[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          THE COMPREHENSIVE ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                            HON. BUD SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, my thanks to Norm Mineta, John Dingell, 
Carlos Moorhead, Nick Joe Rahall, Phil Sharp,  and Tim Petri for 
working together to bring this bill to the floor. I also want to thank 
our colleagues, Congressman Pallone,  a former member of the Committee, 
and Bob Franks, a current member of our Committee, for their leadership 
in pushing one-call Legistation this year.
  Comprehensive one-call notification systems are a critical tool to 
protect life, health and property in our country. The building boom of 
the last forty years, combined with the proliferation of underground 
facilities, makes excavation damage an increasingly prevalent problem.
  Particularly with regard to natural gas and hazardous liquid 
pipelines, excavation damage remains the number one cause of pipeline 
failures.
  Several improvements have been made to the bill to address concerns 
of several groups whose activities do not present a significant risk to 
underground facilities. I believe these changes represent the balance 
we must always strive to achieve between public safety goals and 
placing unreasonable burdens on average citizens.
  I specifically want to comment on the exemption granted to routine 
railroad maintenance activities. During consideration of this 
legislation on the floor, there was a misleading statement inserted but 
not spoken in the Record on the issue of what constitutes routine 
railroad maintenance.
  The railroad provisions of this bill are intended to completely 
exempt routine maintenance from the measure's notification 
requirements.
  It is important to note that two key committees of jurisdiction--one 
in this body and one in the other body--both approved language 
excluding railroad maintenance from one-call requirements in their 
respective reported bills. This was done because there is no evidence 
of any instances in which routine railroad maintenance that disturbs 
the ground to a depth of no more than 18 inches from the surface of the 
ground has caused harm to underground pipeline or telecommunications 
facilities.
  Railroads in this country have been conducting routine maintenance on 
their rights-of-way for more than 150 years. Such maintenance functions 
do not threaten underground facilities which are buried between 3 and 
10 feet beneath the surface of the ground.
  It is also important to understand that the activities listed in the 
definition of routine railroad maintenance is illustrative and is not 
intended to be exclusive. Other routine railroad maintenance 
activities, such as ditch cleaning and tamping, would be included under 
this definition.
  H.R. 4394 as modified by the Public Works and Transportation and 
Energy and Commerce committees will go a long way to encourage States 
to adopt comprehensive and effective one-call programs.
  Title II of this bill is the high risk driver program. This bill will 
improve highway safety for the millions of drivers in our Nation 
between 16 and 20 years old and 70 years and over. These groups of 
drivers are disproportionately represented in vehicle crash rates, 
fatality rates, and traffic safety violation rates.
  I want to commend my colleague from Virginia, Frank Wolf, for this 
leadership is sponsoring this bill in the House.
  I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

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