Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act of 2011
Latest action. Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 112-287, Part I.
Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act of 2011 - Prescribes or revises requirements for safety and environmental protection in pipeline transportation.
(Sec. 2) Defines the term "major consequence violation" to mean a violation that contributed to a pipeline incident resulting in: (1) one or more deaths or injuries or illnesses requiring in-patient hospitalization; or (2) environmental harm exceeding $250,000 in estimated damages, including property loss (other than the value of natural gas or hazardous liquid lost or damage to pipeline facility equipment).
Subjects to a civil penalty of $250,000 per day any person that the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) has found to have committed a major consequence violation of a pipeline marking or excavation notification requirement, pipeline safety standard or regulation, or order. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil penalty on a person who obstructs or prevents an inspection or investigation of a gas pipeline or hazardous liquid pipeline. Prescribes a maximum civil penalty of $2.5 million for a related series of major consequence violations.
(Sec. 3) Prohibits a state one-call notification program from exempting mechanized excavation, municipalities, state agencies, or their contractors from its one-call notification system requirements.
Directs the Secretary to study the impact of third party damage on pipeline safety.
(Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to issue regulations subjecting offshore hazardous liquid gathering lines (except production pipelines or flow lines) as well as those located within Gulf of Mexico inlets to the same standards and regulations as other hazardous liquid pipelines.
(Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to prescribe a regulation to require the use of automatic or remote-controlled shut-off valves (or equivalent technology) on pipelines.
Directs the Secretary to review the ability of a transmission pipeline operator to respond to a hazardous liquid or gas release from a pipeline segment located in a high consequence area, including an analysis of the costs, risks, and benefits of installing automatic and remote-controlled shut-off valves.
(Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations to require the use of excess flow valves, or equivalent technology, on new or entirely replaced distribution branch services, multi-family facilities, and small commercial facilities located in high-density population areas and environmentally sensitive areas.
The summary continues for 28 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House amended, Part I" stage on November 16, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 16, 2011: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 112-287, Part I.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
FRED UPTON (R-MI) introduced it on September 15, 2011, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 15, 2011, 5474 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5412 days ago, on November 16, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers