[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1924 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1924

To authorize States to enforce pipeline safety requirements related to 
              wellbores at interstate storage facilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 30, 2011

Mr. Roberts (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize States to enforce pipeline safety requirements related to 
              wellbores at interstate storage facilities.

    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 ``Underground Gas Storage Facility 
Safety Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 60101(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (20), (21), (22), (23), 
        (24), and (25) as paragraphs (23), (24), (25), (20), (21), and 
        (22), respectively;
            (2) in paragraph (21), as redesignated, by striking ``and'' 
        at the end;
            (3) in paragraph (22), as redesignated, by striking the 
        period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(26) `underground gas storage wellbore' means the piping 
        and hole drilled connecting the surface of the earth with the 
        underground gas storage reservoir; and
            ``(27) `underground hazardous liquid storage wellbore' 
        means the piping and hole drilled connecting the surface of the 
        earth with the underground hazardous liquid storage 
        reservoir.''.

SEC. 3. STATE ENFORCEMENT OF PIPELINE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 60104(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``A State authority that'' and inserting 
        the following:
            ``(1) A State authority that'';
            (2) by striking ``A State authority may not'' and inserting 
        the following:
            ``(2) A State authority may not'';
            (3) by striking ``Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a 
        State authority may enforce a requirement'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(3) Notwithstanding the limitation set forth in paragraph 
        (2), a State authority may--
                    ``(A) enforce a requirement'';
            (4) by striking ``chapter 61.'' and inserting ``chapter 61; 
        and''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) enforce a State requirement for the safe 
                construction and operation of underground gas storage 
                wellbores and underground hazardous liquid storage 
                wellbores if--
                            ``(i) the State requirement has been 
                        approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory 
                        Commission (referred to in this subparagraph as 
                        the `Commission'); or
                            ``(ii) the Commission fails to make a 
                        decision with respect to the State requirement 
                        during the 30-day period beginning on the date 
                        on which the State submits the State 
                        requirement to the Commission.''.
                                 <all>