[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 7 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S414-S415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN:
  S. 141. A bill to provide for enhanced safety, public awareness, and 
environmental protection in pipeline transportation, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


                    pipeline safety improvement act

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Pipeline Safety 
Improvement Act of 2001. I am very pleased to be joined in sponsoring 
this important transportation safety legislation by Senators Murray, 
Hollings, Hutchison, Bingaman, Domenici, and Breaux. This bill, which 
is identical to the measure approved unanimously by the Senate last 
year but which failed to be sent to the President, is being introduced 
today to demonstrate our strong, continued commitment to improving 
pipeline transportation safety. We urge our colleagues to join us in 
our efforts to help remedy identified safety problems and improve 
pipeline safety for all Americans.
  As most of my colleagues well know, the Senate worked long and hard 
during the last Congress to produce comprehensive pipeline safety 
legislation. As a result of our bipartisan efforts, we unanimously 
approved pipeline safety improvement legislation last September. 
Unfortunately, the House failed to approve a pipeline safety measure 
and the Congress thus failed in its efforts to improve pipeline safety. 
As a result, the unacceptable status quo under which at least 16 
fatalities have occurred remains the law of the land. I am hopeful that 
this new Congress will act quickly to take the overdue action necessary 
to improve pipeline safety before any more lives are lost.
  Mr. President, let me be clear from the outset that I continue to 
support passage of the strongest pipeline safety bill possible. As 
such, I will be very eager to receive safety improvement 
recommendations from the new Administration. Indeed, I look forward to 
working with the Administration, the House of Representatives, safety 
advocates, industry and other concerned citizens to advance a sound 
legislative proposal that can be signed into law.
  Although pipeline safety legislation was not enacted last year as we 
had hoped, the President did issue an executive order requiring a 
number of safety actions by pipeline operators. Further, the Department 
of Transportation (DOT) also issued a number of regulations during the 
past few months. The Administration's actions will be carefully 
considered by the Commerce Committee and we will work to ensure our 
legislation reflects the Administration's actions, as appropriate, as 
we advance the legislation to the full Senate.
  The following highlights some of the major provisions of the 
legislation we are reintroducing today:
  The bill would require the implementation of pipeline safety 
recommendations issued last March by the Department of Transportation 
Inspector General to the Research and Special Programs Administration 
(RSPA). The legislation would statutorily require the Secretary of 
Transportation, the RSPA Administrator and the Director of the Office 
of Pipeline Safety to respond to NTSB pipeline safety recommendations 
within 90 days of receipt. The bill would require pipeline operators to 
submit to the Secretary of Transportation a plan designed to improve 
the qualifications for pipeline personnel. At a minimum, the 
qualification plan would have to demonstrate that pipeline employees 
have the necessary knowledge to safely and properly perform their 
assigned duties and would require testing and periodic reexamination of 
the employees' qualifications.

  The legislation would require DOT to issue regulations mandating 
pipeline operators to periodically determine the adequacy of their 
pipelines to safely operate and to implement integrity management 
programs to reduce those identified risks. The regulations would, at a 
minimum, require operators to: base their integrity management plans on 
risk assessments that they conduct; periodically assess the integrity 
of their pipelines; and, take steps to prevent and mitigate unintended 
releases, such as improving leak detection capabilities or installing 
restrictive flow devices.

[[Page S415]]

  The bill also would require pipeline operators to carry out a 
continuing public education program that would include activities to 
advise municipalities, school districts, businesses, and residents of 
pipeline facility locations on a variety of pipeline safety-related 
matters. It would also direct pipeline operators to initiate and 
maintain communication with State emergency response commissions and 
local emergency planning committees and to share with these entities 
information critical to addressing pipeline safety issues, including 
information on the types of product transported and efforts by the 
operator to mitigate safety risks.
  The legislation directs the Secretary to develop and implement a 
comprehensive plan for the collection and use of pipeline data in a 
manner that would enable incident trend analysis and evaluations of 
operator performance. Operators would be required to report incident 
releases greater than five gallons, compared to the current reporting 
requirement of 42 gallons. In addition, the Secretary would be directed 
to establish a national depository of data to be administered by the 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics in cooperation with RSPA.
  Given the critical importance of technology applications in promoting 
transportation safety across all modes of transportation, the 
legislation directs the Secretary to include as part of the 
Department's research and development (R&D) efforts a focus on 
technologies to improve pipelines safety, such as through internal 
inspection devices and leak detection. Further, the legislation 
includes provisions advanced last year by Senator Bingaman, myself, and 
others, to provide for a collaborative R&D effort directed by the 
Department of Transportation with the assistance of the Department of 
Energy and the National Academy of Sciences.
  The bill provides for a three year authorization in funding for 
federal pipeline safety activities and the pipeline state grant 
program. The authorization levels in particular will be carefully 
reviewed as the bill proceeds through the legislation process. We must 
ensure sufficient funding is authorized to carry out critical pipeline 
safety activities and to advance research and development efforts.
  The legislation requires operators, in the event of an accident, to 
make available to the DOT or NTSB all records and information 
pertaining to the accident and to assist in the investigation to the 
extent reasonable. It also includes provisions to ensure that if an 
accident occurs, a review is carried out to ensure the operator's 
employees can safely perform their duties.
  Finally, to ensure pipeline employees are afforded the same whistle-
blower protections as are provided to employees in other modes of 
transportation, the legislation includes protections for pipeline 
personnel, similar to those protections provided to aviation-related 
employees last year in the Wendell H. Ford Aviation and Investment 
Reform Act for the 21st Century, P.L. 106-181.
  Again Mr. President, I will be interested in receiving additional 
recommendations to further strengthen federal pipeline safety policy. I 
hope this Congress can act expeditiously to approve comprehensive 
pipeline safety legislation. We simply cannot afford another missed 
opportunity to address identified pipeline safety shortcomings.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 141

  (Data not available at time of printing, the bill will print in a 
subsequent issue of the Record.)
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