PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025
Officially: “PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025” Read the full text
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1Short title; table of contents
This section gives the Act its short title, the Pipeline Integrity, Protection, and Enhancement for Leveraging Investments in the Nation's Energy to assure Safety Act of 2025, also called the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025, and lists the table of contents for the Act's titles and sections.
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1. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Pipeline Integrity, Protection, and Enhancement for Leveraging Investments in the Nation's Energy to assure Safety Act of 2025 or the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 . (b) Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec.
2Definitions
This section defines terms used throughout the Act. Administration means the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Administrator means the Administrator of that Administration. Appropriate committees of Congress means the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Document produced to another person means a document produced in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, a submission to a federal, state, or tribal court, information posted on a website, or a document sent to Congress. Secretary means the Secretary of Transportation.
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2. Definitions. TITLE I—Reauthorizations Sec.
101Gas and hazardous liquid
This section would amend the multiyear funding authorization in section 60125(a) of title 49 for pipeline safety programs. In paragraph (1), it would replace the fiscal year 2021 through 2023 dollar amounts with new amounts for fiscal years 2026 through 2030: $185,000,000 for FY2026 (with $83,250,000 of that amount going to a sub-purpose that was previously funded at $63,000,000), $190,365,000 for FY2027 ($85,660,000 for the sub-purpose), and $195,886,000 for FY2028 ($88,150,000). It would add two new funding years not previously authorized: $201,556,000 for FY2029, of which $9,000,000 would go to carry out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 and $90,700,000 would go to grants, and $207,412,000 for FY2030, of which $9,000,000 would again go to section 12 of the 2002 Act and $93,340,000 would go to grants. In paragraph (2), it would make the same kind of change to a second, smaller funding stream: $30,000,000 for FY2026 ($13,500,000 for the sub-purpose), $31,000,000 for FY2027 ($13,950,000), $32,000,000 for FY2028 ($14,400,000), $33,000,000 for FY2029 (including $3,000,000 for section 12 of the 2002 Act and $14,850,000 for grants), and $34,000,000 for FY2030 (including $3,000,000 for the 2002 Act and $15,300,000 for grants). In paragraph (3), it would replace an authorization of $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 with $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
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101. Gas and hazardous liquid. Sec.
102Operational expenses of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
This section would authorize funding for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's necessary operational expenses: $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2027, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2028, $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2029, and $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2030.
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102. Operational expenses of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Sec.
103Other programs
This section covers four other funding programs under title 49. For emergency response grants under section 60125(b)(2), it would keep the $10,000,000 annual authorization but extend it from fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to fiscal years 2026 through 2030. For pipeline safety information grants to communities under section 60130, it would replace a flat $2,000,000 authorization for fiscal years 2021 through 2023 with a rising schedule for a new set of fiscal years: $2,000,000 for FY2026, $2,750,000 for FY2027, $3,000,000 for FY2028, $3,250,000 for FY2029, and $4,000,000 for FY2030, and it would remove the current tie to section 2(b) of the PIPES Act of 2016 in favor of a tie to section 60125(a)(1). It would similarly replace a separate $1,000,000 figure in that section with a rising schedule of $1,000,000 for FY2026, $1,250,000 for FY2027, $1,500,000 for FY2028, $1,750,000 for FY2029, and $2,000,000 for FY2030. It would add new deadlines for this grant program: the Secretary would have to publish a notice of funding opportunity within 60 days after funds become available; an eligible applicant would have to submit an application in the form the Secretary requires, by a date the Secretary sets that is no later than 60 days after that notice is published; and the Secretary would have to announce the selected grant recipients within 120 days after publishing the notice. For damage prevention programs under section 60134(i), it would raise the authorization from $1,500,000 to $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 (up from fiscal years 2021 through 2023). For the pipeline integrity program under section 12(f) of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, it would lower the authorized amount from $3,000,000 to $2,500,000 and extend it from fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
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103. Other programs. TITLE II—Modernizing pipeline safety Sec.
201Inspection of in-service breakout tanks
This section would require the Secretary, within 1 year after enactment, to revise part 195 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations to allow risk-based inspections of in-service breakout tanks, but only if the Secretary finds that the revisions maintain or enhance safety. In revising the rules, the Secretary would have to consider the American Petroleum Institute's Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction standard (API Standard 653, Fifth Edition, dated November 2014) or a successor standard. For any breakout tanks that would be internally inspected less often under the new rules than under the part 195 rules in effect on January 1, 2025, the Secretary would have to require operators to visually monitor the tanks' external condition on a routine basis and to use a secondary containment system designed to contain hazardous liquids if a leak occurs. If the new rules differ from the API standard, the Secretary would have to notify the appropriate committees of Congress explaining the reasons for the differences, within 60 days after the rules are published in the Federal Register.
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201. Inspection of in-service breakout tanks. Sec.
202Risk assessment obligations
This section would amend section 60102(b)(4)(A) of title 49 to add a new requirement: whenever a committee is serving as a peer review panel for pipeline risk assessment information, a Department of Transportation officer or employee with expertise in risk assessments or cost-benefit analyses for pipeline facilities or other modes of transportation would have to attend that meeting.
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202. Risk assessment obligations. Sec.
203Timely incorporation by reference
This section would replace subsection (l) of section 60102 of title 49 with new requirements on keeping safety standards current. Not less often than every 5 years, the Secretary would have to review each industry consensus standard that has been adopted or incorporated, in whole or part, into the federal pipeline safety program and that a standards development organization has since modified and published, and update the adoption or incorporation of that standard as the Secretary determines necessary. The Secretary would have to maintain a public list of all industry standards considered for adoption or incorporation, including the Secretary's determination on each one and, for any not adopted in full, the reasoning why, and publish that list within 30 days after it is first completed and after each revision. When prescribing new safety standards, the Secretary would have to consider adopting or incorporating industry consensus standards. For any industry consensus standard incorporated or partly incorporated on or after this Act's enactment, the Secretary would have to publish its full text, or a direct link to a place the public can view it for free, on PHMSA's public website for as long as the incorporation is open for public comment; if the full text is not made available that way, the Secretary could not incorporate that standard by reference at all. For standards already incorporated before enactment that are already freely available to the public on a website, the Secretary would have to publish the full text or a direct link to it.
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203. Timely incorporation by reference. Sec.
204Report on updates to the National Pipeline Mapping System
This section would require the Comptroller General, within 1 year after enactment, to report to the appropriate committees of Congress on how the Administration manages the National Pipeline Mapping System. The report would have to describe how and when the Administration updates high consequence area data in the System, what sources of scientific data are used for those updates, and how that data is validated for accuracy. Within 2 years after enactment, the Secretary would have to start a rulemaking requiring that the location information operators submit under section 60132(a) be accurate to within a 50-foot radius of the facility's actual location.
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204. Report on updates to the National Pipeline Mapping System. Sec.
205Pipeline safety enhancement programs
This section would amend section 60142 of title 49, which governs pipeline safety enhancement (testing) programs. It would extend a deadline in subsection (c)(2) from 3 years after that section's original enactment to 5 years after this Act's enactment. It would loosen a threshold in subsection (d)(1) by changing 'greater than' to 'greater than or equal to' for the condition that triggers the program (the bill text does not include the rest of that sentence, so the measure being compared cannot be described further here). It would replace subsection (d)(2) to say that, to accomplish a testing program's purpose, the Secretary may waive compliance with any part of an applicable safety standard if that condition is met, as the Secretary determines, but the Secretary could not require testing program applicants to use, or otherwise meet the requirements of, the separate nonemergency waiver process under section 60118(c)(1). It would replace subsection (h) to require the Secretary to immediately terminate a testing program if continuing it would be inconsistent with the goals and objectives of the pipeline safety chapter; within 10 days after termination, the Secretary would have to tell the affected operators how they can fix the problems found; and if the Secretary determines those problems are fixed, the Secretary would have to reinstate the program. Finally, it would add a new subsection (m) providing that establishing a testing program is not a 'major Federal action' under the National Environmental Policy Act, so setting one up would not trigger NEPA review.
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205. Pipeline safety enhancement programs. Sec.
206Technical safety standards committees
This section would amend section 60115 of title 49 on technical safety standards committees. It would require the Secretary, when publishing reasons under a provision in subsection (c)(2), to also notify the appropriate committees of Congress. It would also change the number of committee meetings under subsection (e) from up to 4 to 2.
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206. Technical safety standards committees. Sec.
207Enforcement procedures
This section would amend the enforcement procedures in section 60117(b) of title 49. It would add a new purpose to subsection (b)(1)(B): letting a recipient of a warning issued under section 190.205 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations discuss the claims in that warning with relevant staff. It would add two new items to the end of subsection (b)(1): for civil penalties over $1,000,000 (adjusted annually for inflation), the respondent could request a formal hearing under section 554 of title 5, conducted by an administrative law judge; and PHMSA would have to give a written response to any request to withdraw or modify a written warning issued under this section. It would replace the hearing requirements in subsection (b)(2) so that any hearing under this section must be publicly noticed on a dedicated 'Upcoming Enforcement Hearings' page of PHMSA's website, must provide an orderly and timely process as the Secretary determines, and, if it is a formal hearing, must be open to the public. Within 1 year after enactment, the Secretary would have to update the regulations that set the protocols for all hearings under section 60117.
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207. Enforcement procedures. Sec.
208Civil penalties
This section would amend section 60122(a)(1) of title 49 to raise two civil penalty caps: the maximum penalty per violation would rise from $200,000 to $400,000, and the maximum penalty for a related series of violations would rise from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000.
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208. Civil penalties. Sec.
209Improving whistleblower protections
This section would amend the whistleblower protections in section 60129 of title 49. It would extend protection under subsection (a)(2) to a new category of person: an officer, employee, or agent of an employer already covered by the section. It would also strengthen remedies under subsection (b)(3)(B): back pay awarded to a successful complainant would now include interest, and compensatory damages would now expressly include compensation for any special damages the complainant suffered because of the discrimination.
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209. Improving whistleblower protections. Sec.
210Assessment of composite materials
This section would require the Administrator to gather and assess existing studies, data, standards, and approved applications on the safety of composite materials for transporting natural gas, natural gas liquids, new fuels such as hydrogen and hydrogen blended with natural gas, and new fluids such as carbon dioxide. The assessment would have to be completed within 1 year after enactment, and within 30 days after that the Administrator would have to report its conclusions to the appropriate committees of Congress. If the Administrator concludes, based on the assessment, that composite materials provide at least an equal level of safety as other pipelines under the Administration's jurisdiction, the Administrator would have to issue regulations, within 180 days after the report is submitted, allowing composite materials to be used to transport new fuels; those regulations could adopt or incorporate existing industry consensus standards by reference.
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210. Assessment of composite materials. Sec.
211Elements and evaluation of State damage prevention programs
This section would amend section 60134 of title 49 on state damage prevention programs. It would add a new element for a state's program: a one-call program that includes, or is making substantial progress toward including, a list of one-call leading practices. Those leading practices would be: limiting the size or scope of a standard locate-request ticket (with exceptions for large project tickets); limiting how long a standard ticket lasts (with the same kind of exception); specifying the horizontal dimensions of soft-dig-only tolerance zones; specifying other tolerance zone requirements; specifying emergency excavation notification requirements; specifying excavators' responsibilities, including reporting damage or suspected damage; defining who counts as an excavator and what counts as excavation; requiring the use of white-lining; requiring a positive response from the utility or other entity before excavation begins, and requiring the excavator to check for that response first; requiring that newly installed underground facilities be locatable with commercially available technology; requiring the marking of sewer lines and laterals; and specifying qualifications and requirements for excavators doing trenchless excavation work that is not already subject to pipeline construction rules under parts 192 or 195 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The section would also add evaluation criteria the Secretary must use, at minimum, in judging how effective a state's damage prevention program is: whether the state actively and meaningfully enforces its one-call laws, including through effective fines and penalties; whether the state requires reporting to the local one-call center of excavation damage to pipelines and other non-privately-owned underground facilities, including (to the extent available) the nature and cause of the incident, who was involved, the impact on public safety, utility operations, and customer service, and the environmental impact; and whether the state limits exemptions from its damage prevention laws. Finally, it would update a cross-reference in section 60114(f) to point to the damage prevention elements as renumbered by this section, a purely technical fix.
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211. Elements and evaluation of State damage prevention programs. Sec.
212Pipeline safety voluntary information-sharing system
This section would add a new section 60144 to title 49 establishing a voluntary, confidential, nonpunitive information-sharing system, called the VIS, to encourage sharing of pipeline safety data to improve the safety of gas transmission pipelines, gas distribution pipelines, liquefied natural gas facilities, underground natural gas storage facilities, and hazardous liquid pipelines. Within 1 year after this new section's enactment, the Secretary would have to establish the VIS, which would have to be implemented consistent with the Pipeline Safety Voluntary Information-Sharing System Recommendation Report prepared under the PIPES Act of 2016. The VIS's purpose would be to gather, evaluate, and quantify pipeline safety data and to share recommended fixes and lessons learned across the industry confidentially. The VIS would be governed by a Governing Board, supported by a Program Manager, a Third-Party Data Manager, and one or more Issue Analysis Teams. Within 180 days after enactment of this new section, the Administrator would have to establish the Governing Board, made up of 15 members: 5 from federal, state, or territorial pipeline safety agencies (one being the Administrator or a designee), 5 from the gas or hazardous liquid industries (such as operators, trade associations, vendors, standards bodies, research consortia, or inspection organizations, with at least one being a pipeline industry representative), and 5 from public safety advocacy groups (such as public interest groups, universities, or nonprofit labor organizations, with at least one being a pipeline safety public interest group representative). Members would normally serve 3-year terms, staggered at the start so that 5 members' terms expire each year and at least 1 but not more than 2 members from each of the three represented categories expire each year. Members appointed from the federal, state, or territorial agency category or from the gas or hazardous liquid industry category could be reappointed, but could serve no more than 3 total terms; the section does not state a reappointment limit for members appointed from the public safety advocacy category. The Board would be co-chaired by the Administrator (or a designee), a pipeline industry representative appointed by the Administrator with the Board's advice and consent, and a public interest group representative appointed the same way, with the co-chairs jointly responsible for organizing and running Board meetings. The Board would have authority to govern and oversee the VIS, develop a public governance charter, select the Third-Party Data Manager, approve the data intake criteria, establish and appoint Issue Analysis Teams, decide what information and reports the VIS disseminates, issue at least annual public reports on VIS processes, Board membership, active issues, requested data, and identified safety trends, and perform other functions consistent with the VIS's purpose. Board decisions would require a supermajority of at least two-thirds of the Board's total members plus one additional member. The Administrator (or a designee) would serve as Program Manager, providing day-to-day management and administrative support, including oversight of the Third-Party Data Manager. The Board would appoint a Third-Party Data Manager with expertise in data protection, aggregation, and analytics to receive, secure, accept, de-identify, store, and manage submitted data, work with Issue Analysis Teams to analyze it, prepare reports for the Board, and recommend how the VIS should manage its data. Issue Analysis Teams, established and appointed by the Board as needed, would consist of pipeline safety technical experts (who may include public safety advocacy representatives) and would analyze data on their assigned issues and report findings and recommendations to the Board. The Federal Advisory Committee Act would not apply to the VIS, the Board, or any Issue Analysis Team. Submitting data to the VIS would be entirely voluntary, and the VIS could not accept data about an operator without that operator's authorization; the Board would encourage voluntary sharing among operators, their employees, labor unions, contractors, in-line inspection providers, non-destructive evaluation experts, PHMSA, and state, tribal, public interest, manufacturer, and research representatives. Data accepted into the VIS would be limited to the issues and topics the Board has identified for analysis, and could include pipeline integrity risk analysis information, lessons learned from accidents and near misses, process improvements, technology deployment practices, voluntary employee survey results, information that could reveal pipeline safety risks, and any other data the Board determines relevant. Nonpublic data and information handled by the VIS would have to be kept confidential and, with the exceptions described below, would not be subject to disclosure under any other law; no person or agency with access to it could release or communicate it, identified or de-identified, to anyone without authority to view VIS data. The Board, or the Administrator with Board approval, could disclose de-identified nonpublic information based on an analysis of that information, including safety findings or recommendations the Board determines to publish; in its required public reports, the Board would have to approve disclosure of whatever de-identified information is necessary to adequately describe the issues being analyzed. This confidentiality rule would not apply to information that is otherwise public. Nonpublic VIS information later obtained by the Secretary or Administrator from the VIS would be exempt from Freedom of Information Act disclosure. Except as described below, nonpublic VIS information could not be obtained from the VIS for use as evidence in any federal, state, local, tribal, or private litigation or proceeding, could not be used to start an enforcement action or civil litigation against a pipeline operator or its employees or contractors for a probable violation, and would not be subject to discovery from the VIS in any such proceeding. Those litigation and discovery protections would not apply to data that is evidence of a crime, unrelated to the VIS's purpose, otherwise required to be reported to the Secretary under specified pipeline safety regulations, required to be reported to a state authority under state pipeline safety law, or obtained from a source other than the VIS. Nothing in the new section would create a defense to a discovery request or otherwise limit discovery of pipeline safety data arising from a cause of action under other federal, state, or local law, and nothing in it would affect any other federal, state, or local pipeline safety law. Each fiscal year, the Secretary would have to report to Congress, by the end of that fiscal year, on the VIS's status. The Secretary would have to explore sustainable funding sources for the VIS, including public-private partnerships, and use them to the extent practicable; in addition to fees collected under section 60301, the Secretary could collect up to $5,000,000 more under that section for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027 to establish, implement, and manage the VIS. The section would also add definitions of nonpublic information and public information to section 60101(a) of title 49, renumber several existing definitions to keep them in order, add a clerical entry for the new section 60144, and make two conforming cross-reference updates in sections 70012(c) of title 46 and 60102(q)(1) of title 49.
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212. Pipeline safety voluntary information-sharing system. Sec.
213Transporting gas
This section would amend the definition of transporting gas in section 60101(a)(26) of title 49 (as renumbered by section 212 of this Act). It restructures the definition into an 'In general' part (whose substantive wording is not changed by the text shown here) and a new 'Exclusions' part. Under the new exclusions, transporting gas would not include gathering gas, except through regulated gathering lines, in a rural area outside a nonrural area the Secretary has designated, nor would it include an owner or operator moving gas within a plant for use as fuel, feedstock, or another purpose that directly supports plant operations, whether through in-plant piping systems located entirely on the plant's grounds or through transfer piping systems that extend less than 1 mile outside the plant's grounds.
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213. Transporting gas. Sec.
214Inspection and management of rights-of-way
This section would amend section 60108 of title 49 on pipeline rights-of-way. It would require the Secretary, whenever requiring an operator to inspect surface conditions on or next to a pipeline right-of-way, to allow the use of unmanned aircraft systems and satellites for that inspection, without affecting any existing legal obligations for operating unmanned aircraft. It would also add a new option for maintaining rights-of-way: as part of the existing periodic review, the Secretary would have to allow an alternative maintenance method under a voluntary operator program if the Secretary determines the method achieves a safety level at least equal to the applicable regulations and allows timely emergency response. An operator considering such a method could choose to incorporate conservation practices, including reduced or less frequent mowing, developing habitat for pollinators and other wildlife through seeding native plants, timing or method changes that protect pollinators during their peak presence, an integrated vegetation management plan combining mechanical brush removal with targeted herbicide use and mowing, planting deep-rooted regionally appropriate grasses and wildflowers such as milkweed, avoiding shallow-rooted grasses in seed mixes (except as cover crops), and getting expert training on wildlife- and pollinator-friendly practices. In developing an alternative method, an operator would have to consult available guidance from the Secretary or the relevant state agency, or, absent such guidance, could consult leading industry practices; the operator would still have to make sure its inspection plans let it identify risks to the pipeline, and nothing in this provision would excuse the operator from any other applicable requirement. Three years after enactment, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General would have to review a representative sample of inspection and maintenance plans from operators using alternative right-of-way maintenance methods, to determine whether reduced mowing has limited operators' ability to assess risks, whether reduced mowing hindered identifying risks or responding to any incidents that occurred, and whether the alternative methods have affected pipeline safety overall. The section would also fix the heading of section 60108(e) to read 'Post-inspection briefing and preliminary findings' instead of 'In general,' a technical correction.
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214. Inspection and management of rights-of-way. Sec.
215Geological hazards
This section would add mitigating threats from geological hazards to the list of things covered by the inspection and maintenance plan review under section 60108(a)(2)(D) of title 49. Within 2 years after enactment, the Administrator would have to prepare a report identifying geological hazards, such as landslides, volcanic activity, earthquakes, and scouring, that could move a pipeline or expose it to abnormal external loads; evaluating relevant industry standards and best practices; evaluating existing federal design, construction, operations, maintenance, and integrity requirements relating to those hazards; and recommending improvements, then submit the report to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress. Within 1 year after the report is completed, the Secretary would have to review, and could update, existing regulations and policy guidance on gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide pipeline facility safety to account for geological hazard threats.
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215. Geological hazards. Sec.
216Alternative technologies
This section would require the Administrator, within 2 years after enactment and every 5 years after that, to issue a request for proposals identifying potential alternative technologies that would meet the intent of an existing pipeline safety regulation while providing an equal or greater level of safety, and to let the public comment on those proposals. If the Secretary determines that a commercially available technology would meet the intent of an existing regulation and provide equal or greater safety, the Administrator could issue a proposed rule to update the relevant regulations to let operators adopt that technology.
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216. Alternative technologies. Sec.
217Fire shutoff valves
This section would add a new subsection (f) to section 60110 of title 49 on fire shutoff valves. It defines a fire shutoff valve as a spring-loaded plug held by a fusible link made of a low-melting-point alloy, attached to a gas source, that melts in a fire and closes to shut off gas to a dwelling or building on a distribution service line; equivalent technology means any non-excess-flow-valve technology that performs the same shutoff function; and a fire safety valve is either of those. Fire-first ignition means an event where a fire from an outside source causes a natural gas system to fail, release gas, or ignite. Within 2 years after enactment, the Secretary would have to complete a study on how effective fire safety valves are at improving public safety by mitigating secondary ignitions such as fire-first ignitions, evaluating deployment scenarios, the current rate of fire-first ignitions on distribution pipelines, the anticipated reduction in ignition likelihood and in the impact of ignition incidents under various deployment scenarios, the valves' long-term durability, construction, and effectiveness, and their commercial availability. After completing that study, the Secretary could prescribe risk-based standards on when operators of natural gas distribution systems must install fire shutoff valves or equivalent technology.
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217. Fire shutoff valves. Sec.
218Exemption from post-accident testing
This section would require the Secretary, within 2 years after enactment and in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to update the Administration's regulations so that a covered employee is exempt from post-accident drug and alcohol testing if that employee's prior performance of the covered function in question happened outside the time window during which post-accident testing could detect prohibited drugs or alcohol.
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218. Exemption from post-accident testing. Sec.
219Maximum allowable operating pressure records
This section addresses maximum allowable operating pressure, or MAOP, records for natural gas transmission pipelines. Until both a required report and, if the Secretary determines one is necessary, a required rulemaking are completed, the Secretary could not require an owner or operator to reconfirm a pipeline's MAOP under section 192.624 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations if the owner or operator has confirmed the pipeline's material strength through prior testing done to a sufficient minimum pressure under prevailing safety standards and practices, including applicable class location factors, and documented in contemporaneous records. The Secretary would have to direct the Administration's existing MAOP working group, composed of its members as of January 1, 2025, to keep producing a report recommending what contemporaneous records are sufficient to confirm a pipeline's material strength through prior testing; in preparing that report the working group would have to consider historical practices and available research on minimum pressure and contemporaneous records, could consider whether more research is needed, and would have to consider the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation, report, and recommendations following the San Bruno pipeline explosion. The working group would have to submit that report, including any minority views, to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress within 180 days after enactment. Within 1 year after receiving that report, if the Secretary determines it necessary, the Secretary would have to propose and finalize, after notice and comment, standards revising the records required to confirm a transmission pipeline segment's MAOP, but that rulemaking could not delay the existing deadline for operators to comply with MAOP reconfirmation regulations under section 192.624 as it stood on the date of enactment.
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219. Maximum allowable operating pressure records. Sec.
220Pipeline operating status
This section would replace paragraph (1) of section 60143(b) of title 49 to require the Secretary, within 90 days after enactment, to issue regulations setting out how pipeline safety requirements apply to idled natural gas transmission pipelines, idled other gas transmission pipelines, and idled hazardous liquid pipelines.
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220. Pipeline operating status. Sec.
221Potential impact radius
This section defines potential impact radius as the area within which a pipeline's potential failure could significantly affect people or property, including causing injury or death. Within 3 years after enactment, the Secretary would have to review the methodology, including any formulas, that the Administration uses to determine the potential impact radius for onshore gas transmission pipelines, along with relevant recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board or the Government Accountability Office, and, within 180 days after finishing that review, report the findings to the appropriate committees of Congress; that report would have to evaluate whether the methodology accounts for available human response data, accident data on pipeline incidents since January 1, 2000, the risk of serious injury, death, or property damage, and the unique characteristics of the type of gas being transported. Beginning within 1 year after enactment, Pipeline Failure Investigation reports prepared by the Administration's Accident Investigation Division for onshore gas transmission pipeline accidents would have to identify the location and distance from the pipeline of any damage, including injuries and property damage, that occurred outside the pipeline's determined potential impact radius.
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221. Potential impact radius. Sec.
222Effects of weather on natural gas pipelines
This section defines an applicable weather event as a weather-related event described in the Stafford Act's definition of major disaster that could affect a natural gas pipeline facility's safety, and a natural gas pipeline facility as a natural gas pipeline and any related facility, equipment, or infrastructure. Within 1 year after enactment, the Secretary would have to complete a review of how applicable weather events affect the safety of natural gas pipeline facilities during and after such an event, and report the results to the appropriate committees of Congress.
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222. Effects of weather on natural gas pipelines. Sec.
223Aldyl-A pipelines
This section would require each owner or operator of a gas distribution pipeline facility, within 3 years after enactment, to assess its system for the presence of Aldyl-A polyethylene piping, and to report to the Secretary, within that same 3-year window, its estimated total mileage of pipe identified as Aldyl-A polyethylene. The Secretary could not require excavation for the purpose of that assessment, though this would not limit the Secretary's existing authority under section 60112 or under subsections (m) or (p) of section 60117 of title 49. The section would also amend the state pipeline safety program certification requirement under section 60105(b)(9)(A), which currently covers cast iron and bare steel pipelines, so that it also covers pipelines constructed of historic plastics with known safety issues. Separately, the section would amend the distribution integrity risk factor under section 60109(e)(7)(A)(i), which currently covers only the presence of cast iron pipes and mains in the distribution system, so that it instead covers the presence of pipes and mains made of cast iron, unprotected steel, wrought iron, or historic plastics with known safety issues, adding unprotected steel, wrought iron, and historic plastics with known safety issues as new categories alongside cast iron.
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223. Aldyl–A pipelines. Sec.
224Improvements to pipeline safety integrity management programs
This section would require the Secretary to research whether using quantitative data and modeling in operators' integrity management programs would improve how well the costs and benefits of risk reduction measures are estimated.
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224. Improvements to pipeline safety integrity management programs. TITLE III—Streamlining oversight of pipelines Sec.
301Regulatory updates
This section would amend section 106 of the PIPES Act of 2020, which defines and tracks 'outstanding mandates,' meaning required final rules that have not yet been published. It would restructure the definition so that the requirement that a rule 'has not been published in the Federal Register' applies once, to all categories of covered rules, rather than being repeated separately for each category, and it would add a new category of covered rule: any final rule required to be issued under this Act (the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025). It would update a cross-reference in subsection (b)(1) to match this restructuring. It would add a requirement that, if the Secretary fails to update the outstanding-mandates website as required, an Administration employee must give Congress an in-person briefing every 30 days until the website is updated. It would require the Administrator to annually offer relevant congressional committees a briefing on the status of outstanding mandates. And it would bar the use of authorized or appropriated funds for travel by the Administrator or Deputy Administrator, except travel necessary to respond to or investigate a pipeline or hazardous materials incident, whenever the website has not been updated as required for more than 90 days. Separately, this section would require that, if the Secretary misses a statutory deadline for the rulemaking on idled pipelines required under section 60143(b)(1) or for the final rule under section 60102(q)(1) on gas pipeline leak detection and repair programs, the Administrator must brief the appropriate committees of Congress in person on the requirement's status within 7 days after the missed deadline and every 90 days after that until the Secretary completes it.
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301. Regulatory updates. Sec.
302State use of integrated inspections
This section would add a new subsection (g) to section 60105 of title 49 letting states run risk-based integrated inspection programs, meaning inspection programs that use risk data to focus resources on the highest-priority pipeline facilities and requirements. With the Secretary's written agreement, which may take the form of a memorandum of understanding, a certified state authority could carry out such a program, subject to the same procedural and substantive requirements that would apply if the Secretary ran it directly, and the state would have to ensure no pipeline system goes more than 5 years without inspection and that unsatisfactory conditions found are addressed promptly. Within 1 year after enactment, the Secretary would have to set procedures and criteria for states to apply for this authority, and within 1 year after receiving an application the Secretary would have to review it and approve or deny it, explaining any denial and what changes could lead to approval. The Secretary would have to set up a process for reviewing how states carry out these programs, and the Department of Transportation's Inspector General would have to review each authorized program within 3 years after its approval, report to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress, and notify them if the Inspector General finds a program inadequate and recommends termination. The Secretary could terminate a state's authorization if the state is not adequately carrying out the program, after giving notice of intent to terminate, at least 120 days to fix the problems, and, on request, a detailed explanation of the deficiencies, and only if the state then fails to fix them in time; a state could also voluntarily end its own authorization by giving the Secretary at least 90 days' notice.
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302. State use of integrated inspections. Sec.
303Optimizing pipeline safety inspections
This section would require the Comptroller General to study how the Administration and certified or agreement state authorities schedule, coordinate, and enforce pipeline inspections, including how much inspections by the Administration and by different regional offices or states overlap on the same operator programs within the same year or two years, how well regions and states coordinate on inspection findings, scheduling, and scope, how conflicting interpretive positions between offices or between the Administration and states get resolved, and opportunities to reduce unnecessary overlap (while noting any overlap the Comptroller General believes is necessary), avoid inconsistent interpretations, better coordinate scheduling, and improve compliance with federal pipeline safety law; the study would also review whether the federal enforcement process fairly ensures compliance. Within 1 year after enactment, the Comptroller General would have to report the results and recommendations to the appropriate committees of Congress, aimed at improving coordination without compromising safety and while improving enforcement. Starting the first June 1 after enactment and every June 1 after that, the Administrator would have to publicly post, in an electronically accessible format, a summary of the past calendar year's federal and state pipeline inspections conducted under direct or delegated authority, including the inspection date, the owner or operator's name, the system or segment inspected, the region and state involved, any violations or proposed violations alleged, and any enforcement actions taken.
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303. Optimizing pipeline safety inspections. Sec.
304Sense of Congress on PHMSA engagement prior to rulemaking activities
This section states the sense of Congress that, when the Secretary determines it appropriate, the Secretary should engage with pipeline stakeholder groups, including certified state pipeline safety programs, and the public before drafting rules, in order to inform the Secretary's work under the pipeline safety chapter and to shorten the time it takes to issue proposed and final rules. This is a nonbinding statement of Congress's view, not a legal requirement.
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304. Sense of Congress on PHMSA engagement prior to rulemaking activities. TITLE IV—Improving safety of emerging gases Sec.
401Studies of hydrogen pipeline transportation
This section would require the Secretary to contract with a National Laboratory to study the safety, technical, and practical considerations of blending hydrogen into existing natural gas systems, issue a report on the results, and recommend how to avoid or minimize any risks the study identifies. The study would have to consider, for systems using more than 5 percent hydrogen content, whether additional restrictions or requirements on processes, materials, and standards are needed; remaining knowledge gaps on safely moving hydrogen-methane blends through existing distribution systems; safety risks of blends above 5 percent hydrogen, including leak rates, performance in existing infrastructure, and underground migration of leaks; and relevant findings from the Department of Energy's HyBlend initiative and the University of California, Riverside's Hydrogen Blending Impacts Study for the California Public Utilities Commission. The Secretary would have to submit the resulting report to the appropriate committees of Congress. Separately, within 1 year after enactment, the Comptroller General would have to study existing natural gas distribution systems in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and any other appropriate location that use hydrogen-natural gas blending or higher hydrogen content, to identify what processes, materials, and standards operators use to run them safely, again considering systems above 5 percent hydrogen content. Within 1 year after both studies are complete, the Secretary would have to decide whether regulations need updating to keep natural gas distribution systems safe when they intentionally blend hydrogen above 5 percent, and if the Secretary decides updates are not needed, report the reasons to the appropriate committees of Congress. Nothing in this section would remove the existing exemption for certain hydrogen pipelines under section 192.625(b)(4) of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations as it stood on October 1, 2023, or affect the Secretary's authority under section 60112 or subsections (m) or (p) of section 60117 of title 49, or the Secretary's authority to otherwise set standards for hydrogen pipeline transportation.
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401. Studies of hydrogen pipeline transportation. Sec.
402Safety of carbon dioxide pipelines
This section would require the Secretary, within 2 years after enactment and after a comment period, to publish a final rule under the pending rulemaking numbered RIN 2137-AF60 to ensure the safety of carbon dioxide transported in pipelines in gaseous, liquid, and supercritical states. That rule's standards would have to update emergency response plan requirements for risks unique to carbon dioxide pipeline accidents, set minimum safety standards for carbon dioxide pipeline operators including vapor dispersion modeling to identify high consequence areas that a release could affect (considering surrounding topography, atmospheric conditions, and the facility's operating characteristics), clarify that carbon dioxide may not be used as the test medium for spike hydrostatic pressure testing, and require operators to give state, local, and tribal emergency responders information on risks unique to carbon dioxide pipeline accidents, including making relevant parts of emergency response plans available to first responders on request; the standards would also have to address conversion-of-service standards and appropriate safety-condition and leak reporting for carbon dioxide's unique risks. Completing this rulemaking would satisfy a separate rulemaking requirement under section 60102(i)(2) of title 49. The Secretary would have to contract with a National Laboratory to study whether adding odorant to carbon dioxide pipelines is feasible, and report on that feasibility to the appropriate committees of Congress within 2 years after enactment. The Secretary would also have to make information tailored to carbon dioxide pipeline releases, including potential impact area and relevant odorant information, available to emergency responders on request.
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402. Safety of carbon dioxide pipelines. Sec.
403Reporting of blended products
This section would require all natural gas pipeline operators to report to the Secretary any non-predominant product they intentionally blend into the gas that is intended to exceed 2 percent by volume of the product transported at any point in time, but no more often than once a year.
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403. Reporting of blended products. TITLE V—Improving emergency response and transparency Sec.
501Bitumen oil response plan review
This section would require the Department of Transportation's Inspector General, within 1 year after enactment, to review the findings of the 2011 study on diluted bitumen required by the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, together with the emergency response plans that operators transporting diluted bitumen oil must maintain under section 60102(d)(5) of title 49. The review would determine whether those plans identify, using industry-standard names, all the crude oils an operator transports, including diluted bitumen; include safety data sheets for each one; describe the geographic areas, including water bodies, most sensitive to a diluted bitumen spill; describe the response activities and resources available for a diluted bitumen spill, including capabilities to detect, contain, and recover submerged and sunken oil; specify how the operator will give response information to the on-scene coordinator or an equivalent state official; and cover all spill-relevant properties of each identified crude oil. Within 180 days after finishing the review, the Inspector General would have to report the findings and any recommendations to the appropriate committees of Congress.
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501. Bitumen oil response plan review. Sec.
502National Center of Excellence for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Leak Detection
This section would let the Secretary, after submitting the report described below and subject to available appropriated funds, establish a National Center of Excellence for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Leak Detection, in consultation with hazardous liquid pipeline stakeholders. The Center would have to be located in the Great Lakes Basin, in a state that hosts an international mixed-use crude oil and natural gas liquids pipeline crossing the Great Lakes, and near a university with strong pipeline safety research capabilities. Within 18 months after enactment, the Secretary would have to report to the relevant Senate and House committees on the resources needed to establish the Center, how it would carry out its functions, and an estimate of the costs and appropriations required. The Center's functions would include reviewing available leak-detection technology that can find very-low-volume leaks in hazardous liquid pipelines, researching the operational, economic, and technical feasibility of adopting such technology, serving as a repository of best practices and expertise on hazardous liquid leak detection, and other Secretary-assigned duties. The Secretary would have to jointly operate the Center with the nearby university and provide it necessary administrative support. Within 3 years after the Center is established, it would have to report its findings on low-volume leak detection technology to the appropriate committees of Congress.
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502. National Center of Excellence for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Leak Detection. Sec.
503Operator financial disclosure
This section would require an operator of a pipeline facility to notify the Secretary within 7 calendar days after filing a bankruptcy petition under chapter 7 or 11 of title 11.
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503. Operator financial disclosure. Sec.
504Data and transparency
This section would require the Secretary, within 1 year after enactment and at least annually after that, to publish on a public website summary data on pipeline leaks that operators must report in their annual reports to the Administration.
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504. Data and transparency. Sec.
505Office of Public Engagement
This section would establish, within the Administration and within 1 year after enactment, an Office of Public Engagement, as a new subsection (h) of section 108 of title 49. The Office would be led by a Director who reports to the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety and is responsible for the Office's functions, appoints and assigns the Office's employees while prioritizing hiring people with community engagement experience, and brings the agency's existing community liaison staff into the Office. The Office would coordinate technical and educational assistance to the public regarding the Administration's authorities, and would coordinate ongoing public engagement, including outreach through public postings, signage, newspaper notices, utility bill inserts, mailings, phone calls, canvassing, door hangers, and meetings when appropriate; helping people resolve pipeline safety inquiries; publicizing how the public can file such inquiries; helping direct inquiries outside the Administration's jurisdiction to agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or state agencies; and preparing accessible educational materials about the Administration, its responsibilities, and how they interact with other government agencies.
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505. Office of Public Engagement. Sec.
506Clarification of confirmed discovery
This section would require the Secretary, within 2 years after enactment, to review the definition of confirmed discovery that the Administration uses for accident and incident reporting to the National Response Center and the Secretary, for establishing communication with first responders and officials, for immediate notice requirements, and for other related purposes, and to review, for every accident or incident reported to the National Response Center in the 5 years before enactment, how long it took operators to determine an event met that definition, what methods they used to confirm it, and how long it then took them to report it. The Secretary would have to report the review's findings, including those incident-by-incident details, to the appropriate committees of Congress. Separately, this section would add two new factors the Secretary must consider in setting civil penalties under section 60122(b)(1): how quickly the operator notified emergency responders, including reducing penalties when an incident is reported within 10 minutes of a suspected release, and how well the operator coordinated in advance with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to make relevant and timely use of existing public alert notification systems.
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506. Clarification of confirmed discovery. Sec.
507Public alert notification system for pipeline facilities
This section would require the Secretary, in consultation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator, to develop voluntary guidance helping pipeline owners and operators coordinate with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to use existing public alert systems, such as FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, to send emergency alerts and guidance by mobile phone, radio, or television to a targeted local area during a pipeline emergency. Any procedures an operator adopts under this guidance would have to be built into the operator's emergency response plan required under section 60102(d)(5) of title 49.
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507. Public alert notification system for pipeline facilities. TITLE VI—Other matters Sec.
601Prohibition on PHMSA operation, procurement, or contracting action with respect to covered unmanned aircraft systems
This section would add a new section 44815 to title 49 restricting the Administration's use of certain unmanned aircraft systems. A covered unmanned aircraft system is one that is on the Commerce Department's Consolidated Screening List or Entity List, is domiciled in a covered foreign country (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, or Cuba), or is subject to influence or control by one of those countries' governments, or is owned by an entity meeting any of those descriptions. Subject to an exemption, the Administrator could not operate a covered unmanned aircraft system, procure one, or contract with an entity that operates one in performing an Administration contract, as determined by the Secretary of Transportation. The restriction would not apply to operation, procurement, or contracting for intelligence, electronic warfare, or information warfare operations, testing, analysis, or training. The Administrator could waive the restriction case by case by certifying in writing to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the appropriate committees of Congress that the action is required in the public interest of the United States. Subject to available funding, within 1 year after enactment the Administrator would have to replace any covered unmanned aircraft system the Administration owns or operates with one made in the United States or an allied country. Within 180 days after enactment, the Administrator would have to report to the appropriate committees of Congress on the changes made to prevent acquiring covered systems, the number of systems replaced and their prior uses, what replacement systems will be purchased, and their cost.
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601. Prohibition on PHMSA operation, procurement, or contracting action with respect to covered unmanned aircraft systems. Sec.
602Natural gas distribution pipeline infrastructure safety and modernization grants
This section would let the Secretary give grants to publicly owned, non-for-profit natural gas distribution utilities to repair, rehabilitate, or replace their pipeline systems or portions of them, or to buy equipment for such projects, in order to improve pipeline safety. Eligible applicants would submit applications describing their proposed projects, and the Secretary would set award procedures that consider the risk profile of the applicant's existing pipe, including its material, and whether the community has limited ability to invest in infrastructure because of economic conditions such as high poverty, unemployment, or low wages. No single utility could receive more than 12.5 percent of the total funds available under this program, and no more than 2 percent of the amounts appropriated for a fiscal year could go to administrative costs. A grant generally could not cover more than 50 percent of a project's actual cost, except that for projects in areas with fewer than 50,000 residents, the Secretary could raise that share to as much as 80 percent. At least 3 days before announcing which projects are selected, the Secretary would have to give the Senate Commerce Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee a written notice listing all applications reviewed and describing each project to be funded in that round. The section would authorize $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030 to remain available until expended, drawn from general revenues and not from user fees collected under section 60301.
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602. Natural gas distribution pipeline infrastructure safety and modernization grants. Sec.
603Issues affecting federally recognized Indian Tribes
This section would add new definitions of Indian land and Indian Tribe to section 60101 of title 49, drawn from the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, respectively, and would extend a range of existing pipeline safety, consultation, and notification provisions of title 49 to affected Indian Tribes and Tribal officials alongside the state and local officials already covered. Under section 60102, an affected Indian Tribe would be added alongside the entities notified under subsection (c)(4)(A); an appropriate Tribal official from any affected Indian Tribe would be added to the officials involved under subsection (d), and that subsection's geographic references would be extended to cover affected Indian land; Tribal officials from any affected Indian Tribe would be added to the parties covered under subsection (d)(5)(B) and (C); a reference to informing a state under subsection (d)(6) would be extended to also cover informing an affected Indian Tribe or covering affected Indian land; under subsection (h), a reference to 'the appropriate Tribe' would be replaced with 'any affected Indian Tribe with respect to the location,' and a Tribal official would be added as an alternative under paragraph (3)(B) when no relevant commission or committee exists; and Tribal officials would be added to the public officials referenced in subsection (r)(1). Under section 60108(c)(6)(C), Tribal officials from any affected Indian Tribe would be added to those who must receive certain inspection-related information alongside the Secretary. Under section 60109(e)(7)(C), each distribution system operator would have to make its emergency response plan available, within 2 years after enactment, to the Secretary or the relevant certified state authority and also to any affected Indian Tribe; the operator's distribution integrity management plan and its operations, maintenance, and emergency procedural manual would still only have to go to the Secretary or the relevant state authority, without a Tribal-access requirement; and for updates to those documents made after a significant change, the updated emergency response plan would have to be made available for inspection to any affected Indian Tribe as well as to the Secretary or state authority, while the other two documents would still only go to the Secretary or state authority; this provision would not authorize disclosing anything otherwise exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Under section 60112(c), a Tribal official from any affected Indian Tribe would be added alongside affected local officials who must be notified about pipeline facilities hazardous to life and property. Under section 60115(b)(3)(A), Indian Tribes would be added to the entities represented on technical safety standards committees. Under section 60116(b), the deadline tied to the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 would be replaced with a new 1-year deadline from this Act's enactment, and affected Indian Tribes would be added to those who must be advised under that provision. Under section 60117, a Tribal official from any affected Indian Tribe would be added to those involved under subsection (g)(1); Indian Tribes would be added to the parties covered under subsections (i)(1), (i)(2), (l), and (n)(1); and Indian Tribes would be added under subsection (p)(2)(B). Under section 60119(a)(1), Indian Tribes would be explicitly included among those who can seek judicial review as an adversely affected party. Under section 60125(b)(1), affected Indian Tribes would be added alongside local governments as eligible recipients or participants in emergency response grants. Under section 60132, the National Pipeline Mapping System provisions in subsections (c) and (e) would extend from covering state and local governments to also covering Tribal governments. Under section 60133, the environmental review coordination provisions in subsections (a)(5) and (c)(2) would likewise extend from state and local governments to also cover Tribal governments.
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603. Issues affecting federally recognized Indian Tribes. Sec.
604Identification of and justification for redactions
This section would require the Administration, whenever it redacts any part of a document produced to another person, to cite the specific statute that authorizes withholding the redacted information.
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604. Identification of and justification for redactions. Sec.
605Fees for loan guarantees
This section would amend section 116(d) of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act, reorganizing its loan guarantee provisions under new headings for loan terms and duration without changing the substance of the existing text shown here. It would add a new requirement that the Secretary must charge and collect, on or after the financial close of a guaranteed obligation, a fee sufficient to cover the administrative expenses of the guarantee, including the cost of any third-party consultants the Secretary engages; those fees would be deposited into the Treasury and would remain available to the Secretary, without further appropriation, until spent on those administrative expenses. Despite that requirement, and subject to available appropriations, the Secretary could reduce the fee amount for a guarantee. The remaining existing text on debt obligations is not altered in substance by the amendments shown here, only reorganized under a new heading.
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605. Fees for loan guarantees. Sec.
606Improving pipeline cybersecurity
This section would require the Secretary of Homeland Security, within 180 days after enactment, to publish in the Federal Register a final rule under the Enhancing Surface Cyber Risk Management rulemaking (TSA Docket Number TSA-2022-0001, Regulation Identifier Number 1652-AA74) addressing pipeline cybersecurity.
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606. Improving pipeline cybersecurity. Sec.
607Technical corrections
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607. Technical corrections. 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administration The term Administration means the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. (2) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Administration. (3) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; (B) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and (C) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (4) Document produced to another person The term document produced to another person means a document produced in response to a request under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), a submission to a Federal, State, or Tribal court, information made available on a website, and a document transmitted to Congress. (5) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Transportation. I Reauthorizations 101. Gas and hazardous liquid Section 60125(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)— (A) in subparagraph (A)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking $156,400,000 for fiscal year 2021 and inserting $185,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 ; and (ii) in clause (ii), by striking $63,000,000 and inserting $83,250,000 ; (B) in subparagraph (B)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking $158,500,000 for fiscal year 2022 and inserting $190,365,000 for fiscal year 2027 ; and (ii) in clause (ii)— (I) by striking $66,000,000 and inserting $85,660,000 ; and (II) by striking and at the end; (C) in subparagraph (C)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking $162,700,000 for fiscal year 2023 and inserting $195,886,000 for fiscal year 2028 ; and (ii) in clause (ii)— (I) by striking $69,000,000 and inserting $88,150,000 ; and (II) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (D) by adding at the end the following: (D) $201,556,000 for fiscal year 2029, of which— (i) $9,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 ( 49 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355 ); and (ii) $90,700,000 shall be used for making grants; and (E) $207,412,000 for fiscal year 2030, of which— (i) $9,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 ( 49 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355 ); and (ii) $93,340,000 shall be used for making grants. ; (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) in subparagraph (A)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and inserting $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 ; and (ii) in clause (ii), by striking $11,000,000 and inserting $13,500,000 ; (B) in subparagraph (B)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking $27,650,000 for fiscal year 2022 and inserting $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 ; and (ii) in clause (ii)— (I) by striking $12,000,000 and inserting $13,950,000 ; and (II) by striking and at the end; (C) in subparagraph (C)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking $28,700,000 for fiscal year 2023 and inserting $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2028 ; and (ii) in clause (ii)— (I) by striking $13,000,000 and inserting $14,400,000 ; and (II) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (D) by adding at the end the following: (D) $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2029, of which— (i) $3,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 ( 49 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355 ); and (ii) $14,850,000 shall be used for making grants; and (E) 34,000,000 for fiscal year 2030, of which— (i) $3,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 ( 49 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355 ); and (ii) $15,300,000 shall be used for making grants. ; and (3) in paragraph (3), by striking $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 and inserting $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 . 102. Operational expenses of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the necessary operational expenses of the Administration— (1) $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; (2) $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; (3) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; (4) $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2029; and (5) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2030. 103. Other programs (a) Emergency response grants Section 60125(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to carry out this subsection and inserting to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 . (b) Pipeline safety information grants to communities Section 60130 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (c)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking section 2(b) of the PIPES Act of 2016 ( Public Law 114–183 ; 130 Stat. 515), the Secretary shall use $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to carry out this section. and inserting the following: “section 60125(a)(1), the Secretary shall use to carry out this section— (A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; (B) $2,750,000 for fiscal year 2027; (C) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; (D) $3,250,000 for fiscal year 2029; and (E) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2030. ; and (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) by striking $1,000,000 ; and (ii) by striking section. and inserting the following: “section— (A) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; (B) $1,250,000 for fiscal year 2027; (C) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2028; (D) $1,750,000 for fiscal year 2029; and (E) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2030. ; (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: (d) Deadlines (1) Notice of Funding Opportunity Not later than 60 days after the date on which funds are made available to carry out this section, the Secretary shall publish a notice of funding opportunity for the funds. (2) Applications To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible applicant shall submit to the Secretary an application— (A) in such form and containing such information as the Secretary considers to be appropriate; and (B) by such date as the Secretary may establish, subject to the condition that the date shall be not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary publishes the notice of funding opportunity under paragraph (1). (3) Selection Not later than 120 days after the date on which the Secretary publishes the notice of funding opportunity under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall announce the selection by the Secretary of eligible applicants to receive grants in accordance with this section. . (c) Damage prevention programs Section 60134(i) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023. Such funds shall remain and inserting $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to remain . (d) Pipeline integrity program Section 12(f) of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 ( 49 U.S.C. 60101 note; Public Law 107–355 ) is amended— (1) by striking $3,000,000 and inserting $2,500,000 ; and (2) by striking the fiscal years 2021 through 2023 and inserting fiscal years 2026 through 2030 . II Modernizing pipeline safety 201. Inspection of in-service breakout tanks (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise part 195 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to allow for risk-based inspections of in-service breakout tanks if the Secretary finds such revisions maintain or enhance safety. (b) Considerations In revising the regulations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider the American Petroleum Institute standard entitled Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction , dated November 2014, and numbered API Standard 653 (Fifth Edition) (or a successor standard). (c) Requirements In revising the regulations under subsection (a), for any in-service breakout tanks that would be internally inspected less frequently under the revised regulations than required under part 195 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on January 1, 2025), the Secretary shall require operators— (1) to visually monitor the external conditions of those tanks on a routine basis; and (2) to use a secondary containment system designed to contain hazardous liquids in the event of a leak. (d) Notification If the regulations promulgated under subsection (a) differ from the American Petroleum Institute standard referred to in subsection (b), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a notification explaining the reasons for the differences not later than 60 days after the date on which the regulations are published in the Federal Register. 202. Risk assessment obligations Section 60102(b)(4)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in clause (i), by striking and at the end; (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (iii) require that an officer or employee of the Department of Transportation with expertise in conducting risk assessments or cost-benefit analyses for pipeline facilities or other modes of transportation attend any meeting in which a committee described in clause (i) is serving as a peer review panel with respect to that risk assessment information. . 203. Timely incorporation by reference Section 60102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (l) and inserting the following: (l) Updating standards (1) In general Not less frequently than once every 5 years, the Secretary shall— (A) review each industry consensus standard— (i) that has been adopted or incorporated, partially or in full, as part of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program under this chapter; (ii) that has been modified by a standards development organization (as defined in section 2(a) of the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993 ( 15 U.S.C. 4301(a) )) since being adopted or incorporated; and (iii) the modification of which has been published by a standards development organization (as defined in that section); and (B) update, as determined necessary by the Secretary, the adoption or incorporation of each industry consensus standard reviewed under subparagraph (A). (2) List of industry standards (A) In general The Secretary shall maintain a publicly available list of all industry standards considered for adoption or incorporation under this chapter, including— (i) the determination of the Secretary with respect to each standard considered; and (ii) with respect to each standard not adopted or incorporated in full, the reasoning for not adopting or incorporating that standard in full. (B) Availability Not later than 30 days after initial completion and each revision of the list under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall publish the list on the public website of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. (3) Consideration of industry consensus standards In prescribing new safety standards under this chapter, the Secretary shall consider adopting or incorporating industry consensus standards. (4) Public access (A) In general For all industry consensus standards incorporated or partially incorporated under this chapter on or after the date of enactment of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 , the Secretary shall publish on the public website of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration the full text of the standard or a direct link to an external source where the full text is available to the public on a website to view at no cost for the duration of time that the Secretary has the incorporation by reference available for public comment. (B) Exception If the full text of an industry consensus standard is not published on the public website of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration or available from that website via a direct link to an external source where the full text is available to the public on a website to view at no cost for the duration of time that the Secretary has the incorporation by reference available for public comment, then the Secretary shall not incorporate or partially incorporate under this chapter that industry consensus standard by reference. (C) Previously incorporated standards For industry consensus standards incorporated or partially incorporated under this chapter before the date of enactment of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 that are publicly available on a public-facing website at no charge to the public, the Secretary shall publish on the public website of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration the full text of the standard or a direct link to an external source where the full text is available to the public on a website. . 204. Report on updates to the National Pipeline Mapping System (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the management of the National Pipeline Mapping System by the Administration. (b) Contents The report submitted under subsection (a) shall describe— (1) how and when the Administration updates the high consequence area data contained in the National Pipeline Mapping System; (2) what sources of scientific data are used for those updates; and (3) how those data are validated for accuracy. (c) Rulemaking Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking to require that the information submitted under section 60132(a) of title 49, United States Code, has a spatial accuracy within a radius of 50 feet from the location of the facility (+/− 50 feet). 205. Pipeline safety enhancement programs Section 60142 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking 3 years after the date of enactment of this section and inserting 5 years after the date of enactment of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 ; (2) in subsection (d)— (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting or equal to after greater than ; and (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: (2) Determination (A) In general To accomplish the purpose of a testing program, the Secretary may issue an order waiving compliance with any part of an applicable standard prescribed under this chapter if the condition described in paragraph (1) is met, as determined by the Secretary. (B) Limitation The Secretary shall not require testing program applicants to use the nonemergency waiver process, or to otherwise meet the requirements of the nonemergency waiver process, established under section 60118(c)(1). ; (3) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following: (h) Authority To terminate program (1) In general The Secretary shall immediately terminate a testing program under subsection (a) if continuation of the testing program would not be consistent with the goals and objectives of this chapter. (2) Notification Not later than 10 days after the termination of a testing program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall notify the relevant pipeline operators of how they can cure any deficiencies identified by the Secretary. (3) Reinstatement If the Secretary determines that the deficiencies identified under paragraph (2) are addressed, the Secretary shall reinstate the testing program. ; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (m) Approval process Establishment of a testing program under subsection (a) shall not be considered a major Federal action (as defined in section 111 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4336e )) for purposes of that Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ). . 206. Technical safety standards committees (a) Notification to Congress Section 60115(c)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the fifth sentence, by inserting and notify the appropriate committees of Congress (as defined in section 2 of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 ) after the Secretary shall publish the reasons . (b) Frequency of meetings Section 60115(e) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking up to 4 and inserting 2 . 207. Enforcement procedures (a) In general Section 60117(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subparagraph (B)— (A) in clause (i), by striking or at the end; (B) in clause (ii), by adding or after the semicolon at the end; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (iii) to allow a recipient of a warning under section 190.205 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), to discuss claims made in the warning with relevant staff; ; (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking and at the end; (3) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (K) for civil penalties over $1,000,000, adjusted each year for inflation, allow the respondent to request a formal hearing in accordance with section 554 of title 5, conducted by an administrative law judge; and (L) provide a written response to a request for the withdrawal or modification of a written warning issued under this section. . (b) Hearings Section 60117(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: (2) Hearing requirements A hearing under this section shall— (A) be noticed to the public on the website of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on its own page titled Upcoming Enforcement Hearings ; (B) provide an orderly and timely process, as determined by the Secretary; (C) in the case of a formal hearing, be open to the public. . (c) Rulemaking Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall update the regulations prescribing protocols for all hearings under section 60117 of title 49, United States Code. 208. Civil penalties Section 60122(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the first sentence, by striking $200,000 and inserting $400,000 ; and (2) in the third sentence, by striking $2,000,000 and inserting $4,000,000 . 209. Improving whistleblower protections Section 60129 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(2)— (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking or at the end; (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking such a person. and inserting a person described in subparagraph (A); or ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (C) an officer, employee, or agent of a person described in subparagraph (A). ; and (2) in subsection (b)(3)(B)— (A) in clause (ii), by inserting with interest after back pay ; and (B) in clause (iii), by inserting , including compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination after compensatory damages to the complainant . 210. Assessment of composite materials (a) In general The Administrator shall gather and assess any studies, data, standards, and approved applications available as of the date of enactment of this Act that address the safety of composite materials to support the safe transportation of— (1) natural gas; (2) natural gas liquids; (3) new fuels, such as hydrogen and hydrogen blended with natural gas; and (4) new fluids, such as carbon dioxide. (b) Deadline The assessment under subsection (a) shall be completed not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. (c) Report Not later than 30 days after completing the assessment under subsection (a), the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the conclusions of the assessment. (d) Rulemaking (1) In general If the Administrator concludes, based on the assessment under subsection (a), that composite materials provide, at a minimum, an equivalent level of safety as other pipelines under the jurisdiction of the Administration, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations, not later than 180 days after the date on which the report under subsection (c) is submitted, that allow for the use of composite materials for the transportation of new fuels. (2) Incorporation of existing standards The regulations promulgated under paragraph (1) may include adoption or incorporation by reference of existing industry consensus standards. 211. Elements and evaluation of State damage prevention programs (a) In general Section 60134 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b)— (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting State before Damage ; (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (9) as subparagraphs (A) through (I), respectively; (C) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking An and inserting the following: (1) In general An ; (D) in paragraph (1) (as so designated)— (i) by indenting subparagraphs (A) through (I) appropriately; and (ii) by adding at the end the following: (J) A State one-call program that includes, or is making substantial progress toward including, the one-call leading practices described in paragraph (2). ; and (E) by adding at the end the following: (2) One-call leading practices The one-call leading practices referred to in paragraph (1)(J) are the following: (A) Restricting the size or scope of a one-call ticket for standard locate requests (which may include process exceptions for special large project tickets). (B) Restricting the longevity of a one-call ticket for standard locate requests (which may include process exceptions for special large project tickets). (C) Specifying tolerance (soft-dig only) zone horizontal dimensions. (D) Specifying tolerance zone requirements. (E) Specifying emergency excavation notification requirements. (F) Specifying the responsibilities of excavators, including the reporting of damages or suspected damages. (G) Defining who is an excavator and what is considered excavation. (H) Requiring the use of white-lining. (I) Requiring a positive response before excavation begins, such as a utility, municipality, or other entity that places the relevant marks positively responding to the notification center, and the excavator checking for that positive response before beginning excavation. (J) Requiring that newly installed underground facilities be locatable with commercially available technology. (K) Requiring the marking of sewer lines and laterals. (L) Specifying the qualifications of, and requirements for, those excavators performing trenchless excavation activities that are not subject to pipeline construction requirements under part 192 or 195 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). ; and (2) in subsection (c)— (A) by striking In and inserting the following: (1) In general In ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (2) Evaluation criteria The evaluation criteria used by the Secretary for determining the effectiveness of a State damage prevention program shall include consideration of whether the State, at a minimum— (A) engages in effective, active, and meaningful enforcement of State one-call laws, including the efficacy of fines and penalties; (B) requires reporting to the local one-call center of excavation damage events that affect pipelines and other underground facilities that are not privately owned, including (to the extent available at the time of the reporting)— (i) information about the nature of the incident, including its apparent cause; (ii) the organizations involved; (iii) the impact to public safety, utility operations, and customer service; and (iv) the impact to the environment; and (C) limits exemptions to State damage prevention laws. . (b) Conforming amendment Section 60114(f) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking section 60134(b)(7) and inserting section 60134(b)(1)(G) . 212. Pipeline safety voluntary information-sharing system (a) In general Chapter 601 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 60144. Voluntary information-sharing system (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. (2) Governing Board The term Governing Board means the governing board established under subsection (d)(1). (3) Issue Analysis Team The term Issue Analysis Team means an Issue Analysis Team established under subsection (g)(1). (4) Program Manager The term Program Manager means the Program Manager described in subsection (e). (5) Third-Party Data Manager The term Third-Party Data Manager means the Third-Party Data Manager appointed under subsection (f)(1). (6) VIS The term VIS means the voluntary information-sharing system established under subsection (b)(1). (b) Establishment (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a confidential and nonpunitive voluntary information-sharing system to encourage the sharing of pipeline safety data and information in order to improve the safety of gas transmission pipelines, gas distribution pipelines, liquefied natural gas facilities, underground natural gas storage facilities, and hazardous liquid pipelines. (2) Requirement The VIS shall be implemented and managed in accordance with the report entitled Pipeline Safety Voluntary Information-Sharing System Recommendation Report prepared under section 10 of the PIPES Act of 2016 ( 49 U.S.C. 60108 note; Public Law 114–183 ) by the Voluntary Information Sharing System Working Group convened under that section. (3) Purpose The purpose of the VIS shall be to serve as a comprehensive and integrated system— (A) to gather, evaluate, and quantify critical pipeline safety data and information; and (B) to share recommended remediation measures and lessons learned across the pipeline industry in an efficient and confidential manner. (c) Governance The VIS shall be governed, in accordance with this section, by the Governing Board, with support from— (1) the Program Manager; (2) the Third-Party Data Manager; and (3) 1 or more Issue Analysis Teams. (d) Governing board (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator, after consulting with public and private pipeline safety stakeholders, shall establish a governing board for the VIS. (2) Composition (A) In general The Governing Board shall be composed of 15 members who shall represent a balanced cross-section of pipeline safety stakeholders, in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C). (B) Representation The Governing Board shall be composed of the following members: (i) 5 individuals selected from relevant pipeline safety departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the Federal Government or State or territorial governments, 1 of whom shall be the Administrator (or a designee of the Administrator). (ii) 5 individuals selected from the gas or hazardous liquid industries, such as individuals representing or otherwise associated with— (I) operators; (II) trade associations; (III) inspection technology, coating, or cathodic protection vendors; (IV) standards development organizations; (V) research and development consortia; or (VI) pipeline inspection organizations. (iii) 5 individuals selected from general public safety advocacy organizations with relevant pipeline safety expertise, including— (I) pipeline safety and environmental public interest groups; (II) public institutions of higher education with pipeline safety expertise; and (III) nonprofit employee labor organizations. (C) Requirements (i) Pipeline industry At least 1 member of the Governing Board appointed under subparagraph (B)(ii) shall be a representative of the pipeline industry. (ii) Pipeline safety public interest groups At least 1 member of the Governing Board appointed under subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be a representative of a pipeline safety public interest group. (3) Terms (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each member of the Governing Board shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. (B) Initial members In appointing the initial members of the Governing Board, the Administrator shall appoint members to terms of 1, 2, or 3 years to ensure that each year thereafter— (i) the terms of 5 members will expire; and (ii) the term of not less than 1 and not more than 2 members described in each of clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph (2)(B) will expire. (C) Reappointment A member or former member of the Governing Board appointed under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (2)(B) may be reappointed, but may only serve for a total of 3 terms. (4) Co-chairs (A) In general The Governing Board shall be co-chaired by— (i) the Administrator (or a designee of the Administrator); (ii) a representative of the pipeline industry appointed under paragraph (2)(B)(ii), who shall be appointed co-chair by the Administrator, with the advice and consent of the Governing Board; and (iii) a representative of a pipeline safety public interest group, who shall be appointed co-chair by the Administrator, with the advice and consent of the Governing Board. (B) Responsibilities of co-chairs The co-chairs shall be jointly responsible for organizing and conducting meetings of the Governing Board. (5) Authority The Governing Board shall have authority— (A) to govern and provide strategic oversight of the VIS; (B) to develop governance documents, including a charter for the Governing Board that shall— (i) be made available to the public; and (ii) describe— (I) the scope of the authority of the Governing Board; and (II) the objectives of the Governing Board; (C) to select and appoint the Third-Party Data Manager in accordance with subsection (f); (D) to approve the criteria and procedures governing how the Third-Party Data Manager will receive and accept pipeline safety data and information; (E) to establish, and appoint members of, Issue Analysis Teams in accordance with subsection (g); (F) to collaborate with Issue Analysis Teams to identify issues and topics to be analyzed by the Issue Analysis Teams; (G) to collaborate with Issue Analysis Teams to specify the type of pipeline safety data and information necessary for the Issue Analysis Teams to analyze the issues and topics identified under subparagraph (F); (H) to determine the information to be disseminated by the VIS; (I) to determine the reports to be disseminated by the VIS; (J) to issue, not less frequently than annually, publicly available reports on— (i) VIS processes; (ii) the membership of the Governing Board; (iii) issues and topics being investigated and analyzed by Issue Analysis Teams or the Governing Board; (iv) pipeline safety data and information that the VIS has requested for submission to the VIS; and (v) safety trends identified by the Administrator, Issue Analysis Teams, or the Governing Board; and (K) to perform such other functions that the Governing Board determines are— (i) necessary or appropriate; and (ii) consistent with the purpose of the VIS described in subsection (b)(3). (6) Decisionmaking (A) In general Decisions and approvals of the Governing Board shall be made by a super-majority of the members, as described in subparagraph (B). (B) Supermajority described A supermajority referred to in subparagraph (A) shall consist of not fewer than— (i) 2⁄3 of the total members of the Governing Board; and (ii) 1 additional member of the Governing Board. (e) Program manager (1) In general The Administrator (or a designee of the Administrator) shall serve as the Program Manager for the VIS. (2) Responsibilities The Program Manager shall provide the day-to-day program management and administrative support for the VIS, including oversight of the Third-Party Data Manager. (f) Third-Party Data Manager (1) In general The Governing Board shall appoint a Third-Party Data Manager to provide data management and data oversight services for the VIS. (2) Qualifications The Third-Party Data Manager shall have expertise in data protection, aggregation, and analytics. (3) Responsibilities In carrying out the services described in paragraph (1), the Third-Party Data Manager shall— (A) receive and secure pipeline safety data and information submitted to the VIS; (B) accept pipeline safety data and information submitted to the VIS that meets the criteria and procedures approved by the Governing Board under subsection (d)(5)(D); (C) de-identify, store, and manage pipeline safety data and information that is accepted by the VIS; (D) collaborate with Issue Analysis Teams to analyze and aggregate pipeline safety data and information that is accepted by the VIS; (E) prepare reports as requested by the Governing Board regarding the type of pipeline safety data and information that is managed by the VIS; and (F) make recommendations to the Governing Board regarding the management of pipeline safety data and information by the VIS, as appropriate. (g) Issue Analysis Teams (1) In general The Governing Board shall establish, and appoint the members of, 1 or more Issue Analysis Teams as the Governing Board determines to be appropriate and relevant to the pipeline safety work of the VIS. (2) Qualifications An Issue Analysis Team established under paragraph (1) shall— (A) subject to subparagraph (B), consist of pipeline safety technical and subject matter experts; and (B) may include, as appropriate, representatives from public safety advocacy organizations described in subsection (d)(2)(B)(iii). (3) Responsibilities An Issue Analysis Team shall— (A) work with the Third-Party Data Manager to aggregate and analyze pipeline safety data and information submitted to the VIS relating to the issues and topics analyzed by the Issue Analysis Team; and (B) submit internal reports and recommendations to the Governing Board on those issues and topics. (h) Application of FACA Chapter 10 of title 5 (commonly referred to as the Federal Advisory Committee Act ) shall not apply to— (1) the VIS; (2) the Governing Board; or (3) any Issue Analysis Team. (i) Participation in the VIS (1) In general The submission of data and information to the VIS by any person shall be voluntary, with no person compelled to participate in, or to submit data or information to any person for inclusion in, the VIS. (2) Requirement The VIS shall not accept data or information relating to an operator if the operator has not authorized the submission of that data or information for inclusion in the VIS. (3) Encouraging information sharing The Governing Board shall encourage the voluntary sharing of pipeline safety data and information among— (A) operators of gas transmission, gas distribution, and hazardous liquid pipelines; (B) employees of those operators; (C) labor unions representing those employees; (D) contractors of the operators described in subparagraph (A); (E) in-line inspection service providers; (F) non-destructive evaluation experts; (G) the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; and (H) representatives of— (i) State pipeline safety agencies; (ii) relevant Tribal agencies; (iii) pipeline safety public interest groups; (iv) manufacturers of gas transmission, gas distribution, and hazardous liquid pipeline infrastructure and equipment; and (v) relevant research and academic institutions. (4) Limitation on inclusion of data and information in the VIS Pipeline safety data and information accepted by the Third-Party Data Manager for inclusion in the VIS under subsection (f)(3)(B) shall be related to the issues and topics identified by the Governing Board for analysis by an Issue Analysis Team under subsection (d)(5)(F). (5) Types of data and information included in the VIS Pipeline safety data and information accepted by the Third-Party Data Manager for inclusion in the VIS under subsection (f)(3)(B) may include— (A) pipeline integrity risk analysis information; (B) lessons learned from accidents and near misses; (C) process improvements; (D) technology deployment practices; (E) information obtained through VIS pipeline safety surveys of pipeline operator employees, subject to the condition that such surveys are voluntarily agreed to by the pipeline operator; (F) pipeline safety data and information which may lead to the identification of pipeline safety risks, as specified by the Governing Board; and (G) any other relevant data or information, as determined by the Governing Board. (j) Confidentiality (1) In general To facilitate the sharing of otherwise nonpublic pipeline safety data and information with the VIS, the data and information accepted, stored, managed, analyzed, or produced by the VIS— (A) shall be kept confidential by the VIS; and (B) except as otherwise provided in this section, is not subject to disclosure by the VIS under any other law. (2) Prohibition Except as provided in paragraph (3), no person, including the Program Manager, the Third-Party Data Manager, any member of the Governing Board, and any member of an Issue Analysis Team, and no Federal, State, local, or Tribal agency having or obtaining access to nonpublic information accepted, analyzed, stored, managed, or produced by the VIS may release or communicate that nonpublic information from the VIS, either in an identified or de-identified form, to any person who does not have the authority to view VIS data. (3) Exception (A) In general Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) and subsections (k) and (l), on approval by the Governing Board under subparagraph (B), the Governing Board or the Administrator may disclose de-identified nonpublic information obtained by the VIS. (B) Approval Approval to disclose de-identified nonpublic information under subparagraph (A)— (i) shall be based on an analysis of the de-identified nonpublic information; and (ii) may, in the sole discretion of the Governing Board, consist of any safety findings or recommendations that the Governing Board determines to publish or authorizes the Administrator to publish to improve pipeline safety. (C) Public reports In issuing public reports under subsection (d)(5)(J), the Governing Board shall approve the disclosure of de-identified nonpublic information obtained by the VIS that the Governing Board determines is necessary to adequately describe and illustrate the issues and topics being investigated and analyzed by Issue Analysis Teams or the Governing Board. (4) Savings provision This subsection does not apply to public information that may be submitted to the VIS. (k) Applicability of FOIA (1) Exemption Any nonpublic information that is accepted, stored, managed, analyzed, or produced by the VIS and subsequently obtained by the Secretary or the Administrator from the VIS is exempt from the requirements of section 552 of title 5. (2) Applicability For purposes of paragraph (1), this section shall be considered to be a statute described in section 552(b)(3)(B) of title 5. (l) Exclusion of VIS information in litigation and other proceedings (1) Excluded evidence Except as provided in paragraph (3), any nonpublic information that is accepted, stored, managed, analyzed, or produced by the VIS may not be obtained from the VIS— (A) for use as evidence for any purpose in any Federal, State, local, Tribal, or private litigation, including any action or proceeding; or (B) to initiate any enforcement action or civil litigation against a pipeline operator or the employees or contractors of a pipeline operator relating to a probable violation under this chapter (including any regulation promulgated or order issued under this chapter). (2) Exclusion from discovery Except as provided in paragraph (3), any nonpublic information that is accepted, stored, managed, analyzed, or produced by the VIS shall not be subject to discovery from the VIS in any Federal, State, local, Tribal, or private litigation or other proceeding. (3) Limitations on exclusions The exclusions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to data or information that— (A) is evidence of a criminal violation; (B) is not related to the purpose of the VIS described in subsection (b)(3); (C) is otherwise required to be reported to the Secretary under part 190, 191 (including information about an incident or accident), 192, 194, 195, or 199 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); (D) is required to be reported to a State authority under State pipeline safety laws; or (E) is developed or obtained from a source other than the VIS, including through discovery from a person or an entity other than the VIS in an enforcement action or private litigation. (m) Effect on discovery Except as provided in subsection (l)(2), nothing in this section or any rule or regulation promulgated under this section— (1) creates a defense to a discovery request; or (2) otherwise limits or affects the discovery of pipeline safety data and information arising from a cause of action authorized under any other Federal, State, or local law. (n) Savings provision Nothing in this section affects any Federal, State, or local pipeline safety law. (o) Annual reports Each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, by the end of that fiscal year, a report on the status of the VIS. (p) Funding (1) Sustainable funding The Secretary shall— (A) explore sustainable funding sources for the VIS, including public-private partnerships; and (B) to the maximum extent practicable, sustainably fund the VIS through the use of those sustainable funding sources. (2) Limited additional funding In addition to the fees collected under section 60301, the Secretary may collect an additional $5,000,000 under that section for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027 to establish, implement, and manage the VIS. . (b) Definitions Section 60101(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through (26) as paragraphs (18), (19), (20), (25), (26), (27), (22), (23), (24), and (28), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so as to appear in numerical order; (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the following: (17) Nonpublic information The term nonpublic information means any pipeline safety data or information, regardless of form or format, that— (A) a company does not disclose, disseminate, or make available to the public; or (B) is not otherwise in the public domain. ; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (20) (as so redesignated) the following: (21) Public information The term public information means any data or information, regardless of form or format, that— (A) a company discloses, disseminates, or makes available to the public; or (B) is otherwise in the public domain. . (c) Clerical amendment The analysis for chapter 601 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 60144. Voluntary information-sharing system. . (d) Conforming amendments (1) Section 70012(c) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking section 60101(a)(18) and inserting section 60101(a) . (2) Section 60102(q)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking subsection (a)(21) and inserting subsection (a)(26) . 213. Transporting gas Section 60101(a)(26) of title 49, United States Code (as redesignated by section 212(b)(1)), is amended— (1) by striking the paragraph designation and all that follows through (A) means in subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: (26) Transporting gas (A) In general The term transporting gas means ; (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ; but and inserting a period; and (3) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following: (B) Exclusions The term transporting gas does not include— (i) gathering gas (except through regulated gathering lines) in a rural area outside a populated area designated by the Secretary as a nonrural area; or (ii) the movement of gas by the owner or operator of a plant for use as a fuel, a feedstock, or for any other purpose that directly supports plant operations through— (I) in-plant piping systems that are located entirely on the grounds of the plant; or (II) transfer piping systems that extend less than 1 mile in length outside the grounds of the plant. . 214. Inspection and management of rights-of-way (a) Inspection of rights-of-Way Section 60108 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Inspection of rights-of-Way (1) In general When requiring an operator to inspect the surface conditions on or adjacent to a pipeline right-of-way, the Secretary shall allow the use of unmanned aircraft systems and satellites. (2) Savings provision Nothing in this subsection affects any obligation to operate an unmanned aircraft system in accordance with all relevant Federal laws relating to the use of unmanned aircraft systems. . (b) Management of rights-of-Way Section 60108(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking (1) Each and inserting the following: (1) In general Each ; (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) by striking (2) If and inserting the following: (2) Revision If ; (B) by indenting subparagraphs (A) through (E) appropriately; and (C) in subparagraph (D), by indenting clauses (i) through (iii) appropriately; (3) in paragraph (3), by indenting the paragraph, and each subparagraph within the paragraph, appropriately; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (4) Alternative methods of maintaining rights-of-way (A) In general As part of the review conducted under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall allow for an alternative method of maintaining rights-of-way for pipelines and other pipeline facilities under a voluntary program carried out by the operator if the Secretary determines that the alternative method— (i) achieves a level of safety at least equal to the level of safety required by the regulations promulgated under this chapter; and (ii) allows for timely emergency response. (B) Purpose An operator considering implementing an alternative method described in subparagraph (A) may consider incorporating into the plan for implementing that method 1 or more conservation practices, including— (i) integrated vegetation management practices, including reduced mowing; (ii) the development of habitat and forage for pollinators and other wildlife through seeding or planting of diverse native forbs and grasses; (iii) practices relating to maintenance strategies that promote early successional vegetation or limit disturbance during periods of highest use by target pollinator species and other wildlife on pipeline or facility rights-of-way, including— (I) increasing mowing height; (II) reducing mowing frequency; and (III) refraining from mowing monarch and other pollinator habitat during periods in which monarchs or other pollinators are present; (iv) an integrated vegetation management plan that may include approaches such as mechanical tree and brush removal and targeted and judicious use of herbicides and mowing to address incompatible or undesirable vegetation while promoting compatible and beneficial vegetation on pipeline and facility rights-of-way; (v) planting or seeding of deeply rooted, regionally appropriate perennial grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed, to enhance habitat; (vi) removing shallow-rooted grasses from planting and seeding mixes, except for use as nurse or cover crops; and (vii) obtaining expert training or assistance on wildlife- and pollinator-friendly practices, including— (I) native plant identification; (II) establishment and management of regionally appropriate native plants; (III) land management practices; and (IV) integrated vegetation management. (C) Consultation (i) Available guidance In developing alternative methods under this paragraph, an operator shall consult any available guidance issued by— (I) the Secretary; or (II) an applicable State agency carrying out compliance activities on behalf of the Secretary in accordance with section 60105. (ii) Leading industry practices In the absence of guidance described in clause (i), an operator may consult leading industry practices and guidance to develop and implement alternative methods under this paragraph. (D) Requirements An operator using an alternative method under this paragraph shall ensure that the alternative inspection plans of the operator continue to ensure that the operator can identify risks to pipeline facilities. (E) Savings provision Nothing in this paragraph exempts an operator from compliance with any applicable requirements under this chapter (including any regulations promulgated under this chapter). . (c) Inspector General review 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall initiate a review of a representative sample of the inspection and maintenance plans of operators that have utilized alternative methods of maintaining rights-of-way under section 60108(a)(4) of title 49, United States Code, to determine— (1) whether reduced mowing has limited the ability of pipeline operators to assess risks to pipeline facilities; (2) with respect to any incidents that have occurred on the relevant pipeline facilities, whether reduced mowing hindered— (A) the ability of operators to identify a risk that was related to the incident; or (B) the ability for operators and emergency responders to respond to an incident; and (3) whether the alternative methods of maintaining rights-of-way have impacted pipeline safety. (d) Technical correction Section 60108(e) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the subsection heading, by striking In general and inserting Post-inspection briefing and preliminary findings . 215. Geological hazards (a) Inspection and maintenance plans Section 60108(a)(2)(D) of title 49, United States Code (as amended by section 214(b)(2)), is amended— (1) in clause (ii), by striking and at the end; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (iv) mitigation of threats posed by geological hazards; and . (b) Geological hazard mitigation report (1) In general Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall prepare a report that— (A) identifies geological hazards that may cause a pipeline to move or be affected by abnormal external loads, including landslides, volcanic activity, earthquakes, and scouring; (B) evaluates any industry consensus standards or best practices relating to hazards described in subparagraph (A); (C) evaluates existing Federal requirements for pipeline facility design, construction, operations, maintenance, and integrity that relate to mitigation of geological hazards; and (D) makes recommendations to improve geological hazard mitigation based on the findings of the report. (2) Submission On completion of the report under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall submit the report to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress. (c) Regulatory review Not later than 1 year after completion of the report under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall review, and may update, as appropriate, existing regulations and policy guidance that addresses the safety of gas, hazardous liquid, and carbon dioxide pipeline facilities to include consideration of threats posed by geological hazards. 216. Alternative technologies (a) Request for proposals Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator shall— (1) issue a request for proposals to identify potential alternative technologies that, if used by operators, will meet the intent of an existing pipeline safety regulation and provide an equal or greater level of pipeline safety; and (2) allow the public the opportunity to comment on those proposals. (b) Regulations If the Secretary determines that a technology that is commercially available would meet the intent of an existing pipeline safety regulation and provide an equal or greater level of pipeline safety, the Administrator may issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to update the relevant regulations to allow operators to adopt the use of such technology. 217. Fire shutoff valves Section 60110 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Fire shutoff valves or equivalent technology (1) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Equivalent technology The term equivalent technology means any technology that— (i) is not an excess flow valve; and (ii) meets the performance standard of shutting off gas on a service line of a distribution system to a dwelling or other building in the event of a fire. (B) Fire-first ignition The term fire-first ignition means an occurrence in which a fire originating from a foreign source causes a natural gas system to fail, release, or ignite. (C) Fire safety valve The term fire safety valve means— (i) a fire shutoff valve; and (ii) any equivalent technology. (D) Fire shutoff valve The term fire shutoff valve means a spring-loaded plug that is held in place by a fusible link that— (i) is made of a low-melting-point alloy; (ii) is attached to a gas source; and (iii) melts when exposed to fire, causing the spring-loaded plug to close, shutting off the gas to a dwelling or other building connected to a service line of a distribution system. (2) Study (A) In general Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall complete a study on the effectiveness of fire safety valves in order to determine the ability of fire safety valves to improve public safety through mitigation of secondary ignitions, such as fire-first ignitions. (B) Requirements The study under subparagraph (A) shall evaluate— (i) various scenarios and applications for deploying fire safety valves; (ii) the current incidence of fire-first ignition of natural gas distribution pipelines; (iii) anticipated reduction of fire-first ignition risk under various fire safety valve deployment scenarios, including— (I) lowering the likelihood of gas ignition; and (II) lowering the impact and damage of fire-first ignition incidents; (iv) the long-term durability, construction, and effectiveness of fire safety valves; and (v) the commercial availability of fire safety valves for the pipeline industry. (3) Rulemaking After completing the study described in paragraph (2), the Secretary may prescribe risk-based standards on the circumstances under which an operator of a natural gas distribution system shall be required to install fire shutoff valves or equivalent technologies in the system. . 218. Exemption from post-accident testing Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall update the regulations of the Administration to provide that a covered employee (as defined in section 199.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)) whose previous performance of a covered function (as defined in that section (or a successor regulation)) takes place outside of the time frame during which the use of prohibited drugs or alcohol can be detected by post-accident testing under section 199.105(b) or 199.225(a), as applicable, of that title (or successor regulations)) is exempt from such post-accident testing. 219. Maximum allowable operating pressure records (a) Previously tested transmission lines Until the report required under subsection (b)(1) and the rulemaking required under subsection (c) (if determined necessary by the Secretary) are completed, the Secretary shall not require an owner or operator of a pipeline facility to reconfirm the maximum allowable operating pressure of a natural gas transmission pipeline pursuant to section 192.624 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), if the owner or operator confirms the material strength of the pipeline through prior testing conducted to a sufficient minimum pressure in accordance with prevailing safety standards and practices, including any applicable class location factors, and documented in contemporaneous records. (b) Working group report (1) In general The Secretary shall direct the existing maximum allowable operating pressure working group of the Administration (referred to in this subsection as the working group ) to continue producing a report containing recommendations on the contemporaneous records that are sufficient to confirm the material strength of a natural gas transmission pipeline through prior testing. (2) Composition of working group For purposes of carrying out paragraph (1), the working group shall be composed of the members of the working group as of January 1, 2025. (3) Considerations In preparing the report required under paragraph (1), the working group— (A) shall consider historical practices and all available research conducted regarding minimum pressure and contemporaneous records on transmission pipelines; (B) may consider the need for any additional research or analyses necessary to demonstrate the adequacy of any strength testing performed; and (C) shall consider the investigation, report, and recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board following the San Bruno pipeline explosion. (4) Submission of report Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the working group shall submit to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress the report produced under paragraph (1), including any minority views. (c) Rulemaking (1) In general Not later than 1 year after receiving the report described in subsection (b)(1), if the Secretary determines necessary, the Secretary, after providing notice and opportunity for comment, shall promulgate standards revising the requirements addressing the records necessary to confirm the maximum allowable operating pressure of a natural gas transmission pipeline segment. (2) Limitations The rulemaking under paragraph (1) shall not delay the date by which pipeline operators must comply with maximum allowable operating pressure reconfirmation regulations with respect to their natural gas transmission pipeline segments under section 192.624 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 220. Pipeline operating status Section 60143(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: (1) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 , the Secretary shall promulgate regulations prescribing the applicability of the pipeline safety requirements to— (A) idled natural gas transmission pipelines; (B) idled other gas transmission pipelines; and (C) idled hazardous liquid pipelines. . 221. Potential impact radius (a) Definition of potential impact radius In this section, the term potential impact radius means the area within which the potential failure of a pipeline could have significant impact on persons or property, including injury or death. (b) Review and update of methodology (1) Review Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall review— (A) the methodology, including any formulas, used by the Administration to determine a potential impact radius for onshore gas transmission pipelines; and (B) any applicable recommendations, including any pipeline safety recommendations submitted to the Secretary or Congress by the National Transportation Safety Board or the Government Accountability Office. (2) Report (A) In general Not later than 180 days after completion of the review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report detailing the findings of the review. (B) Requirement The report under subparagraph (A) shall evaluate whether the methodology reviewed under paragraph (1)(A) accounts for— (i) available human response data; (ii) accident data relating to recent pipeline incidents since January 1, 2000; (iii) the risk of serious injury or death, or property damage, from a pipeline incident; and (iv) the unique characteristics of the types of gas being transported. (c) Investigation reports Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, any Pipeline Failure Investigation reports prepared by the Accident Investigation Division of the Administration for accidents involving onshore gas transmission pipelines shall identify the location and distance from the pipeline of damage, including injuries and property damage, outside of the potential impact radius determined for the pipeline. 222. Effects of weather on natural gas pipelines (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Applicable weather event The term applicable weather event means a relevant weather-related event described in the definition of the term major disaster in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5122 ) that has the potential to impact the safety of a natural gas pipeline facility. (2) Natural gas pipeline facility The term natural gas pipeline facility means— (A) a natural gas pipeline; and (B) any related pipeline facility, equipment, or infrastructure. (b) Review and report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— (1) complete a review of the effects of applicable weather events on natural gas pipeline facilities to determine whether applicable weather events pose a risk to safety during and after the applicable weather event; and (2) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the results of that review. 223. Aldyl–A pipelines (a) Assessment of Aldyl–A polyethylene piping Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each owner or operator of a gas distribution pipeline facility shall assess its system for the presence of Aldyl–A polyethylene. (b) Limitation (1) In general The Secretary shall not require owners and operators of gas distribution pipeline facilities to conduct excavation activities for the purpose of the assessment required under subsection (a). (2) Savings provision Nothing in this subsection affects the authority of the Secretary under— (A) section 60112 of title 49, United States Code; or (B) subsection (m) or (p) of section 60117 of that title. (c) Reporting Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each owner or operator of a pipeline facility described in subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary the estimated total pipeline mileage identified by the owner or operator as Aldyl–A polyethylene piping. (d) State pipeline safety program certifications Section 60105(b)(9)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking of cast iron and bare steel pipelines and inserting the following: “of— (i) cast iron and bare steel pipelines; and (ii) pipelines constructed of historic plastics with known safety issues . (e) Evaluation of risk in distribution integrity management programs Section 60109(e)(7)(A)(i) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking presence of cast iron pipes and mains in the distribution system; and and inserting the following: “presence, in the distribution system, of pipes and mains made of— (I) cast iron; (II) unprotected steel; (III) wrought iron; or (IV) historic plastics with known safety issues; and . 224. Improvements to pipeline safety integrity management programs The Secretary shall conduct research into the use of quantitative data and modeling to assess whether the use of such data or modeling in the integrity management programs of operators would improve the estimation of costs and benefits of risk reduction measures. III Streamlining oversight of pipelines 301. Regulatory updates (a) In general Section 106 of the PIPES Act of 2020 ( Public Law 116–260 ; 134 Stat. 2220) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) by striking a final and inserting A final ; and (ii) by striking that has not been published in the Federal Register; and inserting a period; (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) by striking a final and inserting A final ; and (ii) by striking that has not been published in the Federal Register; and and inserting a period; (C) in paragraph (3)— (i) by striking any other and inserting Any other ; and (ii) by striking that has not been published in the Federal Register ; (D) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively, and indenting appropriately; (E) by adding at the end the following: (D) A final rule required to be issued under the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 . ; and (F) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking In this section, the term outstanding mandate means— and inserting the following: (1) In general In this section, the term outstanding mandate means a final rule described in paragraph (2) that— (A) is required to be issued by the Secretary (including any subordinate of the Secretary); and (B) has not been published in the Federal Register. (2) Final rule described A final rule referred to in paragraph (1) is any of the following: ; (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking referred to in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a) is published in the Federal Register and inserting described in subsection (a)(2) is published in the Federal Register with respect to the applicable outstanding mandate ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (d) Required briefing If the Secretary fails to update the website as required under subsection (b)(1), an appropriate employee of the Administration shall provide an in-person briefing to the relevant committees of Congress every 30 days until the requirements of that subsection are met. (e) Optional briefing Annually, the Administrator shall offer to provide a briefing, by the Administrator or a designee, to the relevant committees of Congress on the status of outstanding mandates. (f) Restriction of funds If a requirement of subsection (b) is not met for over 90 days, no funds authorized or appropriated may be used to support travel for the Administrator or the Deputy Administrator of the Administration, unless necessary for the response to or investigation of a pipeline or hazardous materials incident. . (b) Deadline noncompliance (1) Briefings If the Secretary does not complete a requirement described in paragraph (2) by the deadline established by statute for the completion of that requirement, the Administrator shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress in person on the status of the requirement— (A) not later than 7 days after the applicable deadline; and (B) every 90 days thereafter until the Secretary completes the requirement. (2) Requirements A requirement referred to in paragraph (1) is any of the following: (A) The rulemaking required under section 60143(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, relating to idled pipelines. (B) The issuance of a final rule under section 601 with respect to the final regulations required under section 60102(q)(1) of title 49, United States Code, relating to gas pipeline leak detection and repair programs. 302. State use of integrated inspections Section 60105 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (g) State use of integrated inspections (1) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Appropriate committees of congress The term appropriate committees of Congress has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 . (B) Inspector General The term Inspector General means the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation. (C) Risk-based integrated inspection program The term risk-based integrated inspection program means an inspection program that uses risk information and data to focus inspection resources on pipeline facilities and regulatory requirements that have the highest priority during an inspection. (2) Authorization Subject to all other applicable provisions of this section, with the written agreement of the Secretary and a State authority certified under this section, which may be in the form of a memorandum of understanding, the Secretary may authorize, and the State authority may carry out, a risk-based integrated inspection program. (3) Procedural and substantive requirements A State authority that is authorized to carry out a risk-based integrated inspection program— (A) shall be subject to the same procedural and substantive requirements that would apply if the Secretary were carrying out the program; and (B) shall ensure— (i) that no pipeline system goes without inspection for more than 5 years; and (ii) that unsatisfactory conditions found in inspections are addressed in a timely manner. (4) Application and criteria Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall establish procedures and criteria for State authorities to apply to carry out a risk-based integrated inspection program pursuant to this subsection. (5) Evaluation timeline (A) In general Not later than 1 year after receiving an application from a State authority to carry out a risk-based integrated inspection program under this subsection, the Secretary shall— (i) review the application; and (ii) approve or deny the application. (B) Explanation of denial If the Secretary denies an application submitted by a State authority under this subsection, the Secretary shall provide an explanation to the State authority of— (i) why the Secretary denied the application; and (ii) changes that the State authority could make to the application that would result in the Secretary approving the application. (6) Review of programs (A) In general The Secretary shall establish a process to review the implementation of a risk-based integrated inspection program by a State authority. (B) Review by Inspector General (i) In general The Inspector General shall— (I) review each risk-based integrated inspection program authorized by the Secretary under this subsection not later than 3 years after the date on which the relevant application is approved to determine whether the program meets the needs of pipeline safety; and (II) submit to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress a report on that review. (ii) Requirement If the Inspector General determines that a risk-based integrated inspection program is not adequate and should be terminated, the Inspector General shall notify the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress. (7) Termination (A) Termination by the secretary The Secretary may terminate an authorization for a State authority to carry out a risk-based integrated inspection program if— (i) the Secretary determines that the State authority is not adequately carrying out the program; (ii) the Secretary provides to the State authority— (I) a notification of the intent of the Secretary to terminate the authorization for the State authority to carry out a risk-based integrated inspection program; (II) a period of not less than 120 days to take such corrective action as the Secretary determines to be necessary to comply with the requirements of this section; and (III) on request of the State authority, a detailed description of the aspects of the program that are inadequate; and (iii) the State authority, after the notification described in clause (ii)(I), fails to take satisfactory corrective action in accordance with clause (ii)(II) before the expiration of the period provided under that clause. (B) Termination by a state authority A State authority may terminate its authority to carry out a risk-based integrated inspection program at any time by providing to the Secretary a notice not later than 90 days before the date of termination. . 303. Optimizing pipeline safety inspections (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Office The term office means a regional office, district office, and any other office of the Administration serving a particular region. (2) Region The term region means a region for which a regional office of the Administration has been established. (3) State partners The term State partners means the State authorities described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subsection (b)(1). (b) Study (1) In general The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate enforcement actions and the inspection scheduling and coordination practices and procedures used by— (A) the Administration; (B) State authorities certified under section 60105 of title 49, United States Code; and (C) State authorities with which the Secretary has made an agreement under section 60106(a) of that title. (2) Requirements The study under paragraph (1) shall— (A) identify ways in which the Administration and States may coordinate with each other for more effective inspections and enforcement; (B) evaluate the extent of any— (i) substantive overlap of inspections carried out by the Administration and the State partners, such that the Administration and the State partners are inspecting the same operator programs and procedures multiple times in the same annual or biennial period; (ii) substantive overlap of inspections carried out by offices in different regions, such that offices in multiple regions are inspecting the same operator programs and procedures multiple times in the same annual or biennial period; (iii) coordination among offices in different regions on inspection findings relating to an operator before the Administration decides to take any enforcement or other action against that operator; (iv) coordination among offices in different regions and between the Administration and State partners on the scheduling and scoping of inspections of operators to avoid substantive overlaps; (v) resolution processes for operators in cases in which offices in different regions, or the Administration and State partners, take different interpretive positions on the same compliance issue or operator program; and (vi) opportunities— (I) to reduce substantive unnecessary overlaps (in the process of which the Comptroller General of the United States shall identify and describe any overlaps that the Comptroller the believes are necessary); (II) to avoid inconsistent interpretations— (aa) by offices in different regions; and (bb) between the Administration and State partners; (III) to optimize inspection scheduling and coordination; and (IV) to improve compliance with Federal pipeline safety laws; and (C) review the Federal enforcement process for its ability to fairly ensure compliance with Federal pipeline safety laws. (c) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that describes the results of the study conducted under subsection (b), which shall include recommendations that the Administrator could adopt to better coordinate inspection practices and procedures with State partners, and between State partners, to address deficiencies identified under subsection (b)(2)— (1) without compromising pipeline safety; and (2) while improving the enforcement process. (d) Summary of pipeline inspections Not later than June 1 of each year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall make available to the public in an electronically accessible format a summary of Federal and State pipeline inspections conducted under direct or delegated authority under title 49, United States Code, during the previous calendar year, including— (1) the date of the inspection; (2) the name of the pipeline owner or operator; (3) the pipeline system or segment inspected; (4) the 1 or more regions of the Administration in which the inspected system or segment operates; (5) the 1 or more States in which the inspected system or segment operates; (6) any violations or proposed violations alleged as a result of the inspection; and (7) any enforcement actions taken. 304. Sense of Congress on PHMSA engagement prior to rulemaking activities It is the sense of Congress that, if the Secretary determines it to be appropriate, the Secretary should engage with pipeline stakeholder groups, including State pipeline safety programs with an approved certification under section 60105 of title 49, United States Code, and the public during predrafting stages of rulemaking activities— (1) to inform the work of the Secretary in carrying out the goals of chapter 601 of title 49, United States Code; and (2) to reduce the timeline for issuance of proposed and final rules. IV Improving safety of emerging gases 401. Studies of hydrogen pipeline transportation (a) Study (1) In general The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with a National Laboratory (as defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15801 ))— (A) to conduct a study of the safety, technical, and practical considerations relating to the blending of hydrogen into existing natural gas systems; (B) to issue a report on the results of that study, in accordance with paragraph (2); and (C) to make recommendations to the Secretary for how to avoid or minimize any risks identified under paragraph (2)(C). (2) Considerations In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the following factors shall be taken into consideration: (A) Systems that utilize a hydrogen content above 5 percent to determine if there are additional restrictions or requirements for the processes, materials, and standards that the operators of those systems have implemented to operate those systems safely. (B) Remaining knowledge gaps, if any, relating to safely moving hydrogen-methane blends through existing natural gas distribution systems. (C) Safety risks, if any, of hydrogen-methane blends composed of over 5 percent hydrogen in existing natural gas distribution systems, including— (i) leak rates of hydrogen-methane blends; (ii) the performance of hydrogen-methane blends in existing residential, commercial, and industrial infrastructure; and (iii) underground migration of leaked hydrogen-methane blends. (D) Any relevant findings or recommendations of— (i) the HyBlend research and development initiative commenced by the Department of Energy in 2021 for the purpose of addressing opportunities for hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines; and (ii) the study on hydrogen blending commissioned by the California Public Utilities Commission and carried out by the University of California, Riverside, entitled Hydrogen Blending Impacts Study . (3) Report The Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress the report prepared under paragraph (1)(B). (b) GAO report (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on existing natural gas distribution systems that utilize hydrogen-natural gas blending applications, or utilize gas with a higher hydrogen content, to identify processes, materials, and standards that operators have implemented to operate those systems safely. (2) Requirement The study conducted under paragraph (1) shall include an examination of natural gas distribution systems currently operating in— (A) the United States; (B) Canada; (C) Europe; (D) Australia; (E) Hong Kong; and (F) any other appropriate location, as determined by the Comptroller General of the United States. (3) Considerations In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the United States shall consider systems that utilize a hydrogen content above 5 percent to determine if there are additional restrictions or requirements for the processes, materials, and standards that the operators of those systems have implemented to operate those systems safely. (c) Regulatory considerations (1) In general Not later than 1 year after completion of the studies under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall determine whether any updates to regulations are necessary to ensure the safety of natural gas distribution systems intentionally blending hydrogen at levels exceeding 5 percent. (2) Requirement If the Secretary determines that updates to regulations are not necessary, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that describes the reasons for that determination. (d) Savings provision Nothing in this section— (1) authorizes the removal of the exemption for certain hydrogen pipelines described in section 192.625(b)(4) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on October 1, 2023); or (2) affects— (A) the authority of the Secretary under— (i) section 60112 of title 49, United States Code; or (ii) subsection (m) or (p) of section 60117 of that title; or (B) the authority of the Secretary to prescribe standards otherwise affecting the transportation of hydrogen by pipelines. 402. Safety of carbon dioxide pipelines (a) Minimum safety standards (1) In general Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a final rule pursuant to the rulemaking proceeding with Regulation Identifier Number 2137–AF60 after providing an opportunity for comment to ensure the safety of all phases of carbon dioxide transported in pipelines, including carbon dioxide in gaseous, liquid, and supercritical states. (2) Requirements (A) In general Any standard adopted by the final rule required under paragraph (1) shall— (i) include appropriate requirements addressing updates to emergency response plans to address any risks unique to carbon dioxide pipeline accidents or incidents; (ii) include minimum safety standards applicable to each operator of a pipeline facility by which carbon dioxide is transported, including performing vapor dispersion modeling to identify high consequence areas that could be affected by a release from such a pipeline facility; (iii) clarify that carbon dioxide shall not be used as a testing medium for spike hydrostatic pressure testing; and (iv) require carbon dioxide pipeline operators to provide information to State, local, and Tribal emergency response organizations (in each jurisdiction in which a carbon dioxide pipeline facility of the operator is located) on any risks unique to carbon dioxide pipeline accidents or incidents, including by making relevant portions of emergency response plans available to first responders on request. (B) Vapor dispersion modeling Vapor dispersion modeling under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall consider— (i) the topography surrounding the pipeline facility; (ii) atmospheric conditions that could affect vapor dispersion; and (iii) pipeline facility operating characteristics. (C) Considerations Any standard adopted by the final rule required under paragraph (1) shall consider— (i) conversion of service standards; and (ii) safety-related condition reporting and leak reporting appropriate to any unique safety risks associated with carbon dioxide. (b) Effect Completion of the rulemaking required under subsection (a) shall satisfy the rulemaking requirement under section 60102(i)(2) of title 49, United States Code. (c) Odorant (1) Study The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with a National Laboratory (as defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15801 )) to study the feasibility of adding odorant to carbon dioxide pipelines. (2) Report Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the feasibility of adding odorant to carbon dioxide pipelines. (d) Additional resources The Secretary shall make available, on request, to relevant emergency responders information that is tailored specifically to carbon dioxide pipeline releases, including information on the potential impact area and any relevant odorants. 403. Reporting of blended products (a) In general All operators of natural gas pipelines shall report to the Secretary non-predominant products intentionally blended and intended to exceed, at any point in time, 2 percent by volume of the product transported by the pipeline. (b) Frequency Reports under subsection (a) shall be required not more frequently than annually. V Improving emergency response and transparency 501. Bitumen oil response plan review (a) Inspector General review Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall review— (1) the findings of the study required under section 16 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 ( Public Law 112–90 ; 125 Stat. 1915); and (2) the emergency response plans required under section 60102(d)(5) of title 49, United States Code, for operators transporting diluted bitumen oil. (b) Purpose The review under subsection (a) shall determine the extent to which the response plans required under section 60102(d)(5) of title 49, United States Code— (1) identify, using industry-standard names, all of the crude oils transported by the operator, including diluted bitumen; (2) include safety data sheets for each of the crude oils identified in the response plan; (3) describe the geographic areas most sensitive to the effects of a diluted bitumen spill, including the water bodies potentially at risk; (4) describe the response activities planned and resources available to mitigate the impacts of spills of diluted bitumen, if applicable, including the capabilities of the operator for detection, containment, and recovery of submerged and sunken oil; (5) specify the procedures by which the operator shall provide to the applicable On-Scene Coordinator (as defined in section 194.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)) or an equivalent State official relevant response information; and (6) include all spill-relevant properties and considerations with respect to each crude oil transported by the operator and identified in the response plan in accordance with paragraph (1). (c) Report Not later than 180 days after completing the review under subsection (a), the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that summarizes the findings of that review and contains any recommendations of the Inspector General. 502. National Center of Excellence for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Leak Detection (a) Establishment After submitting the report under subsection (c) to the committees of Congress described in that subsection, and subject to the availability of funds appropriated by Congress for the applicable purpose, the Secretary, in consultation with hazardous liquid pipeline sector stakeholders, may establish a center, to be known as the National Center of Excellence for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Leak Detection (referred to in this section as the Center of Excellence ). (b) Location The Center of Excellence shall be located— (1) within the Great Lakes Basin; (2) in a State that hosts an international mixed-use pipeline that transports crude oil and natural gas liquids where the pipeline crosses through the Great Lakes; and (3) in close proximity to an institution of higher education with adequate capabilities, experience, and expertise in researching and evaluating pipeline safety, including pipeline risk analyses. (c) Report on establishment (1) In general Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, and Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (A) the resources necessary to establish the Center of Excellence; and (B) the manner in which the Center of Excellence will carry out the functions described in subsection (d). (2) Requirement The report under paragraph (1) shall include an estimate of all potential costs and appropriations necessary to carry out the functions described in subsection (d). (d) Functions The Center of Excellence shall— (1) review the availability of leak detection technology for hazardous liquid pipelines that can detect leaks at very low volumes; (2) conduct research into the operational, economic, and technical feasibility of incorporating technologies reviewed under paragraph (1) into pipeline systems; (3) be a repository of information on best practices relating to, and expertise on, hazardous liquid leak detection; and (4) perform other duties, as determined by the Secretary, to improve leak detection for hazardous liquid pipelines. (e) Joint operation with educational institution The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with an institution of higher education described in subsection (b)(3)— (1) to provide for joint operation of the Center of Excellence; and (2) to provide necessary administrative services for the Center of Excellence. (f) Report Not later than 3 years after the date on which the Center of Excellence is established under subsection (a), the Center of Excellence shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the findings of the Center of Excellence with respect to leak detection technologies that can detect leaks at very low volumes. 503. Operator financial disclosure Not later than 7 calendar days after the date on which an operator of a pipeline facility (as defined in section 60101(a) of title 49, United States Code) files a petition for relief under chapter 7 or 11 of title 11, United States Code, the operator shall notify the Secretary of that filing. 504. Data and transparency Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than annually thereafter, the Secretary shall publish, on a publicly accessible website, summary data pertaining to pipeline leaks required to be reported by operators in the annual reports submitted to the Administration by the operators. 505. Office of Public Engagement Section 108 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by inserting (referred to in this section as the Administration ) after Safety Administration ; (2) in subsection (c), in the first sentence, by inserting (referred to in this section as the Administrator ), after shall be the Administrator ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (h) Office of Public Engagement (1) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 . (B) Director The term Director means the Director of the Office. (C) Office The term Office means the Office of Public Engagement of the Administration established under paragraph (2). (2) Establishment Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall establish within the Administration an office, to be known as the Office of Public Engagement . (3) Director The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall— (A) report to the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety; and (B) be responsible for the discharge of the functions and duties of the Office. (4) Employees The Director shall— (A) appoint and assign the duties of employees of the Office; and (B) prioritize the hiring of individuals who have experience in community engagement, including working with the public, State, local and Tribal governments, and pipeline safety public interest groups. (5) Community liaisons The Director shall appoint agency community liaison personnel employed as of the date on which the Office is established as employees of the Office. (6) Duties and functions of the Office (A) Coordination of assistance The Director shall coordinate the provision of technical assistance and educational assistance to the public with respect to the authorities exercised by the Administration. (B) Public engagement The Director shall coordinate active and ongoing engagement with the public with respect to the authority and activities of the Administration, including by— (i) conducting— (I) outreach, which may include public postings, signage at relevant physical locations, newspaper publications, utility bill inserts, mailings, phone calls, canvassing, and door hangers, to communities using varied media; and (II) when appropriate, meetings; (ii) assisting individuals in resolving pipeline safety inquiries; (iii) making publicly available, and disseminating, information on the manner in which members of the public may file inquiries relating to pipeline safety; (iv) assisting individuals in contacting, as necessary, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, State agencies, and other agencies, in order to appropriately direct public inquiries that are not within the jurisdiction of the Administration to the relevant agency; and (v) preparing, and making publicly available in accessible formats, educational materials about the Administration, the responsibilities of the Administration, and how those responsibilities interact with entities under the jurisdiction of the Administration and other Federal, State, local, or Tribal government agencies. . 506. Clarification of confirmed discovery (a) In general Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— (1) review— (A) the definition of confirmed discovery used by the Administration for purposes of the reporting of accidents and incidents to the National Response Center and the Secretary (including any regulations promulgated under section 9 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 ( 49 U.S.C. 60117 note; Public Law 112–90 )), establishing communication with first responders and other relevant public officials as described in section 60102(r)(1) of title 49, United States Code, providing immediate notice to the National Response Center as described in section 191.5 and 195.52 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), and any other relevant purposes; and (B) for each initial notice of an accident or incident submitted to the National Response Center telephonically or electronically under section 191.5 or 195.52 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, during the 5-year period ending on the date of enactment of this Act— (i) the time between the first signs of an accident or incident and the time at which operators determined that the accident or incident met the definition of confirmed discovery; (ii) the methods that operators used to confirm that an accident or incident met that definition; and (iii) the time that it took for operators to report an accident or incident after confirming that the accident or incident met that definition; and (2) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that provides the findings of the review under paragraph (1), including the details described in subparagraph (B) of that paragraph for each accident or incident. (b) Civil penalty considerations Section 60122(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking and at the end; (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking and at the end; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (E) the timeliness of emergency response notification, including by reducing penalties for cases in which incidents are reported within 10 minutes of a suspected release; and (F) advanced coordination with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governmental entities resulting in the relevant and timely use of existing public alert notification systems; and . 507. Public alert notification system for pipeline facilities (a) Public alert notification system The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall develop voluntary guidance to assist owners and operators of pipeline facilities with coordinating with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governmental entities to make use of existing public alert notification systems, such as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System of the Federal Emergency Management Agency described in section 526 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 321o ) to issue emergency alerts and appropriate guidance via mobile phones, radio, or television in a locally targeted area in the event of a pipeline emergency.. (b) Emergency response plans Any procedures established by an operator under subsection (a) shall be incorporated into the emergency response plan maintained by the operator under section 60102(d)(5) of title 49, United States Code. VI Other matters 601. Prohibition on PHMSA operation, procurement, or contracting action with respect to covered unmanned aircraft systems (a) In general Chapter 448 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 44815. Prohibition on PHMSA operation, procurement, or contracting action with respect to covered unmanned aircraft systems (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administration The term Administration means the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. (2) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Administration. (3) Covered foreign country The term covered foreign country means any of the following: (A) The People’s Republic of China. (B) The Russian Federation. (C) The Islamic Republic of Iran. (D) The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. (E) The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. (F) The Republic of Cuba. (4) Covered unmanned aircraft system The term covered unmanned aircraft system means an unmanned aircraft system that is, or is owned by an entity that is— (A) included on the Consolidated Screening List or Entity List as designated by the Secretary of Commerce; (B) domiciled in a covered foreign country; or (C) subject to influence or control by the government of a covered foreign country. (b) Restrictions Subject to subsection (c), the Administrator shall not— (1) operate a covered unmanned aircraft system; or (2) enter into, extend, or renew a contract— (A) for the procurement of a covered unmanned aircraft system; or (B) with an entity that operates (as determined by the Secretary of Transportation) a covered unmanned aircraft system in the performance of any Administration contract. (c) Exemption The restrictions under subsection (b) shall not apply if the operation, procurement, or contracting action is for the purpose of intelligence, electronic warfare, and information warfare operations, testing, analysis, and training. (d) Waiver The Administrator may waive the restrictions under subsection (b) on a case by case basis by certifying, in writing, to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the appropriate committees of Congress that the operation, procurement, or contracting action is required in the public interest of the United States. (e) Replacement of covered unmanned aircraft systems Subject to available appropriations, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall replace any covered unmanned aircraft system that is owned or operated by the Administration as of that date of enactment with an unmanned aircraft system manufactured in the United States or an allied country (as defined in section 2350f(d) of title 10). (f) Report to Congress Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes— (1) a description of the changes the Administration has made to its operation, procurement, and contracting processes to ensure that the Administration does not acquire any covered unmanned aircraft system; (2) the number of covered unmanned aircraft systems that needed to be replaced in accordance with subsection (e), including— (A) an explanation of the purposes for which such covered unmanned aircraft systems were used; (B) a description of the unmanned aircraft systems that the Administrator will purchase to replace such covered unmanned aircraft systems; and (C) the cost to purchase the unmanned aircraft systems described in subparagraph (B); and (3) any other information determined appropriate by the Administrator. . (b) Clerical amendment The analysis for chapter 448 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 44814 the following: 44815. Prohibition on PHMSA operation, procurement, or contracting action with respect to covered unmanned aircraft systems. . 602. Natural gas distribution pipeline infrastructure safety and modernization grants (a) In general The Secretary may provide grants to assist publicly owned natural gas distribution pipeline systems in repairing, rehabilitating, or replacing pipeline systems to improve pipeline safety. (b) Eligible entities An entity eligible to receive a grant under this section is a utility that— (1) is owned by a community or municipality; and (2) is not a for-profit entity. (c) Applications An eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a description of the projects or activities proposed to be funded by the grant. (d) Uses A grant provided under this section may be used— (1) to repair, rehabilitate, or replace a natural gas distribution pipeline system or portions of a natural gas distribution pipeline system; or (2) to acquire equipment for use in a repair, rehabilitation, or replacement project under paragraph (1). (e) Considerations The Secretary shall establish procedures for awarding grants under this section that take into consideration— (1) the risk profile of the existing pipeline system, including pipe material, operated by the applicant; and (2) supporting communities that have limited ability to invest in the infrastructure of the community through increased utility rates due to economic conditions, including high poverty rates, high unemployment, or low median wages. (f) Limitations (1) Awards to a single utility The Secretary may not award more than 12.5 percent of the total amount made available to carry out this section to a single eligible entity described in subsection (b). (2) Administrative expenses Not more than 2 percent of the amounts appropriated under subsection (h)(1) for a fiscal year may be used by the Secretary for the administrative costs of carrying out this section. (3) Cost sharing (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any grant provided by the Secretary under this section shall not represent more than 50 percent of the actual total cost of the repair, rehabilitation, or replacement project for which the grant is provided. (B) Exception In the case of a grant under this section for a project in an area with a population of less than 50,000 residents, based on the most recent decennial census, the Secretary may increase the grant share of the cost of the project under subparagraph (A) to not more than 80 percent. (g) Congressional notification Not later than 3 days before the date on which the Secretary publishes the selection of projects and activities for which a grant will be provided under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a written notice that includes— (1) a list of all applications reviewed by the Secretary as part of the selection process; and (2) a report that describes each project or activity for which a grant will be provided under this section for that round of selection. (h) Funding (1) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030, to remain available until expended. (2) Requirement Any amounts used to carry out this section— (A) shall be derived from general revenues; and (B) shall not be derived from user fees collected under section 60301. 603. Issues affecting federally recognized Indian Tribes (a) Indian and Tribal definitions Section 60101 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (c) Indian and Tribal definitions In this chapter: (1) Indian land The term Indian land has the meaning given the term Indian lands in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ( 25 U.S.C. 2703 ). (2) Indian T ribe The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ). . (b) Safety standards and reports Section 60102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (c)(4)(A), by striking located, and inserting located and any affected Indian Tribe ; (2) in subsection (d)— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by striking and an appropriate State official as determined by the Secretary and inserting , an appropriate State official (as determined by the Secretary), and an appropriate Tribal official (as determined by the Secretary) from any affected Indian Tribe ; (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting or, with respect to an affected Indian Tribe, on affected Indian land, after location in the State ; (C) in paragraph (5)— (i) in subparagraph (B), by inserting and Tribal officials from any affected Indian Tribe after State and local authorities ; and (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting and Tribal officials from any affected Indian Tribe after State and local officials ; and (D) in paragraph (6)— (i) by inserting or an affected Indian Tribe after inform a State ; and (ii) by inserting or on affected Indian land before the period at the end; (3) in subsection (h)— (A) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking the appropriate Tribe and inserting any affected Indian Tribe with respect to the location ; and (B) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting or Tribal official if no such commission or committee exists before the semicolon at the end; and (4) in subsection (r)(1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting , including Tribal officials after public officials . (c) Inspection and maintenance Section 60108(c)(6)(C) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting and Tribal officials from any affected Indian Tribe after to the Secretary . (d) High-density population areas and environmentally sensitive areas Section 60109(e)(7) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: (C) Deadlines (i) Emergency response plan Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 , each operator of a distribution system shall make available to the Secretary or the relevant State authority with a certification in effect under section 60105, as applicable, and to any affected Indian Tribe, a copy of the emergency response plan under section 60102(d)(5). (ii) Other documents Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 , each operator of a distribution system shall make available to the Secretary or the relevant State authority with a certification in effect under section 60105, as applicable, a copy of— (I) the distribution integrity management plan of the operator; and (II) the procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies under section 60102(d)(4). (iii) Updates Not later than 60 days after the date of a significant update, as determined by the Secretary, to a plan or manual described in clause (i) or (ii), the operator of the applicable distribution system shall— (I) in the case of an emergency response plan described in clause (i), make available to the Secretary or make available for inspection to the relevant State authority described in that clause (if applicable), and make available for inspection to any affected Indian Tribe, an updated copy of the emergency response plan; and (II) in the case of a plan or manual described in clause (ii), make available to the Secretary or make available for inspection to the relevant State authority described in that clause (if applicable) an updated copy of the applicable plan or manual. (iv) Applicability of FOIA Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the disclosure of any information that is exempt from disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5. . (e) Pipeline facilities hazardous to life and property Section 60112(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the second sentence, by inserting and a Tribal official from any affected Indian Tribe after affected local officials . (f) Technical safety standards committees Section 60115(b)(3)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking and of and inserting , Indian Tribes, and . (g) Public education programs Section 60116(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the first sentence, by striking Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 and inserting Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 ; and (2) in the second sentence, by inserting affected Indian Tribes, after advise . (h) Administrative Section 60117 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (g)(1), by inserting and an appropriate Tribal official from any affected Indian Tribe after is located ; (2) in subsection (i)— (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting Indian Tribes, after States, ; and (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting Indian Tribes, after local governments, ; (3) in subsection (l), in the first sentence, by inserting Indian Tribes, after local government, ; (4) in subsection (n)(1), by inserting Indian Tribes, after the States, ; and (5) in subsection (p)(2)(B), by inserting Indian Tribes, after State agencies, . (i) Judicial review Section 60119(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting , including an Indian Tribe, before adversely affected . (j) Emergency response grants Section 60125(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting , and affected Indian Tribes, after local governments . (k) National pipeline mapping system Section 60132 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (c), by striking State and local and inserting State, local, and Tribal ; and (2) in subsection (e), in the first sentence, by striking State and local and inserting State, local, and Tribal . (l) Coordination of environmental reviews Section 60133 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(5), by striking and local and inserting , local, and Tribal ; and (2) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting Tribal, after State, . 604. Identification of and justification for redactions If the Administration redacts any portion of a document produced to another person, the Administration shall cite a specific statute authorizing the withholding of the information redacted. 605. Fees for loan guarantees Section 116(d) of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act ( 15 U.S.C. 720n(d) ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)— (A) by striking (1) The Secretary and inserting the following: (1) Loan terms (A) In general The Secretary ; and (B) in subparagraph (A) (as so designated), in the second sentence, by striking The term and inserting the following: (B) Duration The term ; and (2) in paragraph (2), by striking (2) An eligible and inserting the following: (2) Fees (A) Administrative expenses (i) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall charge, and collect on or after the date of the financial close of an obligation, a fee for a guarantee in an amount that the Secretary determines is sufficient to cover applicable administrative expenses (including any costs associated with third-party consultants engaged by the Secretary). (ii) Availability Fees collected under this paragraph shall— (I) be deposited by the Secretary into the Treasury; and (II) remain available to the Secretary, without further appropriation, until expended to cover applicable administrative expenses described in clause (i). (iii) Reduction in fee amount Notwithstanding clause (i), and subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary may reduce the amount of a fee for a guarantee under this subparagraph. (B) Debt obligations An eligible . 606. Improving pipeline cybersecurity Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall publish in the Federal Register a final rule pursuant to the rulemaking proceeding entitled Enhancing Surface Cyber Risk Management (Docket Number TSA–2022–0001; Regulation Identifier Number 1652–AA74) relating to the cybersecurity of pipelines. 607. Technical corrections (a) Definitions Section 60101(a) of title 49, United States Code (as amended by section 212(b)), is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking chapter— and inserting chapter: ; (2) in each of paragraphs (1) through (16), (18), (19), (20), (22) (23), (25), and (27), by striking the semicolon at the end of the paragraph and inserting a period; (3) in paragraph (1)— (A) by striking the paragraph designation and all that follows through (A) means in subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: (1) Existing liquefied natural gas facility (A) In general The term existing liquefied natural gas facility means ; (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ; but and inserting a period; and (C) in subparagraph (B)— (i) by striking (B) does not and inserting the following: (B) Exclusions The term existing liquefied natural gas facility does not ; and (ii) by inserting described in subparagraph (A) after approval ; (4) in paragraph (14)— (A) by striking the paragraph designation and all that follows through (A) means in subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: (14) Liquefied natural gas pipeline facility (A) In general The term liquefied natural gas pipeline facility means ; (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ; but and inserting a period; and (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking (B) does not and inserting the following: (B) Exclusions The term liquefied natural gas pipeline facility does not ; (5) in paragraph (24) (relating to the term Secretary ), by striking ; and and inserting a period; (6) in paragraph (27)— (A) by striking the paragraph designation and all that follows through (A) means in subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: (27) Transporting hazardous liquid (A) In general The term transporting hazardous liquid means ; (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ; but and inserting a period; and (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking (B) does not and inserting the following: (B) Exclusions The term transporting hazardous liquid does not ; and (7) in each of paragraphs (2) through (13), (15), (16), (18), (19), (20), (22) through (25), and (28)— (A) by inserting The term after the paragraph designation; and (B) by inserting a paragraph heading, the text of which comprises the term defined in the paragraph. (b) Report Section 60102(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (7).
Where it is
In the Senate.