[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 20, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 75. Mr. CARDIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 1, to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. COMMUNITY RIGHT TO PROTECT LOCAL WATER SUPPLIES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) there are 2,537 wells within 1 mile of the proposed 
     Keystone XL pipeline, including 39 public water supply wells 
     and 20 private wells within 100 feet of the pipeline right of 
     way;
       (2) 254 miles of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would 
     traverse over the shallow Ogallala Aquifer, the largest 
     underground fresh water source in the United States, 
     underlying 8 States and 2,000,000 people, including 10.5 
     miles where the groundwater lies at depths between 5 and 10 
     feet and another 12.4 miles where the water table is at a 
     depth of 10 to 15 feet;
       (3) on July 26, 2010, a pipeline ruptured near Marshall, 
     Michigan, releasing 843,000 gallons of tar sands diluted 
     bitumen into Talmadge Creek, flowing into the Kalamazoo 
     River;
       (4) the Talmadge Creek tar sands spill is the costliest 
     inland oil spill cleanup in United States history, and the 
     Kalamazoo River continues to be contaminated from the spill;
       (5) on March 29, 2013, the first pipeline of the United 
     States to transport Canadian tar sands to the Gulf Coast, the 
     ExxonMobil Pegasus Pipeline, ruptured, spilling 210,000 
     gallons of tar sands diluted bitumen in Mayflower, Arkansas; 
     and
       (6) following the Pegasus Pipeline tar sands spill, 
     individuals in the Mayflower community experienced severe 
     headaches, nausea, and respiratory infections.
       (b) Petition to Protect Local Water Supplies.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and prior to construction of the 
     pipeline described in section 2(a), the President, or the 
     designee of the President, shall provide to each municipality 
     or county that relies on drinking water from a source that 
     may be affected by a tar sands spill from the pipeline an 
     analysis of the potential risks to public health and the 
     environment from a leak or rupture of that pipeline.
       (2) Notification to governors.--The President shall provide 
     a copy of the analysis described in paragraph (1) to the 
     Governor of each State in which an affected municipality or 
     county is located.
       (3) Effect on construction.--Construction of the pipeline 
     described in section 2(a) may not begin if the Governor of a 
     State with an affected municipality or county submits, not 
     later than 30 days after receiving an analysis under 
     paragraph (2), a petition to the President requesting that 
     the pipeline not be located in the affected municipality or 
     county.
       (4) Withdrawal.--A Governor may withdraw a petition 
     submitted under paragraph (3) at any time.
       (5) Right of action.--A property owner with a private water 
     well drilled into any portion of an aquifer that is below the 
     proposed pipeline described in section 2(a) may sue the owner 
     of the pipeline for damages if--
       (A) the well water of the property owner becomes 
     contaminated as a result of--
       (i) construction activities associated with the pipeline; 
     or
       (ii) a rupture in the pipeline; and
       (B) the property owner demonstrates that the well water was 
     safe prior to construction and operation of the pipeline.
                                 ______