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PART I—SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF
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TITLE 49
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SEC. 741. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED
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STATES CODE.
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(a) S
HORT
T
ITLE
.—This subtitle may be cited as the
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‘‘Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2003’’.
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(b) A
MENDMENT
OF
T
ITLE
49, U
NITED
S
TATES
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C
ODE
.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever
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in this subtitle an amendment or repeal is expressed in
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terms of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other
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provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to
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a section or other provision of title 49, United States Code.
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PART II—PIPELINE SAFETY
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IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003
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SEC. 761. IMPLEMENTATION OF INSPECTOR GENERAL REC-
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OMMENDATIONS.
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(a) I
N
G
ENERAL
.—Except as otherwise required by
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this subtitle, the Secretary shall implement the safety im-
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provement recommendations provided for in the Depart-
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ment of Transportation Inspector General’s Report (RT–
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2000–069).
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(b) R
EPORTS BY THE
S
ECRETARY
.—Not later than 90
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days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 90
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days thereafter until each of the recommendations referred
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to in subsection (a) has been implemented, the Secretary
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shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
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Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Trans-
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portation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa-
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tives a report on the specific actions taken to implement
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such recommendations.
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(c) R
EPORTS BY THE
I
NSPECTOR
G
ENERAL
.—The In-
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spector General shall periodically transmit to the commit-
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tees referred to in subsection (b) a report assessing the Sec-
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retary’s progress in implementing the recommendations re-
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ferred to in subsection (a) and identifying options for the
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Secretary to consider in accelerating recommendation im-
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plementation.
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SEC. 762. NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.
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(a) I
N
G
ENERAL
.—The Secretary of Transportation,
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the Administrator of Research and Special Program Ad-
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ministration, and the Director of the Office of Pipeline
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Safety shall fully comply with section 1135 of title 49,
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United States Code, to ensure timely responsiveness to Na-
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tional Transportation Safety Board recommendations
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about pipeline safety.
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(b) P
UBLIC
A
VAILABILITY
.—The Secretary, Adminis-
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trator, or Director, respectively, shall make a copy of each
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recommendation on pipeline safety and response, as de-
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scribed in sections 1135 (a) and (b) of title 49, United
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States Code, available to the public at reasonable cost.
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(c) R
EPORTS TO
C
ONGRESS
.—The Secretary, Admin-
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istrator, or Director, respectively, shall submit to the Con-
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gress by January 1 of each year a report containing each
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recommendation on pipeline safety made by the Board dur-
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ing the prior year and a copy of the response to each such
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recommendation.
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SEC. 763. QUALIFICATIONS OF PIPELINE PERSONNEL.
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(a) Q
UALIFICATION
P
LAN
.—Each pipeline operator
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shall make available to the Secretary of Transportation, or,
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in the case of an intrastate pipeline facility operator, the
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appropriate State regulatory agency, a plan that is de-
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signed to enhance the qualifications of pipeline personnel
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and to reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries. The
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plan shall be made available not more than 6 months after
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the date of enactment of this Act, and the operator shall
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revise or update the plan as appropriate.
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(b) R
EQUIREMENTS
.—The enhanced qualification plan
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shall include, at a minimum, criteria to demonstrate the
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ability of an individual to safely and properly perform
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tasks identified under section 60102 of title 49, United
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States Code. The plan shall also provide for training and
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periodic reexamination of pipeline personnel qualifications
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and provide for requalification as appropriate. The Sec-
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retary, or, in the case of an intrastate pipeline facility oper-
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ator, the appropriate State regulatory agency, may review
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and certify the plans to determine if they are sufficient to
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provide a safe operating environment and shall periodically
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review the plans to ensure the continuation of a safe oper-
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ation. The Secretary may establish minimum standards for
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pipeline personnel training and evaluation, which may in-
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clude written examination, oral examination, work per-
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formance history review, observation during performance
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on the job, on the job training, simulations, or other forms
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of assessment.
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(c) R
EPORT TO
C
ONGRESS
.—
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(1) I
N GENERAL
.—The Secretary shall submit a
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report to the Congress evaluating the effectiveness of
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operator
qualification
and
training
efforts,
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including—
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(A) actions taken by inspectors;
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(B) recommendations made by inspectors
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for changes to operator qualification and train-
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ing programs; and
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(C) industry and employee organization re-
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sponses to those actions and recommendations.
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(2) C
RITERIA
.—The Secretary may establish cri-
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teria for use in evaluating and reporting on operator
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qualification and training for purposes of this sub-
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section.
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(3) D
UE DATE
.—The Secretary shall submit the
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report required by paragraph (1) to the Congress 3
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years after the date of enactment of this Act.
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SEC. 764. PIPELINE INTEGRITY INSPECTION PROGRAM.
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Section 60109 is amended by adding at the end the
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following:
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‘‘(c) I
NTEGRITY
M
ANAGEMENT
.—
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‘‘(1) G
ENERAL
REQUIREMENT
.—The Secretary
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shall promulgate regulations requiring operators of
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hazardous liquid pipelines and natural gas trans-
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mission pipelines to evaluate the risks to the opera-
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tor’s pipeline facilities in areas identified pursuant to
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subsection (a)(1), and to adopt and implement a pro-
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gram for integrity management that reduces the risk
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of an incident in those areas. The regulations shall be
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issued no later than 1 year after the Secretary has
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issued standards pursuant to subsections (a) and (b)
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of this section or by December 31, 2003, whichever is
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sooner.
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‘‘(2) S
TANDARDS
FOR
PROGRAM
.—In promul-
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gating regulations under this section, the Secretary
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shall require an operator’s integrity management
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plan to be based on risk analysis and each plan shall
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include, at a minimum—
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‘‘(A) periodic assessment of the integrity of
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the pipeline through methods including internal
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inspection, pressure testing, direct assessment, or
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other effective methods. The assessment period
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shall be no less than every 5 years unless the De-
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partment of Transportation Inspector General,
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after consultation with the Secretary determines
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there is not a sufficient capability or it is
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deemed unnecessary because of more technically
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appropriate monitoring or creates undue inter-
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ruption of necessary supply to fulfill the require-
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ments under this paragraph;
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‘‘(B) clearly defined criteria for evaluating
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the results of the periodic assessment methods
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carried out under subparagraph (A) and proce-
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dures to ensure identified problems are corrected
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in a timely manner; and
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‘‘(C) measures, as appropriate, that prevent
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and mitigate unintended releases, such as leak
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detection, integrity evaluation, restrictive flow
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devices, or other measures.
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‘‘(3) C
RITERIA FOR PROGRAM STANDARDS
.—In
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deciding how frequently the integrity assessment
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methods carried out under paragraph (2)(A) must be
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conducted, an operator shall take into account the po-
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tential for new defects developing or previously identi-
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fied structural defects caused by construction or in-
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stallation, the operational characteristics of the pipe-
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line, and leak history. In addition, the Secretary may
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establish a minimum testing requirement for opera-
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tors of pipelines to conduct internal inspections.
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‘‘(4) S
TATE ROLE
.—A State authority that has
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an agreement in effect with the Secretary under sec-
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tion 60106 is authorized to review and assess an op-
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erator’s risk analyses and integrity management
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plans required under this section for interstate pipe-
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lines located in that State. The reviewing State au-
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thority shall provide the Secretary with a written as-
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sessment of the plans, make recommendations, as ap-
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propriate, to address safety concerns not adequately
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addressed in the operator’s plans, and submit docu-
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mentation explaining the State-proposed plan revi-
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sions. The Secretary shall carefully consider the
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State’s proposals and work in consultation with the
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States and operators to address safety concerns.
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‘‘(5) M
ONITORING IMPLEMENTATION
.—The Sec-
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retary of Transportation shall review the risk anal-
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ysis and program for integrity management required
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under this section and provide for continued moni-
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toring of such plans. Not later than 2 years after the
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implementation of integrity management plans under
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this section, the Secretary shall complete an assess-
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ment and evaluation of the effects on safety and the
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environment of extending all of the requirements
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mandated by the regulations described in paragraph
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(1) to additional areas. The Secretary shall submit
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the assessment and evaluation to Congress along with
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any recommendations to improve and expand the uti-
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lization of integrity management plans.
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‘‘(6) O
PPORTUNITY FOR LOCAL INPUT ON INTEG
-
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RITY MANAGEMENT
.—Within 18 months after the date
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of enactment of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act
14
of 2003, the Secretary shall, by regulation, establish
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a process for raising and addressing local safety con-
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cerns about pipeline integrity and the operator’s pipe-
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line integrity plan. The process shall include—
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‘‘(A) a requirement that an operator of a
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hazardous liquid or natural gas transmission
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pipeline facility provide information about the
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risk analysis and integrity management plan re-
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quired under this section to local officials in a
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State in which the facility is located;
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‘‘(B) a description of the local officials re-
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quired to be informed, the information that is to
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be provided to them and the manner, which may
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include traditional or electronic means, in which
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it is provided;
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‘‘(C) the means for receiving input from the
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local officials that may include a public forum
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sponsored by the Secretary or by the State, or
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the submission of written comments through tra-
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ditional or electronic means;
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‘‘(D) the extent to which an operator of a
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pipeline facility must participate in a public
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forum sponsored by the Secretary or in another
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means for receiving input from the local officials
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or in the evaluation of that input; and
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‘‘(E) the manner in which the Secretary
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will notify the local officials about how their con-
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cerns are being addressed.’’.
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SEC. 765. ENFORCEMENT.
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(a) I
N
G
ENERAL
.—Section 60112 is amended—
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(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
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following:
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‘‘(a) G
ENERAL
A
UTHORITY
.—After notice and an op-
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portunity for a hearing, the Secretary of Transportation
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may decide a pipeline facility is hazardous if the Secretary
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decides that—
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‘‘(1) operation of the facility is or would be haz-
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ardous to life, property, or the environment; or
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‘‘(2) the facility is, or would be, constructed or
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operated, or a component of the facility is, or would
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be, constructed or operated with equipment, material,
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or a technique that the Secretary decides is hazardous
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to life, property, or the environment.’’; and
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(2) by striking ‘‘is hazardous,’’ in subsection (d)
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and inserting ‘‘is, or would be, hazardous,’’.
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SEC. 766. PUBLIC EDUCATION, EMERGENCY PREPARED-
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NESS, AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW.
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(a) Section 60116 is amended to read as follows:
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‘‘§ 60116. Public education, emergency preparedness,
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and community right-to-know
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‘‘(a) P
UBLIC
E
DUCATION
P
ROGRAMS
.—(1) Each
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owner or operator of a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline fa-
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cility shall carry out a continuing program to educate the
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public on the use of a one-call notification system prior to
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excavation and other damage prevention activities, the pos-
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sible hazards associated with unintended releases from the
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pipeline facility, the physical indications that such a re-
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lease may have occurred, what steps should be taken for
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public safety in the event of a pipeline release, and how
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to report such an event.
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‘‘(2) Within 12 months after the date of enactment of
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the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2003, each owner
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or operator of a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility
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shall review its existing public education program for effec-
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tiveness and modify the program as necessary. The com-
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pleted program shall include activities to advise affected
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municipalities, school districts, businesses, and residents of
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pipeline facility locations. The completed program shall be
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submitted to the Secretary or, in the case of an intrastate
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pipeline facility operator, the appropriate State agency and
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shall be periodically reviewed by the Secretary or, in the
13
case of an intrastate pipeline facility operator, the appro-
14
priate State agency.
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‘‘(3) The Secretary may issue standards prescribing
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the elements of an effective public education program. The
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Secretary may also develop material for use in the program.
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‘‘(b) E
MERGENCY
P
REPAREDNESS
.—
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‘‘(1) O
PERATOR
LIAISON
.—Within 12 months
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after the date of enactment of the Pipeline Safety Im-
21
provement Act of 2003, an operator of a gas trans-
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mission or hazardous liquid pipeline facility shall
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initiate and maintain liaison with the State emer-
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gency response commissions, and local emergency
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