[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4758 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4758

To strengthen and improve the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 1994

  Mr. Franks of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Flake) 
   introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the 
 Committees on Public Works and Transportation and Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To strengthen and improve the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, 
                        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 ``Durham Woods Natural Gas Pipeline 
Safety Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. INCREASED INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS IN HIGH-DENSITY POPULATION 
              AREAS.

    (a) Instrumented Internal Inspection Devices.--Section 3(g)(2) of 
the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 U.S.C. App. 1672(g)(2)) 
is amended by inserting ``, not less than once every 7 years,'' after 
``requiring the periodic inspection''.
    (b) Additional Inspections.--Section 3 of the Natural Gas Pipeline 
Safety Act of 1968 (49 U.S.C. App. 1672) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection:
    ``(l) Additional Inspection Requirements.--Within 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall issue 
regulations requiring that each operator of transmission pipelines--
            ``(1) establish a program for observing from the air, or 
        inspecting from the ground, or both, at least once every month, 
        the surface conditions on and adjacent to the right-of-way of 
        all of such operator's transmission pipelines identified 
        pursuant to subsection (i) for indications of leaks, 
        construction, and other circumstances affecting safety or 
        operation; and
            ``(2) place line markers along the rights-of-way of all of 
        such operator's transmission pipelines identified pursuant to 
        subsection (i), unless such placement is impractical.''.

SEC. 3. DAMAGE REPORTING.

    Section 20(g)(2) of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 
U.S.C. App. 1687(g)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
            (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(B) a natural gas pipeline facility and does not 
                report the damage promptly to the operator of the 
                pipeline facility or other appropriate authorities; 
                or''.

SEC. 4. INCREASED PENALTIES.

    (a) Criminal Penalties.--(1) Section 20(g) of the Natural Gas 
Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 U.S.C. App. 1687(g)) is amended by 
striking ``5 years'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``10 years''.
    (2) Section 11(c) of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 
(49 U.S.C. App. 1679a(c)) is amended--
            (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$25,000, imprisonment 
        for a term not to exceed 5 years'' and inserting in lieu 
        thereof ``$100,000, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 10 
        years'';
            (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$25,000, imprisonment 
        for a term not to exceed 15 years'' and inserting in lieu 
        thereof ``$100,000, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 
        years''; and
            (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``$5,000, imprisonment 
        for a term not to exceed 1 year'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
        ``$50,000, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 5 years''.
    (b) Civil Penalties.--Section 11(a) of the Natural Gas Pipeline 
Safety Act of 1968 (49 U.S.C. App. 1679a(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``or section 20(h)'' and inserting 
                in lieu thereof ``, section 20(h), or section 22(a)'';
                    (B) by striking ``$25,000'' and inserting in lieu 
                thereof ``$50,000''; and
                    (C) by striking ``$500,000'' and inserting in lieu 
                thereof ``$1,000,000''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$50,000'' and inserting 
        in lieu thereof ``$100,000''.

SEC. 5. PUBLIC AWARENESS.

    Section 18(a) of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 
U.S.C. App. 1685(a)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Each person who''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) The Secretary shall, to the extent provided in advance in 
appropriations Acts, make grants to States for the promotion of public 
awareness of the dangers of excavating near natural gas pipelines by 
advertising in the media and other means.''.

SEC. 6. PIPELINE SAFETY STUDY.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a 
comprehensive study on the safety of all natural gas transmission 
pipelines in the State of New Jersey. Such study shall address, at a 
minimum--
            (1) increasing population encroachment on pipeline rights-
        of-way;
            (2) environmental concerns;
            (3) financial pressures on the pipeline industry to control 
        their costs; and
            (4) the feasibility of utilizing remotely operated or 
        automatic shut-off valves, and their appropriate spacing.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit 
to the Congress a report containing the results of the study conducted 
under subsection (a).

SEC. 7. RISK ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Assessment.--The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct an 
assessment of the risks to public safety and the environment posed by 
the transportation of natural gas by pipeline. Such assessment shall--
            (1) rank the risks identified by the Secretary in terms of 
        their probability of occurrence and the severity of their 
        likely consequences, and in terms of any other factors the 
        Secretary considers relevant;
            (2) identify and prioritize technically feasible and 
        economically justified actions that should be taken to lessen 
        the risks identified; and
            (3) address, at a minimum--
                    (A) inspection by instrumented internal inspection 
                devices;
                    (B) installation of emergency flow restricting 
                devices;
                    (C) inspection and burial of underwater pipelines; 
                and
                    (D) inspection and replacement of cast iron 
                pipelines.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit 
to the Congress a report including the assessment required under 
subsection (a) and a plan for actions proposed by the Secretary to 
address each risk identified in the assessment.

SEC. 8. MAPPING.

    The National Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 U.S.C. App. 1671-
1688) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 22. MAPPING.

    ``(a) Location of Transmission Pipelines.--The owner or operator of 
each of the Nation's transmission pipelines shall inform the Secretary 
of the specific location of such transmission pipelines.
    ``(b) Comprehensive Mapping Program.--The Secretary, using the 
information received under subsection (a) and any other information 
available to the Secretary, shall develop a comprehensive mapping 
program to identify the specific location of all of the Nation's 
transmission pipelines. The program shall include information on the 
proximity of transmission pipelines to high-density population areas, 
environmentally sensitive areas, water intakes, and other appropriate 
areas or facilities. The Secretary shall establish an electronic data 
base for the comprehensive mapping program, and shall ensure that such 
data base is available to the public in an appropriate manner.
    ``(c) Security.--The Secretary shall ensure the security of the 
program developed under subsection (b) against terrorism, sabotage, and 
other threats.''.
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