Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2000

Summary

King and Tsiorvas Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) implement the oil and gas pipeline safety improvement recommendations provided for in the Department of Transportation (DOT) Inspector General's Report (RT-2000-069); and (2) report every 90 days to specified congressional committees on the specific actions taken to implement them. Requires the DOT Inspector General to assess periodically for the same committees the Secretary's progress in doing so. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary, the Administrator of Research and Special Program Administration, and the Director of the Office of Pipeline Safety to: (1) comply fully with certain Federal transportation law requirements to ensure timely responsiveness to National Transportation Safety Board recommendations about pipeline safety; (2) make a copy of each recommendation on pipeline safety and response available to the public at reasonable cost; and (3) report annually to Congress on each pipeline safety recommendation made by the Board during the prior year, and a copy of the response to each such recommendation. (Sec. 4) Requires each pipeline operator to submit to the Secretary a training plan designed to enhance training (and periodic retraining) for pipeline personnel and reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries. Requires the plan to include criteria to demonstrate an individual's ability to safely and properly perform assigned tasks. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) review the submitted plans, initially and on a continuing basis, to determine if they are sufficient to provide a safe operating environment; and (2) establish minimum standards for operators to include in such plans. (Sec. 5) Requires the Secretary to issue regulations requiring pipeline operators to: (1) periodically determine the adequacy of pipelines to operate safely in unusually sensitive areas and high-density population areas; and (2) perform periodic inspections or tests capable of identifying corrosion, mechanical damage, or other structural or operational defects that could be detrimental to safety and the environment. (Sec. 6) Amends Federal transportation law to grant shutdown authority to the Secretary to take necessary action to prevent the operation for 30 days (including additional 30-day periods) of any hazardous liquid or natural gas pipeline whose continuing operation creates an imminent safety hazard to persons, property, or the environment. (Sec. 7) Revises the public education program requirements for gas pipeline facility owners or operators. Applies such requirements to owners or operators of a hazardous liquid pipeline facility. Includes among the items for public education: (1) damage prevention activities in addition to the use of a one-call notification system before excavation; (2) the physical indications that an unintended release may have occurred; (3) what steps should be taken for public safety in the event of a pipeline release; (4) how to report such an event; and (5) activities to advise municipalities, school districts, businesses, and residents of pipeline facility locations. Repeals the specific requirement of education on the importance of reporting gas odors to the appropriate authority. Requires submission to and review of such programs by the Secretary. Requires pipeline facility owners and operators to review their public education programs annually and make necessary revisions. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) issue standards prescribing the elements of an effective public education program; and (2) provide technical assistance to the pipeline industry on developing public safety and public education program content and best practices for program delivery, and on evaluating program effectiveness. Requires an operator of a gas transmission or hazardous liquid pipeline facility to initiate and maintain liaison with the State emergency response commissions, and local emergency planning committees (or local fire, police, and other emergency response agencies in the absence of a committee) in the areas of pipeline right-of-way, established under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 in each State in which it operates. Requires the operator, when requested, to make specified information available to such State emergency response commissions and local emergency planning committees. Requires the owner or operator of each gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility to provide annually to the governing body of each municipality in which the pipeline facility is located a map identifying the facility's location. Requires the Secretary to make available to the public any safety-related condition report and any report of a pipeline incident filed by an operator. (Sec. 8) Increases from $25,000 to $100,000 the civil penalty for each facility operator failure to: (1) mark accurately the location of pipeline facilities in the vicinity of a demolition, excavation, tunneling, or construction; or (2) comply with safety standards, prepare and carry out an inspection and maintenance plan, allow access to records, or allow required entries or inspections. Increases the maximum civil penalty for a related series of violations to $1 million. (Sec. 9) Authorizes the Secretary, if a State pipeline safety program certification is accepted, to make an agreement with a State authority authorizing it to participate in the oversight of interstate pipeline transportation, including a plan for the State authority to participate in special investigations involving new construction or incidents, as well as (subject to specified requirements) other activities overseeing interstate pipeline transportation that supplement the Secretary's program and address issues of local concern. Allows the Secretary to end an agreement for the oversight of interstate pipeline transportation when significant gaps are found in the State authority's regulatory authority over intrastate pipeline transportation, or when the State authority's continued participation in the oversight of interstate pipeline transportation: (1) is found inconsistent with the Secretary's program; (2) would adversely affect oversight of intrastate pipeline transportation; or (3) the State is not promoting activities that enable communities to live safely with pipelines. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the collection and use of gas and hazardous liquid pipeline data to revise the causal categories on the accident report forms to eliminate overlapping and confusing categories and include subcategories. Requires the plan to include components to provide the capability to perform sound accident trend analysis and evaluations of pipeline operator performance using normalized accident data. (Sec. 11) Requires the Secretary, as part of the DOT research and development program, to direct research attention to the development of alternative technologies: (1) to expand the defect detection capabilities of internal inspection devices; (2) to inspect pipelines that cannot accommodate internal inspection devices available on the date of enactment; and (3) to develop innovative techniques measuring the structural integrity of pipelines. (Sec. 12) Authorizes appropriations with respect to gas and hazardous liquid and State grants. Requires the transfer of specified amounts from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to carry out authorized programs.

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Documents

8 official files

• Engrossed in Senate (text)

  Engrossed in Senate · EN · 7 September 2000

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• Engrossed in Senate (PDF)

  Engrossed in Senate · EN · 7 September 2000

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• Passed Senate amended

  summary · EN · 7 September 2000

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• Reported to Senate (text)

  Reported to Senate · EN · 25 August 2000

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• Reported to Senate (PDF)

  Reported to Senate · EN · 25 August 2000

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• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 13 April 2000

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• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 13 April 2000

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 13 April 2000

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