[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 22589-22600]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PIPELINE INSPECTION, PROTECTION, ENFORCEMENT, AND SAFETY ACT OF 2006

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5782) to amend title 49, United States Code, to 
provide for enhanced safety and environmental protection in pipeline 
transportation, to provide for enhanced reliability in the 
transportation of the Nation's energy products by pipeline, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5782

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES 
                   CODE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Pipeline 
     Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 
     2006''.
       (b) Amendment of Title 49, United States Code.--Except as 
     otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
     amendment

[[Page 22590]]

     or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or a 
     repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall 
     be considered to be made to a section or other provision of 
     title 49, United States Code.
       (c) Table of Contents.--

Sec. 1. Short title; amendment of title 49, United States Code; table 
              of contents.
Sec. 2. Pipeline safety and damage prevention.
Sec. 3. Public education and awareness.
Sec. 4. Low-stress pipelines.
Sec. 5. Technical assistance grants.
Sec. 6. Enforcement transparency.
Sec. 7. Direct line sales.
Sec. 8. Petroleum transportation capacity and regulatory adequacy 
              study.
Sec. 9. Distribution integrity management program rulemaking deadline.
Sec. 10. Emergency waivers.
Sec. 11. Restoration of operations.
Sec. 12. Pipeline control room management.
Sec. 13. Safety orders.
Sec. 14. Integrity program enforcement.
Sec. 15. Incident reporting.
Sec. 16. Senior executive signature of integrity management program 
              performance reports.
Sec. 17. Cost recovery for design reviews.
Sec. 18. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 19. Standards to implement NTSB recommendations.
Sec. 20. Accident reporting form.
Sec. 21. Leak detection technology study.
Sec. 22. Corrosion control regulations.
Sec. 23. Inspector General report.
Sec. 24. Technical assistance program.
Sec. 25. Natural gas pipelines.
Sec. 26. Corrosion technology.

     SEC. 2. PIPELINE SAFETY AND DAMAGE PREVENTION.

       (a) One Call Civil Enforcement.--
       (1) Prohibitions.--Section 60114 is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:
       ``(d) Prohibition Applicable to Excavators.--A person who 
     engages in demolition, excavation, tunneling, or 
     construction--
       ``(1) may not engage in a demolition, excavation, 
     tunneling, or construction activity in a State that has 
     adopted a one-call notification system without first using 
     that system to establish the location of underground 
     facilities in the demolition, excavation, tunneling, or 
     construction area;
       ``(2) may not engage in such demolition, excavation, 
     tunneling, or construction activity in disregard of location 
     information or markings established by a pipeline facility 
     operator pursuant to subsection (b); and
       ``(3) and who causes damage to a pipeline facility that may 
     endanger life or cause serious bodily harm or damage to 
     property--
       ``(A) may not fail to promptly report the damage to the 
     owner or operator of the facility; and
       ``(B) if the damage results in the escape of any flammable, 
     toxic, or corrosive gas or liquid, may not fail to promptly 
     report to other appropriate authorities by calling the 911 
     emergency telephone number.
       ``(e) Prohibition Applicable to Underground Pipeline 
     Facility Owners and Operators.--Any owner or operator of a 
     pipeline facility who fails to respond to a location request 
     in order to prevent damage to the pipeline facility or who 
     fails to take reasonable steps, in response to such a 
     request, to ensure accurate marking of the location of the 
     pipeline facility in order to prevent damage to the pipeline 
     facility shall be subject to a civil action under section 
     60120 or assessment of a civil penalty under section 60122.
       ``(f) Limitation.--The Secretary may not conduct an 
     enforcement proceeding under subsection (d) for a violation 
     within the boundaries of a State that has the authority to 
     impose penalties described in section 60134(b)(7) against 
     persons who violate that State's damage prevention laws, 
     unless the Secretary has determined that the State's 
     enforcement is inadequate to protect safety, consistent with 
     this chapter, and until the Secretary issues, through a 
     rulemaking proceeding, the procedures for determining 
     inadequate State enforcement of penalties.''.
       (2) Civil penalty.--Section 60122(a)(1) is amended by 
     striking ``60114(b)'' and inserting ``60114(b), 60114(d),''.
       (b) State Damage Prevention Programs.--

       (1) Contents of certifications.--Section 60105(b)(4) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(4) is encouraging and promoting the establishment of a 
     program designed to prevent damage by demolition, excavation, 
     tunneling, or construction activity to the pipeline 
     facilities to which the certification applies that subjects 
     persons who violate the applicable requirements of that 
     program to civil penalties and other enforcement actions that 
     are substantially the same as are provided under this 
     chapter, and addresses the elements in section 60134(b);''.
       (2) In general.--Chapter 601 is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:

     ``Sec. 60134. State damage prevention programs

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may make a grant to a 
     State authority (including a municipality with respect to 
     intrastate gas pipeline transportation) to assist in 
     improving the overall quality and effectiveness of a damage 
     prevention program of the State authority under subsection 
     (e) if the State authority--
       ``(1) has in effect an annual certification under section 
     60105 or an agreement under section 60106; and
       ``(2)(A) has in effect an effective damage prevention 
     program that meets the requirements of subsection (b); or
       ``(B) demonstrates that it has made substantial progress 
     toward establishing such a program, and that such program 
     will meet the requirements of subsection (b).
       ``(b) Damage Prevention Program Elements.--An effective 
     damage prevention program includes the following elements:
       ``(1) Participation by operators, excavators, and other 
     stakeholders in the development and implementation of methods 
     for establishing and maintaining effective communications 
     between stakeholders from receipt of an excavation 
     notification until successful completion of the excavation, 
     as appropriate.
       ``(2) A process for fostering and ensuring the support and 
     partnership of stakeholders, including excavators, operators, 
     locators, designers, and local government in all phases of 
     the program.
       ``(3) A process for reviewing the adequacy of a pipeline 
     operator's internal performance measures regarding persons 
     performing locating services and quality assurance programs.
       ``(4) Participation by operators, excavators, and other 
     stakeholders in the development and implementation of 
     effective employee training programs to ensure that 
     operators, the one-call center, the enforcing agency, and the 
     excavators have partnered to design and implement training 
     for the employees of operators, excavators, and locators.
       ``(5) A process for fostering and ensuring active 
     participation by all stakeholders in public education for 
     damage prevention activities.
       ``(6) A process for resolving disputes that defines the 
     State authority's role as a partner and facilitator to 
     resolve issues.
       ``(7) Enforcement of State damage prevention laws and 
     regulations for all aspects of the damage prevention process, 
     including public education, and the use of civil penalties 
     for violations assessable by the appropriate State authority.
       ``(8) A process for fostering and promoting the use, by all 
     appropriate stakeholders, of improving technologies that may 
     enhance communications, underground pipeline locating 
     capability, and gathering and analyzing information about the 
     accuracy and effectiveness of locating programs.
       ``(9) A process for review and analysis of the 
     effectiveness of each program element, including a means for 
     implementing improvements identified by such program reviews.
       ``(c) Factors To Consider.--In making grants under this 
     section, the Secretary shall take into consideration the 
     commitment of each State to ensuring the effectiveness of its 
     damage prevention program, including legislative and 
     regulatory actions taken by the State.
       ``(d) Application.--If a State authority files an 
     application for a grant under this section not later than 
     September 30 of a calendar year and demonstrates that the 
     Governor (or chief executive) of the State has designated it 
     as the appropriate State authority to receive the grant, the 
     Secretary shall review the State's damage prevention program 
     to determine its effectiveness.
       ``(e) Use of Funds.--A grant under this section to a State 
     authority may only be used to pay the cost of the personnel, 
     equipment, and activities that the State authority reasonably 
     requires for the calendar year covered by the grant to 
     develop or carry out its damage prevention program in 
     accordance with subsection (b).
       ``(f) Nonapplicability of Limitation.--A grant made under 
     this section is not subject to the section 60107(a) 
     limitation on the maximum percentage of funds to be paid by 
     the Secretary.
       ``(g) Limitation on Use of Funds.--Funds provided to carry 
     out this section may not be used for lobbying or in direct 
     support of litigation.
       ``(h) Damage Prevention Process Defined.--In this section, 
     the term `damage prevention process' means a process that 
     incorporates the principles described in sections 60114(b), 
     60114(d), and 60114(e).''.
       (3) Clerical amendment.--The analysis for chapter 601 is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``60134. State damage prevention programs.''.

       (c) State Pipeline Safety Grants.--Section 60107(a) is 
     amended by striking ``not more than 50 percent'' and 
     inserting ``not more than 80 percent''.
       (d) Maintenance of Effort.--Section 60107(b) is amended by 
     striking ``spent--'' and all that follows and inserting 
     ``spent for gas and hazardous liquid safety programs for the 
     3 fiscal years prior to the fiscal year in which the 
     Secretary makes the payment, except when the Secretary waives 
     this requirement.''.
       (e) Damage Prevention Technology Development.--Section 
     60114 (as amended by subsection (a)(1) of this section) is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g) Technology Development Grants.--The Secretary may 
     make grants to any organization or entity (not including for-
     profit

[[Page 22591]]

     entities) for the development of technologies that will 
     facilitate the prevention of pipeline damage caused by 
     demolition, excavation, tunneling, or construction 
     activities, with emphasis on wireless and global positioning 
     technologies having potential for use in connection with 
     notification systems and underground facility locating and 
     marking services. Funds provided under this subsection may 
     not be used for lobbying or in direct support of litigation. 
     The Secretary may also support such technology development 
     through cooperative agreements with trade associations, 
     academic institutions, and other organizations.''.

     SEC. 3. PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AWARENESS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 61 is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``Sec. 6109. Public education and awareness

       ``(a) Grant Authority.--The Secretary shall make a grant to 
     an appropriate entity for promoting public education and 
     awareness with respect to the 811 national excavation damage 
     prevention phone number.
       ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000 for the period 
     beginning October 1, 2006, and ending September 30, 2008, to 
     carry out this section.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 61 is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``6109. Public education and awareness.''.

     SEC. 4. LOW-STRESS PIPELINES.

       Section 60102(k) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(k) Low-Stress Hazardous Liquid Pipelines.--
       ``(1) Minimum standards.--Not later than December 31, 2007, 
     the Secretary shall issue regulations subjecting low-stress 
     hazardous liquid pipelines to the same standards and 
     regulations as other hazardous liquid pipelines, except as 
     provided in paragraph (3). The implementation of the 
     applicable standards and regulatory requirements may be 
     phased in. The regulations issued under this paragraph shall 
     not apply to gathering lines.
       ``(2) General prohibition against low internal stress 
     exception.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), the 
     Secretary may not provide an exception to the requirements of 
     this chapter for a hazardous liquid pipeline because the 
     pipeline operates at low internal stress.
       ``(3) Limited exceptions.--The Secretary shall provide or 
     continue in force exceptions to this subsection for low-
     stress hazardous liquid pipelines that--
       ``(A) are subject to safety regulations of the United 
     States Coast Guard; or
       ``(B) serve refining, manufacturing, or truck, rail, or 
     vessel terminal facilities if the pipeline is less than 1 
     mile long (measured outside the facility grounds) and does 
     not cross an offshore area or a waterway currently used for 
     commercial navigation,

     until regulations issued under paragraph (1) become 
     effective. After such regulations become effective, the 
     Secretary may retain or remove those exceptions as 
     appropriate.
       ``(4) Relationship to other laws.--Nothing in this 
     subsection shall be construed to prohibit or otherwise affect 
     the applicability of any other statutory or regulatory 
     exemption to any hazardous liquid pipeline.
       ``(5) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
     term `low-stress hazardous liquid pipeline' means a hazardous 
     liquid pipeline that is operated in its entirety at a stress 
     level of 20 percent or less of the specified minimum yield 
     strength of the line pipe.
       ``(6) Effective date.--The requirements of this subsection 
     shall not take effect as to low-stress hazardous liquid 
     pipeline operators before the effective date of the rules 
     promulgated by the Secretary under this subsection.''.

     SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

       Section 60130 is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ``The Secretary shall 
     establish competitive'' and insert ``No grants may be awarded 
     under section 60114(g) until the Secretary has established 
     competitive'';
       (2) in subsection (a) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
     paragraph (4);
       (3) in subsection (a) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
     following:
       ``(2) Demonstration grants.--At least the first 3 grants 
     awarded under this section shall be demonstration grants for 
     the purpose of demonstrating and evaluating the utility of 
     grants under this section. Each such demonstration grant 
     shall not exceed $25,000.
       ``(3) Dissemination of technical findings.--Each recipient 
     of a grant under this section shall ensure that--
       ``(A) the technical findings made possible by the grants 
     are made available to the relevant operators; and
       ``(B) open communication between the grant recipients, 
     local operators, local communities, and other interested 
     parties is encouraged.''; and
       (4) in subsection (d) by striking ``2006'' and inserting 
     ``2010''.

     SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT TRANSPARENCY.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 601 (as amended by section 2(b) of 
     this Act) is further amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 60135. Enforcement transparency

       ``(a) In General.--Not later than December 31, 2007, the 
     Secretary shall--
       ``(1) provide a monthly updated summary to the public of 
     all gas and hazardous liquid pipeline enforcement actions 
     taken by the Secretary or the Pipeline and Hazardous 
     Materials Safety Administration, from the time a notice 
     commencing an enforcement action is issued until the 
     enforcement action is final;
       ``(2) include in each such summary identification of the 
     operator involved in the enforcement activity, the type of 
     alleged violation, the penalty or penalties proposed, any 
     changes in case status since the previous summary, the final 
     assessment amount of each penalty, and the reasons for a 
     reduction in the proposed penalty, if appropriate; and
       ``(3) provide a mechanism by which a pipeline operator 
     named in an enforcement action may make information, 
     explanations, or documents it believes are responsive to the 
     enforcement action available to the public.
       ``(b) Electronic Availability.--Each summary under this 
     section shall be made available to the public by electronic 
     means.
       ``(c) Relationship to FOIA.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to require disclosure of information or records 
     that are exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 
     5.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 601 (as 
     amended by section 2(b) of this Act) is further amended by 
     adding at the end:

``60135. Enforcement transparency.''.

     SEC. 7. DIRECT LINE SALES.

       Section 60101(a) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following:
       ``(6) `interstate gas pipeline facility' means a gas 
     pipeline facility--
       ``(A) used to transport gas; and
       ``(B) subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under 
     the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.);''; and
       (2) by striking paragraph (9) and inserting the following:
       ``(9) `intrastate gas pipeline facility' means a gas 
     pipeline facility and transportation of gas within a State 
     not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the 
     Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.);''.

     SEC. 8. PETROLEUM TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY AND REGULATORY 
                   ADEQUACY STUDY.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 601 (as amended by sections 2(b) 
     and 6 of this Act) is further amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``Sec. 60136. Petroleum product transportation capacity study

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretaries of Transportation and 
     Energy shall conduct periodic analyses of the domestic 
     transport of petroleum products by pipeline. Such analyses 
     should identify areas of the United States where unplanned 
     loss of individual pipeline facilities may cause shortages of 
     petroleum products or price disruptions and where shortages 
     of pipeline capacity and reliability concerns may have or are 
     anticipated to contribute to shortages of petroleum products 
     or price disruptions. Upon identifying such areas, the 
     Secretaries may determine if the current level of regulation 
     is sufficient to minimize the potential for unplanned losses 
     of pipeline capacity.
       ``(b) Consultation.--In preparing any analysis under this 
     section, the Secretaries may consult with the heads of other 
     government agencies and public- and private-sector experts in 
     pipeline and other forms of petroleum product transportation, 
     energy consumption, pipeline capacity, population, and 
     economic development.
       ``(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than June 1, 2008, the 
     Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 
     Commerce and the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 
     report setting forth their recommendations to reduce the 
     likelihood of the shortages and price disruptions referred to 
     in subsection (a).
       ``(d) Additional Reports.--The Secretaries shall submit 
     additional reports to the congressional committees referred 
     to in subsection (c) containing the results of any subsequent 
     analyses performed under subsection (a) and any additional 
     recommendations, as appropriate.
       ``(e) Petroleum Product Defined.--In this section, the term 
     `petroleum product' means oil of any kind  or in any form, 
     gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, fuel oil, kerosene, any 
     product obtained from refining or processing of crude oil, 
     liquefied petroleum gases, natural gas liquids, petrochemical 
     feedstocks, condensate, waste or refuse mixtures containing 
     any of such oil products, and any other liquid hydrocarbon 
     compounds.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 601 (as 
     amended by sections 2(b) and 6 of this Act) is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``60136. Petroleum product transportation capacity study.''.

     SEC. 9. DISTRIBUTION INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM RULEMAKING 
                   DEADLINE.

       Section 60109 is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(e) Distribution Integrity Management Programs.--

[[Page 22592]]

       ``(1) Minimum standards.--Not later than December 31, 2007, 
     the Secretary shall prescribe minimum standards for integrity 
     management programs for distribution pipelines.
       ``(2) Additional authority of secretary.--In carrying out 
     this subsection, the Secretary may require operators of 
     distribution pipelines to continually identify and assess 
     risks on their distribution lines, to remediate conditions 
     that present a potential threat to line integrity, and to 
     monitor program effectiveness.
       ``(3) Excess flow valves.--
       ``(A) In general.--The minimum standards shall include a 
     requirement for an operator of a natural gas distribution 
     system to install an excess flow valve on each single family 
     residence service line connected to such system if--
       ``(i) the service line is installed or entirely replaced 
     after June 1, 2008;
       ``(ii) the service line operates continuously throughout 
     the year at a pressure not less than 10 pounds per square 
     inch gauge;
       ``(iii) the service line is not connected to a gas stream 
     with respect to which the operator has had prior experience 
     with contaminants the presence of which could interfere with 
     the operation of an excess flow valve;
       ``(iv) the installation of an excess flow valve on the 
     service line is not likely to cause loss of service to the 
     residence or interfere with necessary operation or 
     maintenance activities, such as purging liquids from the 
     service line; and
       ``(v) an excess flow valve meeting performance standards 
     developed under section 60110(e) of title 49, United States 
     Code, is commercially available to the operator, as 
     determined by the Secretary.
       ``(B) Reports.--Operators of natural gas distribution 
     systems shall report annually to the Secretary on the number 
     of excess flow valves installed on their systems under 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(4) Applicability.--The Secretary shall determine which 
     distribution pipelines will be subject to the minimum 
     standards.
       ``(5) Development and implementation.--Each operator of a 
     distribution pipeline that the Secretary determines is 
     subject to the minimum standards prescribed by the Secretary 
     under this subsection shall develop and implement an 
     integrity management program in accordance with those 
     standards.
       ``(6) Savings clause.--Subject to section 60104(c), a State 
     authority having a current certification under section 60105 
     may adopt or continue in force additional integrity 
     management requirements, including additional requirements 
     for installation of excess flow valves, for gas distribution 
     pipelines within the boundaries of that State.''.

     SEC. 10. EMERGENCY WAIVERS.

       Section 60118(c) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) Waivers by Secretary.--
       ``(1) Nonemergency waivers.--
       ``(A) In general.--On application of an owner or operator 
     of a pipeline facility, the Secretary by order may waive 
     compliance with any part of an applicable standard prescribed 
     under this chapter with respect to such facility on terms the 
     Secretary considers appropriate if the Secretary determines 
     that the waiver is not inconsistent with pipeline safety.
       ``(B) Hearing.--The Secretary may act on a waiver under 
     this paragraph only after notice and an opportunity for a 
     hearing.
       ``(2) Emergency waivers.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary by order may waive 
     compliance with any part of an applicable standard prescribed 
     under this chapter on terms the Secretary considers 
     appropriate without prior notice and comment if the Secretary 
     determines that--
       ``(i) it is in the public interest to grant the waiver;
       ``(ii) the waiver is not inconsistent with pipeline safety; 
     and
       ``(iii) the waiver is necessary to address an actual or 
     impending emergency involving pipeline transportation, 
     including an emergency caused by a natural or manmade 
     disaster.
       ``(B) Period of waiver.--A waiver under this paragraph may 
     be issued for a period of not more than 60 days and may be 
     renewed upon application to the Secretary only after notice 
     and an opportunity for a hearing on the waiver. The Secretary 
     shall immediately revoke the waiver if continuation of the 
     waiver would not be consistent with the goals and objectives 
     of this chapter.
       ``(3) Statement of reasons.--The Secretary shall state in 
     an order issued under this subsection the reasons for 
     granting the waiver.''.

     SEC. 11. RESTORATION OF OPERATIONS.

       Section 60117 is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(m) Restoration of Operations.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may advise, assist, and 
     cooperate with the heads of other departments, agencies, and 
     instrumentalities of the United States Government, the 
     States, and public and private agencies and persons to 
     facilitate the restoration of pipeline operations that have 
     been or are anticipated to become disrupted by manmade or 
     natural disasters.
       ``(2) Savings clause.--Nothing in this section alters or 
     amends the authorities and responsibilities of any 
     department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States 
     Government, other than the Department of Transportation.''.

     SEC. 12. PIPELINE CONTROL ROOM MANAGEMENT.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 601 (as amended by sections 2(b), 
     6, and 8 of this Act) is further amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``Sec. 60137. Pipeline control room management

       ``(a) In General.--Not later than June 1, 2008, the 
     Secretary shall issue regulations requiring each operator of 
     a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline to develop, implement, and 
     submit to the Secretary or, in the case of an operator of an 
     intrastate pipeline located within the boundaries of a State 
     that has in effect an annual certification under section 
     60105, to the head of the appropriate State authority, a 
     human factors management plan designed to reduce risks 
     associated with human factors, including fatigue, in each 
     control center for the pipeline. Each plan must include, 
     among the measures to reduce such risks, a maximum limit on 
     the hours of service established by the operator for 
     individuals employed as controllers in a control center for 
     the pipeline.
       ``(b) Review and Approval of the Plan.--The Secretary or, 
     in the case of an operator of an intrastate pipeline located 
     within the boundaries of a State that has in effect an annual 
     certification under section 60105, the head of the 
     appropriate State authority, shall review and approve each 
     plan submitted to the Secretary or the head of such authority 
     under subsection (a). The Secretary and the head of such 
     authority may not approve a plan that does not include a 
     maximum limit on the hours of service established by the 
     operator of the pipeline for individuals employed as 
     controllers in a control center for the pipeline.
       ``(c) Enforcement of the Plan.--If the Secretary or the 
     head of the appropriate State authority determines that an 
     operator's plan submitted to the Secretary or the head of 
     such authority under subsection (a), or implementation of 
     such a plan, does not comply with the regulations issued 
     under this section or is inadequate for the safe operation of 
     a pipeline, the Secretary or the head of such authority may 
     take action consistent with this chapter and enforce the 
     requirements of such regulations.
       ``(d) Compliance With the Plan.--Each operator of a gas or 
     hazardous liquid pipeline shall document compliance with the 
     plan submitted by the operator under subsection (a) and the 
     reasons for any deviation from compliance with such plan. The 
     Secretary or the head of the appropriate State authority, as 
     the case may be, shall review the reasonableness of any such 
     deviation in considering whether to take enforcement action 
     or discontinue approval of the operator's plan under 
     subsection (b).
       ``(e) Deviation Reporting Requirements.--In issuing 
     regulations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall develop 
     and include in such regulations requirements for an operator 
     of a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline to report deviations 
     from compliance with the plan submitted by the operator under 
     subsection (a).''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 601 (as 
     amended by sections 2(b), 6, and 8 of this Act) is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``60137. Pipeline control room management.''.

     SEC. 13. SAFETY ORDERS.

       Section 60117(l) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(l) Safety Orders.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 2007, the 
     Secretary shall issue regulations providing that, after 
     notice and opportunity for a hearing, if the Secretary 
     determines that a pipeline facility has a condition that 
     poses a pipeline integrity risk to public safety, property, 
     or the environment, the Secretary may order the operator of 
     the facility to take necessary corrective action, including 
     physical inspection, testing, repair, or other appropriate 
     action, to remedy that condition.
       ``(2) Considerations.--In making a determination under 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary, if relevant and pursuant to the 
     regulations issued under paragraph (1), shall consider--
       ``(A) the considerations specified in paragraphs (1) 
     through (6) of section 60112(b);
       ``(B) the likelihood that the condition will impair the 
     serviceability of a pipeline;
       ``(C) the likelihood that the condition will worsen over 
     time; and
       ``(D) the likelihood that the condition is present or could 
     develop on other areas of the pipeline.''.

     SEC. 14. INTEGRITY PROGRAM ENFORCEMENT.

       Section 60109(c)(9)(A)(iii) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(iii) Inadequate programs.--If the Secretary determines 
     that a risk analysis or integrity management program does not 
     comply with the requirements of this subsection or 
     regulations issued as described in paragraph (2), has not 
     been adequately implemented, or is inadequate for the safe 
     operation of a pipeline facility, the Secretary may conduct 
     proceedings under this chapter.''.

     SEC. 15. INCIDENT REPORTING.

       Not later than December 31, 2007, the Secretary of 
     Transportation shall review the incident reporting 
     requirements for operators

[[Page 22593]]

     of natural gas pipelines and modify the reporting criteria as 
     appropriate to ensure that the incident data gathered 
     accurately reflects incident trends over time, taking into 
     consideration the recommendations from the Comptroller 
     General in GAO report 06-946.

     SEC. 16. SENIOR EXECUTIVE SIGNATURE OF INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT 
                   PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORTS.

       Section 60109 (as amended by section 9 of this Act) is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Certification of Pipeline Integrity Management 
     Program Performance.--The Secretary shall establish 
     procedures requiring certification of annual and semiannual 
     pipeline integrity management program performance reports by 
     a senior executive officer of the company operating a 
     pipeline subject to this chapter. The procedures shall 
     require a signed statement, which may be effected 
     electronically in accordance with the provisions of the 
     Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 
     U.S.C. 7001 et seq.), certifying that--
       ``(1) the signing officer has reviewed the report; and
       ``(2) to the best of such officer's knowledge and belief, 
     the report is true and complete.''.

     SEC. 17. COST RECOVERY FOR DESIGN REVIEWS.

       Section 60117 (as amended by section 11 of this Act) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(n) Cost Recovery for Design Reviews.--
       ``(1) In general.--If the Secretary conducts facility 
     design safety reviews in connection with a proposal to 
     construct, expand, or operate a liquefied natural gas 
     pipeline facility, the Secretary may require the person 
     requesting such reviews to pay the associated staff costs 
     relating to such reviews incurred by the Secretary in section 
     60301(d). The Secretary may assess such costs in any 
     reasonable manner.
       ``(2) Deposit.--The Secretary shall deposit all funds paid 
     to the Secretary under this subsection into the Department of 
     Treasury account 69-5172-0-2-407 or its successor account.
       ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--Funds deposited 
     pursuant to this subsection are authorized to be appropriated 
     for the purposes set forth in section 60301(d).''.

     SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Gas and Hazardous Liquid.--Section 60125(a) is amended 
     to read as follows:
       ``(a) Gas and Hazardous Liquid.--
       ``(1) In general.--To carry out the provisions of this 
     chapter related to gas and hazardous liquid and section 12 of 
     the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 
     note; Public Law 107-355), the following amounts are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
     Transportation from fees collected under section 60301 in 
     each respective year:
       ``(A) For fiscal year 2007, $60,175,000 of which $7,386,000 
     is for carrying out such section 12 and $17,556,000 is for 
     making grants.
       ``(B) For fiscal year 2008, $67,118,000 of which $7,586,000 
     is for carrying out such section 12 and $20,614,000 is for 
     making grants.
       ``(C) For fiscal year 2009, $72,045,000 of which $7,586,000 
     is for carrying out such section 12 and $21,513,000 is for 
     making grants.
       ``(D) For fiscal year 2010, $76,580,000 of which $7,586,000 
     is for carrying out subsection 12 and $22,252,000 is for 
     making grants.
       ``(2)  Trust fund amounts.--In addition to the amounts 
     authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) the following 
     amounts are authorized from the Oil Spill Liability Trust 
     Fund to carry out the provisions of this chapter related to 
     hazardous liquid and section 12 of the Pipeline Safety 
     Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 
     107-355):
       ``(A) For fiscal year 2007, $18,810,000 of which $4,207,000 
     is for carrying out such section 12 and $2,682,000 is for 
     making grants.
       ``(B) For fiscal year 2008, $19,000,000 of which $4,207,000 
     is for carrying out such section 12 and $2,682,000 is for 
     making grants.
       ``(C) For fiscal year 2009, $19,500,000 of which $4,207,000 
     is for carrying out such section 12 and $3,103,000 is for 
     making grants.
       ``(D) For fiscal year 2010, $20,000,000 of which $4,207,000 
     is for carrying out such section 12 $3,603,000 is for making 
     grants.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 60125 is amended--
       (1) by striking subsections (b) and (c); and
       (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
     (b) and (c), respectively.
       (c) Emergency Response Grants.--Section 60125(b) (as 
     redesignated by subsection (b)(2) of this section) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1) by adding at the end the following: 
     ``To the extent that such grants are used to train emergency 
     responders, such training shall ensure that emergency 
     responders have the ability to protect nearby persons, 
     property, and the environment from the effects of accidents 
     or incidents involving gas or hazardous liquid pipelines, in 
     accordance with existing regulations.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by striking ``$6,000,000'' and inserting 
     ``$10,000,000''; and
       (B) by striking ``2003 through 2006'' and inserting ``2007 
     through 2010''.
       (d) One-Call Notification Programs.--Section 6107 is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (a) by striking ``fiscal years 2003 
     through 2006'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2007 through 
     2010''; and
       (2) in subsection (b) by striking ``for fiscal years 2003 
     through 2006'' and inserting ``for fiscal years 2007 through 
     2010''.
       (e) Inspector Staffing.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
     the number of positions for pipeline inspection and 
     enforcement personnel at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 
     Safety Administration does not fall below 100 for fiscal year 
     2007, 111 for fiscal year 2008, 123 for fiscal year 2009, and 
     135 for fiscal year 2010.

     SEC. 19. STANDARDS TO IMPLEMENT NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS.

       Not later than June 1, 2008, the Secretary of 
     Transportation shall issue standards that implement the 
     following recommendations contained in the National 
     Transportation Safety Board's report entitled ``Supervisory 
     Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) in Liquid Pipelines'' 
     and adopted November 29, 2005:
       (1) Implementation of the American Petroleum Institute's 
     Recommended Practice 165 for the use of graphics on the 
     supervisory control and data acquisition screens.
       (2) Implementation of a standard for pipeline companies to 
     review and audit alarms on monitoring equipment.
       (3) Implementation of standards for pipeline controller 
     training that include simulator or noncomputerized 
     simulations for controller recognition of abnormal pipeline 
     operating conditions, in particular, leak events.

     SEC. 20. ACCIDENT REPORTING FORM.

       Not later than December 31, 2007, the Secretary of 
     Transportation shall amend accident reporting forms to 
     require operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines to 
     provide data related to controller fatigue.

     SEC. 21. LEAK DETECTION TECHNOLOGY STUDY.

       Not later than December 31, 2007, the Secretary of 
     Transportation shall submit to Congress a report on leak 
     detection systems utilized by operators of hazardous liquid 
     pipelines. The report shall include a discussion of the 
     inadequacies of current leak detection systems, including 
     their ability to detect ruptures and small leaks that are 
     ongoing or intermittent, and what can be done to foster 
     development of better technologies as well as address 
     existing technological inadequacies.

     SEC. 22. CORROSION CONTROL REGULATIONS.

       (a) Review.--The Secretary of Transportation, in 
     consultation with the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline 
     Safety Standards Committee and other appropriate entities, 
     shall review the internal corrosion control regulations set 
     forth in subpart H of part 195 of title 49 of the Code of 
     Federal Regulations to determine if such regulations are 
     currently adequate to ensure that the pipeline facilities 
     subject to such regulations will not present a hazard to 
     public safety or the environment.
       (b) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2007, the 
     Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing the 
     results of the review and may modify the regulations referred 
     to in subsection (a) if necessary and appropriate.

     SEC. 23. INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT.

       (a) Assessment.--Not later than December 31, 2007, the 
     Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall 
     conduct an assessment of the actions the Department has taken 
     in implementing the annex to the memorandum of understanding 
     between the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of 
     Homeland Security, dated September 28, 2004, relating to 
     pipeline security.
       (b) Specified Duties of Inspector General.-- In carrying 
     out the assessment, the Inspector General shall--
       (1) provide a status report on implementation of the 
     program elements outlined and developed in the annex;
       (2) describe the roles, responsibilities, and authority of 
     the Department of Transportation relating to pipeline 
     security;
       (3) assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the process by 
     which the Department of Transportation has communicated and 
     coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security on 
     matters relating to pipeline security;
       (4) address the adequacy of security standards for gas and 
     oil pipelines in coordination, as necessary, with the 
     Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security; and
       (5) consider any other issues determined to be appropriate 
     by the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation 
     or the Secretary of Transportation.
       (c) Assessment Report and Periodic Status Updates.--
       (1) Assessment report.--Not later than December 31, 2007, 
     the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation 
     shall transmit a report on the results of the assessment, 
     together with any recommendations (including legislative 
     options for Congress to consider), to the Committees on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce of 
     the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
       (2) Periodic status reports.--The Inspector General shall 
     transmit periodically to the Committees as referred to in 
     paragraph

[[Page 22594]]

     (1), as necessary and appropriate, reports on matters 
     pertaining to the implementation by the Department of 
     Transportation of any recommendations contained in the report 
     transmitted pursuant to paragraph (1).
       (d) Format.--The report, or portions of the report, under 
     subsection (c)(1) may be submitted in a classified format if 
     the Inspector General determines that such action is 
     necessary.

     SEC. 24. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation may award, 
     through a competitive process, grants to universities with 
     expertise in pipeline safety and security to establish 
     jointly a collaborative program to conduct pipeline safety 
     and technical assistance programs.
       (b) Duties.--In cooperation with the Pipeline and Hazardous 
     Materials Safety Administration and representatives from 
     States and boards of public utilities, the participants in 
     the collaborative program established under subsection (a) 
     shall be responsible for development of workforce training 
     and technical assistance programs through statewide and 
     regional partnerships that provide for--
       (1) communication of national, State, and local safety 
     information to pipeline operators;
       (2) distribution of technical resources and training to 
     support current and future Federal mandates; and
       (3) evaluation of program outcomes.
       (c) Training and Educational Materials.--The collaborative 
     program established under subsection (a) may include courses 
     in recent developments, techniques, and procedures related 
     to--
       (1) safety and security of pipeline systems;
       (2) incident and risk management for such systems;
       (3) integrity management for such systems;
       (4) consequence modeling for such systems;
       (5) detection of encroachments and monitoring of rights-of-
     way for such systems; and
       (6) vulnerability assessment of such systems at both 
     project and national levels.
       (d) Reports.--
       (1) University.--Not later than March 31, 2009, the 
     universities awarded grants under subsection (a) shall submit 
     to the Secretary a report on the results of the collaborative 
     program.
       (2) Secretary.--Not later than October 1, 2009, the 
     Secretary shall transmit the reports submitted to the 
     Secretary under paragraph (1), along with any findings, 
     recommendations, or legislative options for Congress to 
     consider, to the Committees on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
     this section for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010.

     SEC. 25. NATURAL GAS PIPELINES.

       The Secretary of Transportation shall review and comment on 
     the Comptroller General report issued under section 14(d)(1) 
     of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C. 
     60109 note; 116 Stat. 3005), and not later than 60 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, transmit to Congress any 
     legislative recommendations the Secretary considers necessary 
     and appropriate to implement the conclusions of that report.

     SEC. 26. CORROSION TECHNOLOGY.

       Section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 
     (49 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107-355) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)(2) by striking ``corrosion,'';
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (9);
       (B) by redesignating paragraph (10) as paragraph (11);
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
       ``(10) corrosion detection and improving methods, best 
     practices, and technologies for identifying, detecting, 
     preventing, and managing internal and external corrosion and 
     other safety risks; and''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
     ``The results of activities carried out under paragraph (10) 
     shall be used by the participating agencies to support 
     development and improvement of national consensus 
     standards.''; and
       (3) by striking subsection (f) and redesignating 
     subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g), 
     respectively.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, 4 years ago Congress passed the Pipeline Safety 
Improvement Act for 2002. The States and the pipeline community have 
praised that bill as an overwhelming success.
  That is why H.R. 5782, the Pipeline Inspection Protection Enforcement 
and Safety Act of 2006, keeps us moving in the same positive direction 
as the 2002 pipeline bill.
  I want to thank my ranking member, Democrat Member Mr. Oberstar, for 
working closely with me to develop this legislation. Also, Mr. DeFazio 
has worked very closely with us. We could not have accomplished this 
result without our subcommittee chairman, Tom Petri, and of course I 
just mentioned Mr. Peter DeFazio.
  I want to also thank the chairman of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee, Joe Barton, and my very good friend and colleague, ranking 
Democrat, John Dingell for their excellent work to bring this bill to 
this point.
  In September the Energy and Commerce Committee also ordered the bill 
reported with their amendment. We have worked with our friends on the 
Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the other body, to come up 
with a bill that they will support also.
  The bill we are considering here today has been negotiated with the 
Senate Commerce Committee, and the other body is expected to pass the 
bill later this week.
  I have been very impressed with the work of the Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which is often called PHMSA, 
and their administrator, Admiral Tom Barrett.
  Their response to and oversight of pipeline spills on the North Slope 
in Alaska this past year have received widespread praise.
  We were very careful in drafting this bill to avoid disrupting the 
hard work and remarkable progress that occurred at PHMSA over the past 
4 years.
  Like all legislation, this bill contains compromises. The policies in 
this bill are the result of compromise and hard work. However, the 
compromise that we have reached in this bill will not take away from 
the impact of this bill.
  This is a good bill. It improves pipeline safety and the role of the 
administration regulating pipelines.
  H.R. 5782 extends the pipeline safety program for another 4 years. To 
the fiscal year of 2010. These programs include operational funds for 
the Office of Pipeline Safety to carry out its regulatory and 
enforcement functions, and State pipeline safety grants that cover the 
cost of State expenses to carry out certified pipeline safety inspect 
activities.
  The bill also funds emergency response grants, public education and 
one-call damage prevention programs and grants to provide technical 
assistance to local communities on pipeline safety issues.
  The administration, the States, the pipeline safety advocates and the 
pipeline industry all support this bill.
  I strongly support this legislation to protect public safety, and I 
encourage my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 5782, Pipeline Inspection Protection 
Enforcement Safety Act of 2006.
  We have come a long way since the original legislation was passed in 
2002. After the tragedies in Bellingham, Washington, in which committee 
Member Rick Larsen played a particularly key role in urging the 
committee forward, and Carlsbad, New Mexico, we had quite a contentious 
markup at that point in time, with a lot of resistance from what we saw 
as needed improvements in pipeline safety from the industry.
  Not so this time around. In fact, there was broad consensus with the 
majority side, with the majority of the industry from the beginning, 
that we wanted to make some additional improvements in pipeline safety 
with this bill, but that a radical new approach was not warranted 
because we had already laid that groundwork with the 2002 bill.

                              {time}  1715

  The gentleman from the Energy and Commerce Committee will address in

[[Page 22595]]

some detail the work done and improved upon in their committee relating 
to the pipeline, low-stress pipelines, which had been substantially 
exempt from regulation previously. Unfortunately, that led to some 
neglect on the part of BP in Alaska, and we had the largest North Slope 
oil spill because of a low pressure line which previously had been 
thought not to be of major concern, and in fact the company itself 
admitted they had been running the lines to failure.
  Well, lines nowhere will be run to failure any more under this bill. 
We are going to have more pipeline inspectors, more enforcement. We are 
going to broaden the legislation to cover all pipelines and, you know, 
this will also have the Inspector General paying closer attention to 
some of the implementation of this legislation.
  I want to thank my chairman, Mr. Petri, for his help in putting this 
together, Chairman Young, Ranking Member Oberstar and members of the 
committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. At this time I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri), the chairman of the subcommittee on this 
legislation.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, 4 years ago this Congress passed the Pipeline 
Safety Improvement Act of 2002. That piece of legislation expired 
September 30. The bill before us, H.R. 5782, reauthorizes the Federal 
pipeline safety programs through 2010 and amends existing pipeline 
safety law to enhance the safety and reliability of transporting the 
Nation's energy products by pipelines.
  By all accounts, the 2002 safety bill was an overwhelming success 
and, therefore, this bill does not deviate from the directions set 
forth in that legislation. This bill provides the Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration with new civil penalty 
authority to enforce One-Call laws in States that do not adequately 
enforce those laws.
  This enforcement authority is balanced in the sense that it could be 
used on an operator who fails to respond to a pipeline location request 
or fails to accurately mark the location of a pipeline, as well as an 
excavator who fails to use the One-Call system or disregards location 
information or markings.
  The bill also provides incentives to States to adopt and implement a 
comprehensive State damage prevention program and provides guidance to 
States on elements for an effective underground damage program. The 
bill requires the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration to establish a distribution and integrity management 
program which pipeline operators must implement and requires that the 
administration develop regulations for the operation of low stress 
hazardous liquid pipelines. This bill also directs the administration 
to develop standards to reduce risks in pipeline control rooms 
associated with human factors, including operator fatigue.
  I am happy to say that this bill has received broad support from the 
administration, the States, the pipeline safety advocates, and others 
in the pipeline community. It is also important to point out that this 
bill was developed in conjunction with the House Energy and Commerce 
Committee. In addition, the Senate Commerce Committee supports this 
bill and is scheduled to take it up before the end of the week.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this important legislation. Before I yield 
back the balance of my time, and as this may be the final bill from the 
Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines to be considered here 
on the floor of our House this Congress, I would just like to take a 
moment to pay tribute to my chairman, Don Young from Alaska, to salute 
his 6 years of leadership on our committee. I have enjoyed serving as 
part of his team on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
  I would also like to say to my colleagues on the Democratic side of 
the aisle, Mr. Oberstar and Mr. Peter DeFazio, that I believe we have 
done some good work during this Congress, and I look forward to 
continuing to work together to accomplish good things for the country 
in the 110th Congress.
  Finally, I would like to say a word of thank you for a job well done 
to the staff of the subcommittee, who have labored diligently on our 
subcommittee matters. On the Republican side, Graham Hill, Jim Tymon, 
Joyce Rose, Suzanne Newhouse, Bailey Edwards and Tim Lindquist. On the 
Democratic side, Ken House, Art Chan, Stephanie Manning and Jackie 
Schmitz. Thank you for a job well done.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Boucher).
  Mr. BOUCHER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support this evening of H.R. 5782, the 
Pipeline Safety Improvement Act, and urge its approval by the House. 
This measure is both important and timely. It modernizes the Pipeline 
Safety Act of 2002, which, while regarded as successful, now should be 
expanded to address some new urgent needs.
  For example, there have been two instances in the recent past of 
major oil spills from low pressure transmission lines in Alaska. The 
most recent spill necessitated shutting down for an extended time a 
substantial portion of the oil flow from Alaska to the lower 48 States. 
These spills, which were much publicized, highlighted the need for 
regulation of the low stress transmission lines which are currently 
exempt from all regulation. The bill before us today subjects low 
stress transmission lines to Federal regulation and addresses that 
urgent need.
  As another example of needed change, the bill contains incentives for 
all States to adopt programs to prevent damage to pipelines from 
excavation work. The damage prevention program that is now in place in 
my State of Virginia has been a demonstrated success in dramatically 
reducing the incidents of excavation damage to pipelines.
  The bill before us specifies that the nine elements that are found in 
this very successful Virginia law, which are widely recognized as 
enabling that success, should be included in State damage prevention 
programs as a condition for States being certified by the U.S. 
Department of Transportation to regulate and enforce their States' 
pipeline standards.
  The bill also creates a new grant program for States to implement 
excavation damage prevention programs which include each of those nine 
elements.
  Another new provision will require the implementation of integrity 
management plans for natural gas distribution lines, which are 
currently exempt from regulation. Distribution lines account for more 
than 85 percent of all natural gas lines in the United States. The bill 
before us directs that in 2007 the Office of Pipeline Safety publish a 
rule addressing integrity management for distribution lines.
  To its credit, that office has work well under way to create the 
first management plan for natural gas distribution lines, and I commend 
the consensus-based approach that the office is taking to achieve its 
goal, and the fine work that the office has performed so far in pursuit 
of that effort.
  At my urging, the 2002 act included a provision authorizing technical 
assistance grants for local communities so that they will have the 
expertise to participate meaningfully in regulatory proceedings that 
affect transmission lines and other pipelines. I have been disappointed 
that during the past 4 years no grants have been awarded under that 
authority. The bill before us directs the Department to publish 
criteria for the award of grants and to make at least three 
demonstration community assistance technical grants in the near term.
  Finally, the bill authorizes the funding necessary for the Department 
of Transportation to hire an additional 45 safety inspectors so as to 
augment the safety advances the bill otherwise makes.
  In September, the Energy and Commerce Committee, which shares 
jurisdiction over pipelines and over this measure, approved this 
measure by

[[Page 22596]]

voice vote. That effort was truly bipartisan, and I want to commend 
Chairman Barton of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee 
Chairman Hall and Ranking Member Dingell of the full committee for the 
constructive work that produced H.R. 5782.
  I also want to commend Chairman Young, Ranking Member Oberstar, Mr. 
Petri and Mr. DeFazio of the Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee, which shares jurisdiction over this measure with the House 
Energy and Commerce Committee, for their fine work in bringing this 
measure to the floor today.
  The 2002 law has produced positive results with an increased emphasis 
on safety and accident prevention, both by the agencies of enforcement 
and by industry. The bill before us usefully builds on that success.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge its approval by the House.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 
2 minutes to my good friend from Texas (Mr. Hall).
  Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of our consensus substitute 
to H.R. 5782, the Pipeline Protection Inspection, Protection, 
Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006. This legislation reflects 
bipartisan, bicameral agreement on reauthorizing the Nation's pipeline 
safety laws, and I am really glad to see it up for consideration in the 
House today.
  I am very hopeful that the Senate will also quickly consider this 
measure, as this amended legislation reflects changes made to ensure 
passage of this bill in the Senate.
  I thank Chairman Barton, Ranking Member Dingell, Chairman Young and 
Ranking Member Oberstar for their open process and for working together 
to reconcile these two bills.
  This legislation sets out many new provisions that will help to 
strengthen an already strong job that is being done by DOT's Pipeline 
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. It adds provisions to 
encourage and award States to adopt a One-Call notification system 
before digging or excavating work begins, addressing one of the only 
rising trends in pipeline accidents. It further addresses a low stress 
line exemption that allows pipelines like the ones in Alaska Prudhoe 
Bay oil field, operated by BP, to go unregulated and unaccounted for 
years while preserving DOT's flexibility in enforcing these new 
regulations. It also preserves current exemptions for gathering lines 
and lines affecting production facilities.
  All of these provisions reflect careful compromise with industry, 
with pipeline operation safety and environmental groups, administration 
and the States. It is cognizant of the critical and intentionally quiet 
role pipelines play in fueling this Nation's economy, and adopts 
provisions that reflect this delicate balance.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Could I inquire as to time remaining, please?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Latham). The gentleman from Oregon has 
12 minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Alaska has 12\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5782. I must say 
that Mr. Young and Mr. Oberstar deserve a lot of credit, because in the 
Transportation Department there was more coming together than I have 
seen in any place in this Congress. This was not an easy piece of 
legislation. You go back to 2002, we had some really good debates. We 
had some good arguments. We had real dissent.
  I want to thank Mr. Petri and Mr. DeFazio for getting over that 
hurdle. We got 2.3 million miles of natural gas in hazardous liquid 
pipelines. If that sets in, you know how critical these issues are. We 
could be stuck in the mud debating each other or we could get over the 
hump and try to get resolve. You did that, and I want to commend you, 
Mr. Young. I am not patronizing. I am not a patronizing person when I 
say that to you.
  For years many in Congress attempted to pass the legislation to give 
the Office of Pipeline Safety some real teeth and enforcement to adopt 
better and tighter safety regulations. In 2002, as was mentioned, we 
passed a very strong pipeline safety law. By all accounts OPS and the 
industry have made significant progress since then.
  The national mapping system has now been completed. When we looked at 
that mapping system at the turn of the century, it was a disaster. We 
didn't know where these pipelines were in the first place. How are you 
going to fix them if you don't know where they are?
  One-Call centers are prevalent throughout the Nation and their ``dig 
safely'' campaigns are well publicized.
  Number three, I would also like to commend the OPS for actually 
meeting the deadlines. Man, that is something new and refreshing, 
placed in the 2002 act, and for promptly following up to complete all 
the regulation recommendations that were suggested.
  The Inspector General found evidence that the OPS enforcement program 
is actually helping to improve pipeline safety. I am pleased to know 
that the integrity management program is working as well.
  Thousands of threats have already been found and corrected, but there 
are still hundreds of thousands of miles to go.

                              {time}  1730

  The bill before us today builds upon past successes, while looking 
forward toward our future needs. I am extremely pleased that a long 
overdue memorandum of understanding on pipeline security between the 
DLT and the Department of Homeland Security was signed this fall. This 
has everything to do with the protection of the national security.
  This legislation requires the Transportation Department's Inspector 
General to conduct an assessment of the actions taken by the Department 
to implement the agreement. H.R. 5782 will ensure that the number of 
pipeline inspection enforcement personnel will increase by 50 percent 
within 4 years.
  Pipes also caused the Department of Transportation to issue 
regulations for low-stress pipelines, making a more comprehensive and 
cohesive pipeline safety standard.
  Finally, under this bill, Mr. Speaker, the DLT will publish 
regulations developed in partnership with the industry stakeholders, 
strengthening the safety of natural gas distribution pipeline system.
  I commend the leaders and the membership of the Transportation 
Committee for their diligent work, and I urge my colleagues to vote in 
favor of H.R. 5782.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Boehlert).
  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill, and I just 
want to draw attention briefly to one important item.
  This bill amends the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 over 
which the Science Committee shares jurisdiction. That act provides for 
an inter-agency research program on pipeline safety, and that program 
has proved quite fruitful. This bill maintains that program and even 
clarifies and expands some of its tasks.
  What this bill does not do is provide explicit authorization levels 
for the work that the National Institutes of Standards and Technology 
will need to do to carry out its portion of this program. The language, 
which originated in the other body, excluded funding for NIST because 
NIST funding has not been independently appropriated but, rather, has 
been provided by the Department of Transportation to carry out 
particular tasks. We on the Science Committee are fine with this 
arrangement. But I want to say explicitly here that we expect NIST to 
continue to receive funding from DOT to carry out its vital work on 
pipeline safety and standards.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Barrow).
  Mr. BARROW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to express my gratitude today to Chairman Young 
and Ranking Member Oberstar and to the chairman of the Subcommittee on

[[Page 22597]]

Highways, Transit and Pipelines, Mr. Petri, and the ranking member, Mr. 
DeFazio, for working with me to include an amendment I offered in the 
committee's markup of this bill last summer. I also want to thank the 
International Association of Firefighters for supporting this 
amendment, and Jennifer Esposito with the Transportation Committee for 
her hard work on this bill and the amendment.
  The amendment included in this legislation increases the emergency 
response grant program by $4 million a year to a total of $10 million a 
year. The amendment also requires training standards to make sure that 
emergency responders have the training they need to protect nearby 
people, property and the environment from the effects of accidents or 
incidents involving gas or hazardous liquid pipelines.
  I have a letter of support for this amendment from the International 
Association of Firefighters, and I will include this letter in the 
Record.
  Mr. Speaker, this is important legislation to make our communities 
safer, and it gives first responders the training and resources they 
need. I encourage all my colleagues to support it.

                        International Association of Firefighters,
                                    Washington, DC, July 19, 2006.
     Hon. John Barrow,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Barrow: On behalf of the Nation's more 
     than 270,000 professional firefighters and emergency medical 
     personnel, I applaud you for your efforts to improve 
     emergency response to accidents involving gas or hazardous 
     liquid pipelines. We strongly support your amendment to H.R. 
     5782, the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act, to require strong 
     emergency responder training standards, as well as your 
     amendment to provide additional funding for emergency 
     response grants.
       While the safety of emergency responders can never be fully 
     guaranteed, the number of injuries resulting from gas or 
     hazardous liquid accidents can be significantly reduced 
     through appropriate training. While training is always 
     necessary for new recruits, refresher training must also be 
     provided on a continuing basis to ensure the ongoing safety 
     of all first responders.
       Furthermore, in responding to an incident involving 
     hazardous materials, it is extremely important that emergency 
     responders are not simply trained, but are trained at a level 
     appropriate to their response. Unfortunately, the level of 
     training currently provided in many States and localities is 
     inadequate to prepare emergency responders to respond to an 
     accident involving gas or other hazardous materials. Your 
     amendments not only help provide adequate. funding to ensure 
     that all emergency responders are trained, but ensure that 
     responders are trained to contain any release from a safe 
     distance, keep it from spreading, and prevent people, 
     property and the environment from harmful exposures.
       Thank you for your leadership on these vital issues. We 
     appreciate your continued support of our Nation's first 
     responders and look forward to working with you in the coming 
     weeks to enhance hazardous materials emergency response.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Barry Kasinitz,
                                   Director, Governmental Affairs.

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Young and others who 
have been recognized so far for their diligence, leadership and hard 
work on this very important issue.
  The safe and reliable operation of our Nation's pipeline system is 
key to our security and our energy independence, and I am generally 
pleased with the conference report and do support it. I am concerned, 
however, by certain aspects of the legislation before us today.
  As part of the last pipeline safety authorization, Congress required 
natural gas transmission pipeline operators to undertake an integrity 
management program. This program required operators to perform initial 
baseline inspections on all their pipelines in high consequence, or 
highly populated areas, by 2012 and perform reinspections every 7 years 
thereafter.
  The 7-year period for reinspections was a compromise between two 
versions of the legislation and was not based on scientific or 
engineering standards. As a result, Congress required the Government 
Accountability Office to study the integrity management program and 
report back with recommendations as to whether the 7-year reinspection 
interval is appropriate from a safety standpoint.
  The purpose of requesting the study was to essentially audit the 
integrity management program and determine, based on an analysis of 
data collected during the baseline inspections, what the optimum period 
for conducting reinspections should be.
  These reports were issued in September of this year and reached two 
important conclusions: The first conclusion was that the integrity 
management program for natural gas transmission lines is working well 
overall and is making the system safer. Furthermore, few serious 
problems are being discovered.
  Secondly, the report concludes that a fixed, one-size-fits-all 
approach to reinspection is not the safest option. It does not give 
operators the flexibility to tailor inspection resources to the 
riskiest segments of the pipeline first.
  Rather, the GAO recommends switching from a static, fixed-year 
reinspection interval, to one based on risk and engineering standards. 
Using a risk-based approach factors in the age, location, soil 
conditions, climate, metallurgy and changing population near a 
pipeline, allowing operators to best utilize limited inspection 
resources.
  I am strongly concerned that the commonsense recommendations of the 
GAO report are not being implemented and that we are passing up an 
opportunity to make a good regulatory program work even better.
  The conference report does contain a provision requiring the 
Secretary of Transportation to report back to Congress within 60 days 
of enactment on suggestions for implementing the GAO recommendations. I 
hope the committee of jurisdiction will hold hearings on this issue 
early next year so that we can receive the Secretary's suggestions.
  I look forward to continuing the important work of ensuring the safe 
and reliable operation of our Nation's natural gas transmission system. 
We must do more to focus resources so that they will have the most 
impact.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Oberstar).
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, just about everything that needs to be said about the 
pipeline safety bill has been said, so I will not repeat the details, 
the specifics of the legislation. It is a good bill. We have spent a 
lot of time in subcommittee, in full committee, and in conferring 
between our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the 
Energy and Commerce Committee and with the responsible committee in the 
other body, and we have finally ironed out the details and have a very 
sound framework for the future.
  The Office of Pipeline Safety has had a very checkered history. It 
has not worked effectively for a very long time, and then it had an 
awakening and it got on the right track again. We got the number of 
inspectors increased, funding for the system increased, we straightened 
out the cooperation, the coordination between the Federal office and 
the State offices. Then there was a period of decline.
  Now this administration, to their great credit, has designated the 
best person in the history of this program to head up the Office of 
Pipeline Safety, though it has a longer title now, and that is Admiral 
Tom Barrett, who brings Coast Guard discipline and a Coast Guard 
organization structure and a Coast Guard safety mindset into the work 
of this agency, which is its principal mission, safety.
  Admiral Barrett, from the time he walked on to the property, had 
conversations with me, as I am sure he did with Chairman Young, and 
instilled great confidence in his ability to lead the agency, implement 
the law, to give us suggestions on how we can improve the legislative 
product and give him the tools that the agency needs to carry out its 
mission effectively. And that has certainly been undertaken,

[[Page 22598]]

and to his great credit, Admiral Barrett has done a superb job of 
leadership for the Office of Pipeline Safety.
  The first hearing I held as chairman of the Investigations and 
Oversight Subcommittee in 1987 was following a pipeline break and an 
extraordinary explosion that killed two people in Moundsview, just 
outside my congressional district, when a gasoline pipeline leaked for 
days; and at 2 o'clock in the morning a car passing through with a 
loose tailpipe hit the pavement, caused a spark, ignited the whole 
street, and a mother and her daughter were incinerated in the process. 
Why? Because the Office of Pipeline Safety and the pipeline operator 
were not doing their jobs.
  That is not going to happen casually at least in the future. There 
may be some catastrophic failure of some kind, but in place now and 
with this legislation, and thanks to Admiral Barrett's oversight, there 
is a system of safety in place in this agency. For that, I thank our 
subcommittee chairman, Mr. Petri, the ranking member, Mr. DeFazio, our 
committee staff on both sides, and Chairman Young.
  This may be our last opportunity on the House floor during this 
session of Congress for me to pay tribute to the leadership the 
gentleman from Alaska has given to our committee over these 6 years.
  Forever etched in title 49 of the U.S. Code will be the biggest 
transportation investment in a single bill in the history of our 
country, and that will be SAFETEA-LU, $286.5 billion, a work product 
through which our chairman led us in subcommittee, in full committee, 
and in a long and difficult conference with the other body.
  I will always remember Chairman Young's courage, Mr. Speaker, 
standing before his President, advocating for a robust investment of 
$375 billion, as recommended by the Department of Transportation, in 
the future of highway and transit needs in America, improved pavement 
condition, reduced congestion and improved safety, and standing before 
his own Republican Conference and advocating, and staying the course, 
not wilting along the wayside when we had to scale that figure back to 
the ultimate $286.5 billion, maintaining intact within that legislation 
good public policy that will be an enduring legacy for our chairman and 
for our committee and for our country.
  We go now into the implementation of SAFETEA-LU, awaiting the interim 
report of the commission that our committee authorized on the future of 
transportation needs in the country and how to finance it. But we will 
do so with the blueprint in our hand and lying ahead of us, which was 
crafted by this committee under the chairman's leadership.
  That and many other items of significant achievement, including the 
great investments that our committee has authorized and that are now 
being carried out in the U.S. Coast Guard, for which I know the 
chairman has a great affinity and which service is so important to his 
State of Alaska, but to the thousands of miles of coastline on the salt 
water coast and the inland waterways on the Great Lakes of our country.
  For his leadership, for his skill, for his courage and standing by 
principle, I salute our chairman, and thank him for his service and for 
the privilege of the partnership that we have enjoyed during these 6 
years.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind 
words. My closing statement will recognize his contributions to what we 
have been able to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Murphy).
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I 
rise in support of H.R. 5782. This bill will save lives. One way it can 
save lives is illustrated by a story of two children from my district, 
Moon Township, in Pennsylvania.
  On March 16, 2005, while walking home from school, two teenagers, a 
brother and sister, walked past a construction crew that was drilling 
in front of their house. The crew had ruptured a natural gas 
distribution line. The children entered the home without knowing that 
natural gas was seeping in. Soon afterwards, this house exploded to 
look like this. Both children were inside. They escaped. Both were 
injured, one seriously, but thankfully both survived.
  The explosion occurred because accumulated natural gas fumes had 
ignited. When the pipeline was broken, the crew made the calls as 
required after they broke the gas line, but the procedures they 
followed did not prevent the children's injuries.
  These two young children could have been among the more than 420 
fatalities from pipeline accidents in the last 20 years. In this case 
the notification rules were followed, but the procedures just take too 
long. We need a faster, simpler system, one in which emergency 
authorities arrive at the scene quickly, and a single clear system, not 
the current patchwork of rules that varies State to State and town to 
town.

                              {time}  1745

  That is why I worked with the family of the two young children, local 
law enforcement and municipal governments and others interested in 
pipeline safety to write H.R. 2958, Marc and Chelsea's law. My bill 
requires pipeline breaches to be immediately reported to appropriate 
safety authorities in order to prevent future injuries.
  I am pleased that the Pipeline Safety Act includes my bill's 
provisions to establish uniform emergency notifications. With the 
passage of today's legislation, an excavator who causes a pipeline 
accident must call the local gas distribution company operator. Also, 
if there is detectable gas, the excavator must also call 911 
immediately.
  Establishing consistent notification requirements is critical because 
there have been over 7,600 pipeline accidents.
  I thank Mr. Barton, Tom Hassenboehler, Mike Layman, Susan Mosychuck 
for their help in this bill, but also Marc and Chelsea for their help 
as well.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time.
  Before I close, Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a moment to thank 
the many friends and colleagues that I have in this body that have made 
the last 6 years the most successful and enjoyable of my years in 
Congress, in 34 years.
  While I am looking forward to many more years here in Congress, you 
are not going to get rid of me that soon, and I will continue to lead 
the charge for those issues near and dear to my heart. I take great 
pride in the work of the great Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure over the last 6 years.
  We faced some extraordinary challenges in the committee. During this 
period of time was September 11, 2001. With the support, and I am sorry 
he has left, the support and cooperation of the ranking member, 
Congressman Jim Oberstar, we worked together, and within 2 weeks of 
this disaster for the aviation industry we enacted legislation to 
ensure the continued viability of this key transportation sector. 
Without the work of this committee, our aviation system would have 
collapsed.
  We also created the Transportation Security Administration and worked 
to set up the Department of Homeland Security. While I do not support 
everything that has happened in DHS, I believe that the efforts of our 
committee have ensured a safer and more secure America.
  We enacted the first major port security bill. We have improved 
pipeline safety, and tonight we will do it again. We enacted a multiple 
year aviation bill, reauthorized critical Coast Guard programs, 
restored the effectiveness of FEMA and overcame enormous obstacles to 
fund the building and maintenance of our highway infrastructure.
  I did not accomplish this all alone, and I want to thank my many 
friends and supporters in Alaska who sent me to work on their behalf.
  Again, I want to thank Jim Oberstar, and for those that may not know 
it, we never had a vote in the committee in an adversarial position. We 
always worked it out, worked together, and I want to thank all the 
other 73

[[Page 22599]]

Members of the committee for their cooperation and support. We have the 
best reputation of the committees for bipartisanship, and I am proud of 
that. I hope we can continue to work that way.
  I have a great staff that has worked long and hard to draft 
legislation and negotiate on behalf of the committee: Mrs. Megginson, 
Graham Hill, who is up in the audience who actually wrote this gas 
bill, Jim Tymon who worked on this bill and all the other bills and all 
the other staff members I have.
  I know the many sacrifices that the staff have made to get the job 
done, and I want them to know that I am grateful for their efforts and 
very proud of them and for America.
  I also want to thank my many friends here in Washington who have 
taken the time to keep me informed and support our efforts to enact 
good transportation policy.
  I finally want to thank my wife, Lu, TEA-LU, a bill that was named 
after her, for her close friendship, constant patience, support and 
encouragement. She is my inspiration for a legacy of the future of this 
Nation.
  I look forward to the next 2 years working with this House in the 
House of Representatives to achieve great things in the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure. I may not be the ranking member but 
I will be on the committee. I will be there, and we can provide for 
this Nation.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 5782--the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2006.
  I want to thank Chairman Young and Ranking Member Oberstar and my 
other colleagues, who brought this vital and important bill to the 
floor today.
  Pipeline security has gone under the radar in recent years--but there 
are critical issues which must be addressed. This bill addresses many 
of these problems.
  This bill strengthens the ``one-call notification system'' which 
allows private citizens and the constructIon industry to quickly and 
easily notify utilities and pipeline owners of excavation.
  The one-call notification system is vital to protecting these key 
resources and critical infrastructure from third-party damage.
  Unfortunately, third parties are the number one cause of pipeline 
damage--disrupting the economy and putting many in harms way. These 
occurrences can easily be prevented and this bill helps do just that. 
This bill subjects anyone who does not comply with this system to stiff 
action and penalties.
  This bill establishes a State Damage Prevention Program--which is a 
program which aims to prevent damage to underground infrastructure. 
This program will be based at the state level and this bill provides 
for a state grant program managed by the Department of Transportation.
  This bill improves the management of pipeline infrastructure by 
mandating the recommendations set forth by the NTSB--the National 
Transportation Safety Board.
  The bill will also improve pipeline security by assessing risk 
associated with human error and reducing damage from these issues by 
specifically providing for training and simulation exercises.
  On the technology side, this bill will improve on leak detection 
technology and monitoring alarms which will improve safety around 
hazardous materials and the pipelines which carry them.
  This bill also takes into account environmentally sensitive areas. It 
mandates new standards for pipelines in these areas which will aim to 
limit or prevent accidents in these susceptible and crucial areas.
  This bill also aims to assess and prevent possible gasoline shortages 
and price spikes by assessing how future pipeline capacity shortages 
might impact the price of gas at the pump.
  And finally and most importantly, this bill provides for proper 
communications between the Department of Transportation and the 
Department of Homeland Security to ensure reliability for these 
important and critical assets.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5782 as 
amended. This is a good bill that reflects considerable work between 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure.
  Pipeline safety is not one of the most high-profile issues that the 
Congress deals with but it is one of the most important. Because oil 
and gas pipelines are largely out of the public's sight, they are 
usually out of mind as well, that is until we have a failure such as, 
those several years ago in the State of Washington and New Mexico, 
which left several people dead. The shut-in of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska 
last August served as a stark reminder of that dire consequences of 
non-lethal pipeline accidents.
  After the Prudhoe Bay incident I announced that pipeline safety 
reauthorization needed to include three important elements: First, the 
law needed to be changed to cover low-stress pipelines such as those 
that failed in Alaska; second, enforcement needed to be strengthened; 
and third, we needed more transparency in DOT's enforcement processes. 
I am pleased to report that this bill accomplishes those objectives but 
also does much more.
  The bill addresses excavation damage--one of the leading causes of 
pipeline incidents--through several measures. It requires States with 
pipeline safety programs certified by the Department of Transportation 
(DOT) to establish a damage prevention program. The bill establishes 
grants to States to carry out such programs, and includes new penalty 
provisions for those who fail to abide by a State's call-before-you-dig 
program.
  The bill also requires DOT to prescribe minimum integrity management 
standards for gas distribution operators, including a new requirement 
that excess flow valves be installed on new service lines. These new 
provisions will help strengthen that portion of the gas pipeline system 
that is closest to most American homes.
  The bill takes a substantial step in making DOT's pipeline safety 
enforcement process more transparent to the general public, which has 
been a longstanding concern of mine. DOT will now be required to 
publish a monthly summary of its enforcement actions on both liquid and 
gas pipelines, giving the public valuable insight into areas where 
problems exist, and giving pipeline operators a forum to demonstrate 
they have been corrected.
  The bill before us includes language passed by the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce that requires the vast majority of low-stress 
liquid lines to be regulated in a manner similar to high-stress liquid 
lines. This language responds to the issues raised by the spill on 
Alaska's North Slope last spring.
  This bill also includes new language to require that pipeline 
operators file management plans that set forth a maximum limit on the 
hours of service performed by control room employees. I congratulate my 
good friend, the gentleman from Minnesota Mr. Oberstar, for his 
dedication to this issue.
  Finally, the bill authorizes DOT to hire an additional 45 new safety 
inspectors to carry out the important responsibilities that we have 
assigned to the department in this bill.
  I want to thank Chairmen Young and Barton and Ranking Member Oberstar 
for all of their efforts on this bill and I urge the House to pass H.R. 
5782.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of our consensus 
substitute to H.R. 5782, The Pipeline Inspection, Protection, 
Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006. This legislation represents a 
broad, consensus-based process that exemplifies what can happen when 
different interests come together in order to produce a successful 
product.
  I thank Chairman Young and Ranking Member Oberstar for working with 
Mr. Dingell and myself on reconciling our two bills and for the open 
and fair process between the two Committees of jurisdiction.
  Reauthorizing the Pipeline Safety laws became more complicated after 
BP's inexcusable Prudhoe Bay oilfield shutdown in August. After 
rigorous enforcement and analysis, and after a thorough investigation 
by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, DOT was able to approve 
restart of some of these lines at the Prudhoe Bay oilfield.
  This substitute to H.R. 5782 retains compromise language that was 
marked up in the Energy and Commerce Committee to address the low 
stress pipeline exemption, as well as several other provisions that 
were worked out in bipartisan fashion. For example, the bill 
strengthens state one-call requirements for excavation damage, provides 
new authority and grant money to the states to develop their own damage 
prevention programs modeled after the successful programs already in 
place, and puts some sunshine on enforcement actions.
  The low stress language preserves exemptions for gathering lines, 
flow lines, and other integrated pipeline facilities, but removes the 
exemption from DOT Part 195 regulation that was used by the BP Prudhoe 
Bay transit pipelines. The low stress language should also preserve the 
inherent flexibility that is already built into DOT's integrity 
management program.
  In addition, in crafting the administrative procedures implementing 
the safety order authority under sec. 2(f), DOT should provide a 
pipeline operator an opportunity to confer with

[[Page 22600]]

DOT before exercising the operator's right to a hearing. Informal 
consultation has the potential to produce remedies acceptable to both 
operator and DOT that will resolve the vast majority of concerns 
without the need for a formal hearing. Any action taken by mutual 
agreement as a result of any such consultation should be reduced to 
writing and made both public and enforceable. This approach will save 
time and legal costs and bring about safety improvements sooner.
  I urge our friends in the other body to take this bill up and pass it 
this week, as it reflects changes that were drafted in order to reach 
agreement with the Senate.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. I rise in full support of the Pipeline 
Inspection, Protection, Enforcement and Safety Act of 2006.
  This bill is the result of months of hard work. I want to commend 
Chairmen Young and Barton and Ranking Members Oberstar and Dingell, as 
well as committee staff for the countless hours they put in to get this 
bill done.
  It was over 7 years ago, on June 10, 1999, that a pipeline explosion 
claimed the lives of two 10-year-old boys and an 18-year-old young man 
in my district in Bellingham, Washington. Since that time we have made 
excellent progress in ensuring the safety of our Nation's pipelines.
  The 2002 Pipeline Safety Improvement Act did a lot of good things. It 
increased penalty fines, improved pipeline testing timelines, and 
allowed for state oversight.
  This bill is another step forward.
  As a body, we can all be proud that we'll now be regulating low-
stress liquid pipelines just as we regulate all other hazardous liquid 
pipes. What happened with BP lines in Alaska this summer shouldn't have 
happened and this bill will ensure operators are properly maintaining 
their low-stress lines.
  I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this bill.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 5782, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds of those voting having 
responded in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as 
amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________