49 U.S.C. § 60101: Definitions

the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (or any predecessor); or the appropriate State or local authority, if the facility is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Natural Gas Act ( 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.); but does not include a facility on which construction is begun after November 29, 1979 , without the approval; “gas” means natural gas, flammable gas, or toxic or corrosive gas; “gas pipeline facility” includes a pipeline, a right of way, a facility, a building, or equipment used in transporting gas or treating gas during its transportation; petroleum or a petroleum product; nonpetroleum fuel, including biofuel, that is flammable, toxic, or corrosive or would be harmful to the environment if released in significant quantities; and a substance the Secretary of Transportation decides may pose an unreasonable risk to life or property when transported by a hazardous liquid pipeline facility in a liquid state (except for liquefied natural gas); “hazardous liquid pipeline facility” includes a pipeline, a right of way, a facility, a building, or equipment used or intended to be used in transporting hazardous liquid; used to transport gas; and subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Natural Gas Act ( 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.); “interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility” means a hazardous liquid pipeline facility used to transport hazardous liquid in interstate or foreign commerce; between a place in a State and a place outside that State; or that affects any commerce described in subclause (A)(i) of this clause; and a place in a State and a place outside that State; or places in the same State through a place outside the State; “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.); “intrastate hazardous liquid pipeline facility” means a hazardous liquid pipeline facility that is not an interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility; “liquefied natural gas” means natural gas in a liquid or semisolid state; “liquefied natural gas accident” means a release, burning, or explosion of liquefied natural gas from any cause, except a release, burning, or explosion that, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, does not pose a threat to public health or safety, property, or the environment; “liquefied natural gas conversion” means conversion of natural gas into liquefied natural gas or conversion of liquefied natural gas into natural gas; means a gas pipeline facility used for transporting or storing liquefied natural gas, or for liquefied natural gas conversion, in interstate or foreign commerce; but does not include any part of a structure or equipment located in navigable waters (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Power Act ( 16 U.S.C. 796 )); “municipality” means a political subdivision of a State; “new liquefied natural gas pipeline facility” means a liquefied natural gas pipeline facility except an existing liquefied natural gas pipeline facility; “person”, in addition to its meaning under section 1 of title 1 (except as to societies), includes a State, a municipality, and a trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative of a person; “pipeline facility” means a gas pipeline facility and a hazardous liquid pipeline facility; “pipeline transportation” means transporting gas and transporting hazardous liquid; “State” means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; the gathering, transmission, or distribution of gas by pipeline, or the storage of gas, in interstate or foreign commerce; and the movement of gas through regulated gathering lines; but does not include gathering gas (except through regulated gathering lines) in a rural area outside a populated area designated by the Secretary as a nonrural area; the movement of hazardous liquid by pipeline, or the storage of hazardous liquid incidental to the movement of hazardous liquid by pipeline, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce; and the movement of hazardous liquid through regulated gathering lines; but gathering lines (except regulated gathering lines) in a rural area; onshore production, refining, or manufacturing facilities; or storage or in-plant piping systems associated with onshore production, refining, or manufacturing facilities; “risk management” means the systematic application, by the owner or operator of a pipeline facility, of management policies, procedures, finite resources, and practices to the tasks of identifying, analyzing, assessing, reducing, and controlling risk in order to protect employees, the general public, the environment, and pipeline facilities; “risk management plan” means a management plan utilized by a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility owner or operator that encompasses risk management; “Secretary” means the Secretary of Transportation; and a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir; an aquifer reservoir; or a solution-mined salt cavern reservoir. Not later than October 24, 1994 , the Secretary shall prescribe standards defining the term “gathering line”. shall consider functional and operational characteristics of the lines to be included in the definition; and is not bound by a classification the Commission establishes under the Natural Gas Act ( 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.). Not later than October 24, 1995 , the Secretary, if appropriate, shall prescribe standards defining the term “regulated gathering line”. In defining the term, the Secretary shall consider factors such as location, length of line from the well site, operating pressure, throughput, and the composition of the transported gas or hazardous liquid, as appropriate, in deciding on the types of lines that functionally are gathering but should be regulated under this chapter because of specific physical characteristics. The Secretary also shall consider diameter when defining “regulated gathering line” for hazardous liquid. The definition of “regulated gathering line” for hazardous liquid may not include a crude oil gathering line that has a nominal diameter of not more than 6 inches, is operated at low pressure, and is located in a rural area that is not unusually sensitive to environmental damage. review the inspector training programs provided at the Inspector Training and Qualifications Division of the Administration in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and determine whether any of the programs referred to in paragraph (1), or any portions of the programs, could be provided online through teletraining or another type of distance learning. The Secretary [of Transportation] shall increase the number of full-time equivalent employees (as compared to the number of positions on the date of enactment of this Act) by 8 full-time employees with subject matter expertise in pipeline safety, pipeline facilities, and pipeline systems to finalize outstanding rulemakings and fulfill congressional mandates. 224 for fiscal year 2021. 235 for fiscal year 2022. 247 for fiscal year 2023. special pay rates permitted under section 5305 of title 5 , United States Code; repayment of student loans permitted under section 5379 of that title; tuition assistance permitted under chapter 41 of that title; recruitment incentives permitted under section 5753 of that title; and retention incentives permitted under section 5754 of that title. The Secretary shall ensure that the incentives described in paragraph (1) are accompanied by a continued service agreement. The Secretary shall request, as necessary, the approval of the Office of Personnel Management to use the incentives described in paragraph (1).” 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. communication of national, State, and local safety information to pipeline operators; distribution of technical resources and training to support current and future Federal mandates; and evaluation of program outcomes. safety and security of pipeline systems; incident and risk management for such systems; integrity management for such systems; consequence modeling for such systems; detection of encroachments and monitoring of rights-of-way for such systems; and vulnerability assessment of such systems at both project and national levels. 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. 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. 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.” The heads of the participating agencies shall carry out a program of research, development, demonstration, and standardization to ensure the integrity of pipeline facilities. Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act [ Dec. 17, 2002 ], the heads of the participating agencies shall enter into a memorandum of understanding detailing their respective responsibilities in the program authorized by subsection (a). Under the memorandum of understanding, each of the participating agencies shall have the primary responsibility for ensuring that the elements of the program within its expertise are implemented in accordance with this section. The Department of Transportation’s responsibilities shall reflect its lead role in pipeline safety and expertise in pipeline inspection, integrity management, and damage prevention. The Department of Energy’s responsibilities shall reflect its expertise in system reliability, low-volume gas leak detection, and surveillance technologies. The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s responsibilities shall reflect its expertise in materials research and assisting in the development of consensus technical standards, as that term is used in section 12(d)(4) [probably should be “12(d)(5)”] of Public Law 104–13 [ Pub. L. 104–113 ] ( 15 U.S.C. 272 note). materials inspection; stress and fracture analysis, detection of cracks, abrasion, and other abnormalities inside pipelines that lead to pipeline failure, and development of new equipment or technologies that are inserted into pipelines to detect anomalies; internal inspection and leak detection technologies, including detection of leaks at very low volumes; methods of analyzing content of pipeline throughput; pipeline security, including improving the real-time surveillance of pipeline rights-of-way, developing tools for evaluating and enhancing pipeline security and infrastructure, reducing natural, technological, and terrorist threats, and protecting first response units and persons near an incident; risk assessment methodology, including vulnerability assessment and reduction of third-party damage; communication, control, and information systems surety; fire safety of pipelines; improved excavation, construction, and repair technologies; corrosion detection and improving methods, best practices, and technologies for identifying, detecting, preventing, and managing internal and external corrosion and other safety risks; and other appropriate elements. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section [ Dec. 17, 2002 ], the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy and the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall prepare and transmit to Congress a 5-year program plan to guide activities under this section. Such program plan shall be submitted to the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee for review, and the report to Congress shall include the comments of the committees. The 5-year program plan shall be based on the memorandum of understanding under subsection (b) and take into account related activities of other Federal agencies. In preparing the program plan and selecting and prioritizing appropriate project proposals, the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with or seek the advice of appropriate representatives of the natural gas, crude oil, and petroleum product pipeline industries, utilities, manufacturers, institutions of higher learning, Federal agencies, pipeline research institutions, national laboratories, State pipeline safety officials, labor organizations, environmental organizations, pipeline safety advocates, and professional and technical societies. After the initial 5-year program plan has been carried out by the participating agencies, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as appropriate, shall prepare a research and development program plan every 5 years thereafter and shall transmit a report to Congress on the status and results-to-date of implementation of the program every 2 years. The biennial report shall include a summary of updated research needs and priorities identified through the consultation requirements of paragraph (2). The Secretary shall comply with the consultation requirements of paragraph (2) when preparing the program plan and in the selection and prioritization of research and development projects. at least 30 percent of the costs of technology research and development activities may be carried out using non-Federal sources; at least 20 percent of the costs of basic research and development with universities may be carried out using non-Federal sources; and up to 100 percent of the costs of research and development for purely governmental purposes may be carried out using Federal funds. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [ Dec. 17, 2002 ], and annually thereafter, the heads of the participating agencies shall transmit jointly to Congress a report on the status and results to date of the implementation of the program plan prepared under subsection (d). Of the amounts available in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 9509 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. 9509 ), $3,000,000 shall be transferred to the Secretary of Transportation, as provided in appropriation Acts, to carry out programs for detection, prevention, and mitigation of oil spills for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2023. In this section, the term ‘participating agencies’ means the Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. implement processes and procedures to ensure that activities listed under subsection (c), to the greatest extent practicable, produce results that are peer-reviewed by independent experts and not by persons or entities that have a financial interest in the pipeline, petroleum, or natural gas industries, or that would be directly impacted by the results of the projects; and submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing the processes and procedures implemented under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall take all practical steps to ensure that each recipient of an agreement under this section discloses in writing to the Secretary any conflict of interest on a research and development project carried out under this section, and includes any such disclosure as part of the final deliverable pursuant to such agreement. The Secretary may not make an award under this section directly to a pipeline owner or operator that is regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration or a State-certified regulatory authority if there is a conflict of interest relating to such owner or operator.” The term ‘Administration’ means the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of the Administration. The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Transportation.” In this Act [see Short Title of 2012 Amendment note above], any term defined in chapter 601 of title 49, United States Code, has the meaning given that term in that chapter. In this Act, the term ‘high-consequence area’ means an area described in section 60109(a) of title 49 , United States Code.”