in sections 192.903 24 and 195.450 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:51 Sep 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8085 IH tions) and unusually sensitive areas (as described in 1 section 60109(b)). 2 ‘‘(f) MULTIPLE OPERATORS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may select 4 up to 5 owners or operators to carry out a testing 5 program under subsection (a) in a single application. 6 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—In selecting owners or 7 operators under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 8 determine that each testing program proposed by 9 such owners or operators— 10 ‘‘(A) meet the requirements of subsection 11 (d)(1); 12 ‘‘(B) test a similar technology, best prac- 13 tice, or related set of technologies and best 14 practices; and 15 ‘‘(C) provides appropriate testing condi- 16 tions for the technologies or practices being 17 used. 18 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO REVOKE PARTICIPATION.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an owner or oper- 20 ator participating in a program established 21 under subsection (a), the Secretary may revoke 22 permission to participate in such program if— 23 ‘‘(i) the owner or operator is involved 24 in an accident or incident and the testing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8085 IH program is determined to be the cause or 1 a contributing factor of such accident or 2 incident; or 3 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines revoca- 4 tion of permission is warranted for public 5 safety reasons. 6 ‘‘(g) DATA AND FINDINGS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a participant in a test- 8 ing program established under subsection (a), an 9 owner or operator shall submit to the Secretary de- 10 tailed findings and a summary of data collected as 11 a result of participation in the testing program. 12 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC REPORT.—To the extent prac- 13 ticable, the Secretary shall make a yearly interim re- 14 port publicly available on the website of the Depart- 15 ment of Transportation for any ongoing testing pro- 16 gram established under subsection (a) summarizing 17 the progress of such program. 18 ‘‘(h) AUTHORITY TO REVOKE PARTICIPATION.—The 19 Secretary shall immediately revoke participation in a test- 20 ing program under subsection (a) if— 21 ‘‘(1) the participant has an accident or incident 22 involving a death, or personal injury necessitating 23 in-patient hospitalization and the testing program is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8085 IH determined to be the cause or a contributing factor 1 to such accident or incident; 2 ‘‘(2) the participant fails to comply with the 3 terms and conditions of the testing program; or 4 ‘‘(3) in the determination of the Secretary, con- 5 tinued participation in the testing program by the 6 participant would be unsafe. 7 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY TO TERMINATE PROGRAM.—The 8 Secretary shall immediately terminate a testing program 9 under subsection (a) if continuation of the testing pro- 10 gram would not be consistent with the goals and objectives 11 of this chapter. 12 ‘‘(j) STATE RIGHTS.— 13 ‘‘(1) EXEMPTION.—Except as provided in para- 14 graph (2), if a State submits to the Secretary notice 15 that the State requests an exemption from any test- 16 ing program considered for establishment under this 17 section, the State shall be exempt. 18 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 20 not grant a requested exemption under para- 21 graph (1) after a testing program is estab- 22 lished. 23 ‘‘(B) LATE NOTICE.—The Secretary shall 24 not grant a requested exemption under para- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8085 IH graph (1) if the notice submitted under that 1 paragraph is submitted to the Secretary more 2 than 10 days after the date on which the Sec- 3 retary issues an order providing an effective 4 date for the testing program. 5 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—A State shall be eligible to 6 withdraw from a testing program if an owner or op- 7 erator conducting such testing program in such 8 State has an incident involving a death, a personal 9 injury necessitating in-patient hospitalization, or a 10 reportable accident (within the meaning of sections 11 195.50 and 191.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu- 12 lations), and the testing program is determined to be 13 the cause or a contributing factor to such incident. 14 ‘‘(4) EFFECT.—If a State has not submitted a 15 notice requesting an exemption under paragraph (1), 16 the State shall not enforce any law (including regu- 17 lations) that is inconsistent with a testing program 18 in effect in the State under this section. 19 ‘‘(k) PROGRAM REVIEW PROCESS AND PUBLIC NO- 20 TICE.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall publish 22 in the Federal Register a notice of each testing pro- 23 gram under subsection (a), including the order to be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8085 IH considered, and provide an opportunity for public 1 comment for not less than 60 days. 2 ‘‘(2) COMMUNICATION WITH STATES.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As part of carrying 4 out the process described in paragraph (1), the 5 Secretary shall individually notify, at the time 6 described in paragraph (1), the relevant au- 7 thorities in the States such testing programs 8 would be conducted in. 9 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION CONTENTS.—The no- 10 tification described in subparagraph (A) shall 11 include a specific list of the laws or regulations 12 that the State would not be allowed to enforce 13 pursuant to subsection (j)(4) should such test- 14 ing program go into effect, and the ability of 15 the State to request an exemption from the pro- 16 gram. 17 ‘‘(3) RESPONSE FROM SECRETARY.—Not later 18 than the date on which the Secretary issues an order 19 providing an effective date of a testing program no- 20 ticed under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall re- 21 spond to each comment submitted under that para- 22 graph. 23 ‘‘(l) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—At the conclusion of 24 each testing program, the Secretary shall make publicly 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:32 Sep 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8085.IH H8085 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8085 IH available on the website of the Department of Transpor- 1 tation a report containing— 2 ‘‘(1) the findings and conclusions of the Sec- 3 retary with respect to the testing program; and 4 ‘‘(2) any recommendations of the Secretary 5 with respect to the testing program, including any 6 recommendations for amendments to laws (including 7 regulations) and the establishment of standards, 8 that— 9 ‘‘(A) would enhance the safe operation of 10 interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline fa- 11 cilities; and 12 ‘‘(B) are technically, operationally, and 13 economically feasible. 14 ‘‘(m) STANDARDS.—If a report under subsection (l) 15 indicates that it is practicable to establish technically, 16 operationally, and economically feasible standards for the 17 use of a safety-enhancing technology and any cor- 18 responding operational practices tested by the testing pro- 19 gram described in the report, the Secretary, as soon as 20 practicable after submission of the report, may promulgate 21 regulations consistent with chapter 5 of title 5 (commonly 22 known as the ‘Admi [Text truncated for display. 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