Pipeline Safety Reauthorization Act of 1991

Pipeline Safety Reauthorization Act of 1991 - Title I: Natural Gas - Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Authorization Act of 1991 - Amends the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (NGPSA) to revise the definition of "transportation of gas" to include the control of natural gas being delivered in consumer-owned pipe. Authorizes only a State agency that has submitted a current certification of jurisdiction and enforcement to adopt additional or more stringent safety standards for such intrastate pipeline transportation if they are compatible with the Federal minimum pipeline safety standards. (Currently a State agency may adopt more stringent standards even if it does not submit a current certification.) Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to extend Federal safety standards requiring new gas transmission facilities to accommodate instrumented internal inspection devices (smart pigs) to require that existing transmission facilities be modified to accommodate such devices. Excludes municipalities from the meaning of "State agency" in such Act to the extent that: (1) Federal pipeline safety standards shall not apply to intrastate gas pipeline transportation when similar safety standards are regulated by State agencies; and (2) in certain cases, the Secretary may enter into an agreement authorizing a State agency to assume responsibility for enforcing Federal safety standards for intrastate gas pipeline transportation. Changes from $5,000 to an amount established by the Secretary the threshold amount of property damage per accident that State annual certifications must report on regarding gas pipeline accidents within the State during the preceding 12 months. Increases from $10,000 to $25,000 the civil penalty per day for violations of Federal pipeline safety inspection and maintenance standards committed by persons engaged in the transportation of gas or pipeline facility operators. Grants jurisdiction to district courts to order persons who refuse to obey a subpeona or allow authorized persons to conduct Federal gas pipelines safety standard compliance inspections or record examinations to comply with such orders or be found in contempt of court. Authorizes the Secretary to request the Attorney General to request such court enforcement of subpoenas. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) assess costs incurred by the Department of Transportation in monitoring the design and construction of gas pipeline facilities prior to their operation; and (2) collect them from the persons responsible for the development of such facilities. Requires such assessments to be deposited into the Pipeline Safety Fund to pay such costs. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress on August 15 (currently, April 15) of each year a report on the administration of Federal gas pipeline safety standards during the preceding calendar year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993. Title II: Hazardous Liquids - Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Authorization Act of 1991 - Amends the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 (HLPSA) to require Federal safety standards established by the Secretary for the transportation of hazardous liquids and pipeline facilities to be designed to meet the need for the protection of the environment. Requires operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities to report to the Secretary any condition that constitutes a hazard to the environment. Requires the Secretary in prescribing such standards to consider the extent to which they will contribute to environmental protection. Makes changes to the HLPSA similar to those in the NGPSA with respect to: (1) the necessity of a current certification for any State agency that would adopt additional or more stringent safety standards for intrastate pipeline facilities; (2) authority to require existing hazardous liquid pipeline facilities to be modified to accommodate instrumented internal inspection devices; (3) changes in threshold dollar amount of property damages that must be reported in State certifications regarding hazardous liquid pipeline accidents; (4) increases in civil penalties for violations of Federal pipeline safety inspection and maintenance standards; (5) district court jurisdiction to order persons to comply with Federal hazardous liquid pipeline safety standard inspections or record examinations; (6) the levy of assessments for costs incurred by the Department of Transportation in monitoring the design and construction of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities prior to their operation; and (7) the submission of a report on the administration of Federal hazardous liquid pipeline standards during the preceding year. Directs the Secretary to require operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities to provide information that includes, among other things, an accurate map, including geographic description of environmentally sensitive areas, showing the location of such operator's facilities. (Currently such description need not refer to such areas.) Requires the Secretary to order a person operating a hazardous liquid pipeline facility to take corrective action whenever he or she finds that such facility is hazardous to the environment. Requires the Secretary when making such findings to consider, if relevant, the aspects of the areas in which the pipeline facility is located, particularly, among other factors, proximity to environmentally sensitive areas. Requires the Secretary in determining the adequacy of inspection and maintenance plans of persons who engage in the transportation of hazardous liquids or own or operate pipeline facilities to consider, among other factors, the extent to which such plans will contribute to the protection of the environment. Revises criteria the Secretary must use when making recommendations as to the frequency and type of testing and inspection of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities to include consideration of the proximity of such facilities to environmentally sensitive areas. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 28, 1991. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

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