Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2011
Latest action. Held at the desk.
Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement 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 an incident resulting in: (1) one or more deaths or injuries or illnesses requiring in-patient hospitalization; or (2) environmental harm exceeding $250,000 in damage, including property loss (other than the value of natural gas or hazardous liquid lost or damage to pipeline equipment).
Subjects to a civil penalty of $250,000 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 municipalities, state agencies, or their contractors from its one-call notification system requirements.
(Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to issue regulations subjecting offshore hazardous liquid gathering pipelines (except low-stress distribution pipelines) 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.
(Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations to require the use of excess flow valves 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.
(Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary to evaluate specified questions with respect to integrity management safety system requirements.
(Sec. 8) Requires the Secretary to maintain: (1) a monthly updated summary of all completed and final natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline inspections conducted by or reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), (2) a status indication of the review and approval of each gas and hazardous liquid pipeline operator's facility response plan, and (3) an updated map of all pipelines located in high consequence areas that are required to meet integrity management safety regulations.
The summary continues for 21 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 "Passed Senate amended" stage on October 17, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Held at the desk.
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The record's latest action, on October 21, 2011: Held at the desk.
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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 has no outstanding steps 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?
FRANK LAUTENBERG (D-NJ) introduced it on February 3, 2011, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 Democrats.
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 February 3, 2011, 5698 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5438 days ago, on October 21, 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.
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Vote history
- SenateHeld at the desk.
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action