49 U.S.C. § 60108: Inspection and maintenance

Each person owning or operating a gas pipeline facility or hazardous liquid pipeline facility shall carry out a current written plan (including any changes) for inspection and maintenance of each facility used in the transportation and owned or operated by the person. A copy of the plan shall be kept at any office of the person the Secretary of Transportation considers appropriate. The Secretary also may require a person owning or operating a pipeline facility subject to this chapter to file a plan for inspection and maintenance for approval. relevant available pipeline safety information; the appropriateness of the plan for the particular kind of pipeline transportation or facility; the reasonableness of the plan; public safety; eliminating hazardous leaks and minimizing releases of natural gas from pipeline facilities; and the protection of the environment; and the extent to which the plan addresses the replacement or remediation of pipelines that are known to leak based on the material (including cast iron, unprotected steel, wrought iron, and historic plastics with known issues), design, or past operating and maintenance history of the pipeline. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, and not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary or relevant State authority with a certification in effect under section 60105 shall review each plan described in this subsection. The Secretary may conduct a review under this paragraph as an element of the inspection of the operator carried out by the Secretary under subsection (b). If the Secretary determines that a plan reviewed under this paragraph does not comply with the requirements of this chapter (including any regulations promulgated under this chapter), has not been adequately implemented, is inadequate for the safe operation of a pipeline facility, or is otherwise inadequate, the Secretary may conduct enforcement proceedings under this chapter. the location of the pipeline facility. the type, size, age, manufacturer, method of construction, construction material, and condition of the pipeline facility. the nature and volume of material transported through the pipeline facility. the pressure at which that material is transported. climatic, geologic, and seismic characteristics (including soil characteristics) and conditions of the area in which the pipeline facility is located. existing and projected population and demographic characteristics of the area in which the pipeline facility is located. for a hazardous liquid pipeline facility, the proximity of the area in which the facility is located to an area that is unusually sensitive to environmental damage. the frequency of leaks. other factors the Secretary decides are relevant to the safety of pipeline facilities. To the extent and in amounts provided in advance in an appropriation law, the Secretary shall decide on the frequency of inspection under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The Secretary may reduce the frequency of an inspection of a master meter system. Testing under this subsection shall use the most appropriate technology practicable. “abandoned” means permanently removed from service. “pipeline facility” includes an underwater abandoned pipeline facility. if a pipeline facility has no operator, the most recent operator of the facility is deemed to be the operator of the facility. all offshore pipeline facilities; and any other pipeline facility crossing under, over, or through waters where a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists, if the Secretary decides that the location of the facility in those waters could pose a hazard to navigation or public safety. the Secretary shall identify what is a hazard to navigation with respect to an underwater abandoned pipeline facility; and for an underwater pipeline facility abandoned after October 24, 1992 , the Secretary shall include requirements that will lessen the potential that the facility will pose a hazard to navigation and shall consider the relationship between water depth and navigational safety and factors relevant to the local marine environment. The Secretary shall establish by regulation a program requiring an operator of a pipeline facility described in paragraph (2) of this subsection to report a potential or existing navigational hazard involving that pipeline facility to the Secretary through the appropriate Coast Guard office. The operator of a pipeline facility described in paragraph (2) of this subsection that discovers any part of the pipeline facility that is a hazard to navigation shall mark the location of the hazardous part with a Coast-Guard-approved marine buoy or marker and immediately shall notify the Secretary as provided by the Secretary under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. A marine buoy or marker used under this subparagraph is deemed a pipeline sign or right-of-way marker under section 60123(c) of this title . The Secretary shall establish a standard that each pipeline facility described in paragraph (2) of this subsection that is a hazard to navigation is buried not later than 6 months after the date the condition of the facility is reported to the Secretary. The Secretary may extend that 6-month period for a reasonable period to ensure compliance with this paragraph. In prescribing standards for subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for an underwater pipeline facility abandoned after October 24, 1992 , the Secretary shall include requirements that will lessen the potential that the facility will pose a hazard to navigation and shall consider the relationship between water depth and navigational safety and factors relevant to the local marine environment. Not later than October 24, 1994 , the Secretary shall establish standards on what is an exposed offshore pipeline facility and what is a hazard to navigation under this subsection. Not later than 6 months after the Secretary establishes standards under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, or October 24, 1995 , whichever occurs first, the operator of each offshore pipeline facility not described in section 3(h)(1)(A) of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 or section 203( l )(1)(A) of the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, as appropriate, shall inspect the facility and report to the Secretary on any part of the facility that is exposed or is a hazard to navigation. This subparagraph applies only to a facility that is between the high water mark and the point at which the subsurface is under 15 feet of water, as measured from mean low water. An inspection that occurred after October 3, 1989 , may be used for compliance with this subparagraph if the inspection conforms to the requirements of this subparagraph. The Secretary may extend the time period specified in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph for not more than 6 months if the operator of a facility satisfies the Secretary that the operator has made a good faith effort, with reasonable diligence, but has been unable to comply by the end of that period. The operator of a pipeline facility abandoned after October 24, 1992 , shall report the abandonment to the Secretary in a way that specifies whether the facility has been abandoned properly according to applicable United States Government and State requirements. Not later than October 24, 1995 , the operator of a pipeline facility abandoned before October 24, 1992 , shall report to the Secretary reasonably available information related to the facility, including information that a third party possesses. The information shall include the location, size, date, and method of abandonment, whether the facility has been abandoned properly under applicable law, and other relevant information the Secretary may require. Not later than April 24, 1994 , the Secretary shall specify how the information shall be reported. The Secretary shall ensure that the Government maintains the information in a way accessible to appropriate Government agencies and State authorities. The Secretary shall request that a State authority having information on a collision between a vessel and an underwater pipeline facility report the information to the Secretary in a timely way and make a reasonable effort to specify the location, date, and severity of the collision. Chapter 35 of title 44 does not apply to this subparagraph. The Secretary may not exempt from this chapter an offshore hazardous liquid pipeline facility only because the pipeline facility transfers hazardous liquid in an underwater pipeline between a vessel and an onshore facility. If, after reviewing existing Federal and State regulations for hazardous liquid gathering lines located offshore in the United States, including within the inlets of the Gulf of Mexico, the Secretary determines it is appropriate, the Secretary shall issue regulations, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, subjecting offshore hazardous liquid gathering lines and hazardous liquid gathering lines located within the inlets of the Gulf of Mexico to the same standards and regulations as other hazardous liquid gathering lines. The regulations issued under this paragraph shall not apply to production pipelines or flow lines. the extent to which each operator has adopted a plan for the safe management and replacement of cast iron; the elements of the plan, including the anticipated rate of replacement; and the progress that has been made. Chapter 35 of title 44 does not apply to the conduct of the survey. This subsection does not prevent the Secretary from developing Government guidelines or standards for cast iron gas pipelines as the Secretary considers appropriate. Not later than December 31, 2012 , and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a follow-up survey to measure the progress that owners and operators of pipeline facilities have made in adopting and implementing their plans for the safe management and replacement of cast iron gas pipelines. within 30 days, conduct a post-inspection briefing with the owner or operator of the gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility inspected outlining any concerns; and within 90 days, to the extent practicable, provide the owner or operator with written preliminary findings of the inspection. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [ June 22, 2016 ], the Secretary of Transportation shall convene a working group to consider the development of a voluntary information-sharing system to encourage collaborative efforts to improve inspection information feedback and information sharing with the purpose of improving gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipeline facility integrity risk analysis. the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; industry stakeholders, including operators of pipeline facilities, inspection technology, coating, and cathodic protection vendors, and pipeline inspection organizations; safety advocacy groups; research institutions; State public utility commissions or State officials responsible for pipeline safety oversight; State pipeline safety inspectors; labor representatives; and other entities, as determined appropriate by the Secretary. the need for, and the identification of, a system to ensure that dig verification data are shared with in-line inspection operators to the extent consistent with the need to maintain proprietary and security-sensitive data in a confidential manner to improve pipeline safety and inspection technology; ways to encourage the exchange of pipeline inspection information and the development of advanced pipeline inspection technologies and enhanced risk analysis; opportunities to share data, including dig verification data between operators of pipeline facilities and in-line inspector vendors to expand knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of in-line inspection technology and methodologies; options to create a secure system that protects proprietary data while encouraging the exchange of pipeline inspection information and the development of advanced pipeline inspection technologies and enhanced risk analysis; means and best practices for the protection of safety- and security-sensitive information and proprietary information; and regulatory, funding, and legal barriers to sharing the information described in paragraphs (1) through (4). The Secretary shall publish the recommendations provided under subsection (c) on a publicly available Web site of the Department of Transportation.” Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [ June 22, 2016 ], the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the feasibility of establishing a national integrated pipeline safety regulatory inspection database to improve communication and collaboration between the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and State pipeline regulators. a description of any efforts underway to test a secure information-sharing system for the purpose described in subsection (a); a description of any progress in establishing common standards for maintaining, collecting, and presenting pipeline safety regulatory inspection data, and a methodology for sharing the data; a description of any inadequacies or gaps in State and Federal inspection, enforcement, geospatial, or other pipeline safety regulatory inspection data; a description of the potential safety benefits of a national integrated pipeline safety regulatory inspection database; and recommendations, including those of stakeholders for how to implement a secure information-sharing system that protects proprietary and security sensitive information and data for the purpose described in subsection (a). In implementing this section, the Secretary shall consult with stakeholders, including each State authority operating under a certification to regulate intrastate pipelines under section 60105 of title 49 , United States Code. after submission of the report required under subsection (a); or upon notification to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate of the need to establish such database prior to the submission of the report under subsection (a).” Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [ June 22, 2016 ], the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shall submit to Congress a report on the metrics provided to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and other Federal and State agencies related to lost and unaccounted for natural gas from distribution pipelines and systems. An examination of different reporting requirements or standards for lost and unaccounted for natural gas to different agencies, the reasons for any such discrepancies, and recommendations for harmonizing and improving the accuracy of reporting. An analysis of whether separate or alternative reporting could better measure the amounts and identify the location of lost and unaccounted for natural gas from natural gas distribution systems. A description of potential safety issues associated with natural gas that is lost and unaccounted for from natural gas distribution systems. An assessment of whether alternate reporting and measures will resolve any safety issues identified under paragraph (3), including an analysis of the potential impact, including potential savings, on rate payers and end users of natural gas products of such reporting and measures. If the Administrator determines that alternate reporting structures or recommendations included in the report required under subsection (a) would significantly improve the reporting and measurement of lost and unaccounted for gas and safety of natural gas distribution systems, the Administrator shall, not later than 1 year after making such determination, issue regulations, as the Administrator determines appropriate, to implement the recommendations.” encourage the repair and replacement of leaking natural gas distribution pipelines or systems that pose a safety threat, such as timelines to repair leaks and limits on cost recovery from ratepayers; and may create barriers for entities to conduct work to repair and replace leaking natural gas pipelines or distribution systems. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [ June 22, 2016 ], the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report containing the findings of the review conducted under subsection (a) and recommendations on Federal or State policies or best practices to improve safety by accelerating the repair and replacement of natural gas pipelines or systems that are leaking or releasing natural gas. The report shall consider the potential impact, including potential savings, of the implementation of such recommendations on ratepayers or end users of the natural gas pipeline system. If the Administrator determines that the recommendations made under subsection (b) would significantly improve pipeline safety, the Administrator shall, not later than 1 year after making such determination, and in coordination with the heads of other relevant agencies as appropriate, issue regulations, as the Administrator determines appropriate, to implement the recommendations.” Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [ Jan. 3, 2012 ], the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on leak detection systems utilized by operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities and transportation-related flow lines. an analysis of the technical limitations of current leak detection systems, including the ability of the systems to detect ruptures and small leaks that are ongoing or intermittent, and what can be done to foster development of better technologies; and an analysis of the practicability of establishing technically, operationally, and economically feasible standards for the capability of such systems to detect leaks, and the safety benefits and adverse consequences of requiring operators to use leak detection systems. the date that is 1 year after the date of completion of the report under subsection (a); or the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. In order to provide Congress the necessary time to review the results of the report required by subsection (a) and implement appropriate recommendations, the Secretary, during the review period, shall not issue final regulations described in paragraph (3). require operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities to use leak detection systems where practicable; and establish technically, operationally, and economically feasible standards for the capability of such systems to detect leaks. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the Secretary, during the review period, may issue final regulations described in paragraph (3) if the Secretary determines that a condition that poses a risk to public safety, property, or the environment is present or an imminent hazard exists and that the regulations will address the risk or hazard. In subparagraph (A), the term ‘imminent hazard’ means the existence of a condition related to pipelines or pipeline operations that presents a substantial likelihood that death, serious illness, severe personal injury, or substantial endangerment to health, property, or the environment may occur.”