49 U.S.C. § 60105 — State pipeline safety program certifications
submitted 32 years ago by Pub. L. 103-272 to r/title-49-TRANSPORTATION · 840 words · no verdicts yet
States may regulate intrastate pipeline safety instead of the federal government. To do so, a State must certify yearly that it meets federal requirements. The Secretary can reject the certification if the State isn't enforcing safety rules well.
(a) In general, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation cannot set or enforce pipeline safety rules for pipelines and pipeline transportation that stay within one state. This includes pipelines regulated by a city, if the city's rules cover gas pipelines within the state. This exception applies only if the state authority sends the Secretary a certification every year that meets the requirements in (b) and (c). Two other sections, 60114 and 60121, can also affect this.
(b) The certification must state that the state authority:
(1) Has legal power over the safety standards and practices it is certifying.
(2) Has adopted every applicable federal standard by the certification date — or, if a federal standard was issued less than 120 days before certification, is working to adopt it.
(3) Is enforcing each adopted standard, including through inspections by state employees who meet federal qualifications.
(4) Is encouraging a program that punishes people who damage pipelines during digging, tunneling, or construction, with civil penalties and enforcement similar to federal law, and that addresses the elements listed in section 60134(b).
(5) May require record-keeping, reporting, and inspection similar to federal requirements under section 60117.
(6) May require pipeline operators to file inspection and maintenance plans for approval.
(7) May enforce its own safety standards through injunctions and civil penalties similar to federal law.
(8) Can properly review the safety plans and manuals described in section 60109(e)(7)(C)(i).
(9) Has enough trained inspectors to keep pipelines safe. The state must update its "State Inspection Calculation Tool" using: (A) the miles of gas and hazardous liquid pipeline in the state, including cast iron and bare steel pipe; (B) the number of service lines; (C) the age of the gas distribution system; and (D) environmental factors, including geology, that could affect pipeline safety.
(c) Reports.
(1) Each certification must include a report listing: (A) the name and address of everyone the certification covers; (B) every accident or incident in the past 12 months causing death, a hospitalization, or property loss above an amount the Secretary sets — even involving someone outside the state's jurisdiction — plus any other accident the state considers significant, and a summary of the state's investigation of each; (C) the state's record-keeping, reporting, and inspection practices, including how many inspections it did in the past 12 months; and (D) any other information the Secretary asks for.
(2) The very first report only needs to include information that's already available at the time.
(d) A certification does not cover new federal safety standards issued after the certification date. Federal law keeps applying to those new standards until the state adopts them and re-certifies.
(e) The Secretary may monitor a state's safety program to make sure it follows the certification, and the state must cooperate.
(f) If the Secretary decides a state isn't enforcing federal standards well enough, the Secretary can reject the certification, take over federal jurisdiction, or take other action to fix enforcement. Before doing so, the Secretary must give the state notice and a chance for a hearing. At that hearing, the state has the burden of proving it is enforcing the standards adequately.
Except as provided in this section and sections 60114 and 60121 of this title, the Secretary of Transportation may not prescribe or enforce safety standards and practices for an intrastate pipeline facility or intrastate pipeline transportation to the extent that the safety standards and practices are regulated by a State authority (including a municipality if the standards and practices apply to intrastate gas pipeline transportation) that submits to the Secretary annually a certification for the facilities and transportation that complies with subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
Each certification submitted under subsection (a) of this section shall state that the State authority—
has regulatory jurisdiction over the standards and practices to which the certification applies;
has adopted, by the date of certification, each applicable standard prescribed under this chapter or, if a standard under this chapter was prescribed not later than 120 days before certification, is taking steps to adopt that standard;
is enforcing each adopted standard through ways that include inspections conducted by State employees meeting the qualifications the Secretary prescribes under section 60107(d)(1)(C) of this title;
is encouraging and promoting the establishment of a program designed to prevent damage by demolition, excavation, tunneling, or construction activity to the pipeline facilities to which the certification applies that subjects persons who violate the applicable requirements of that program to civil penalties and other enforcement actions that are substantially the same as are provided under this chapter, and addresses the elements in section 60134(b);
may require record maintenance, reporting, and inspection substantially the same as provided under section 60117 of this title;
may require that plans for inspection and maintenance under section 60108 (a) and (b) of this title be filed for approval;
may enforce safety standards of the authority under a law of the State by injunctive relief and civil penalties substantially the same as provided under sections 60120 and 60122(a)(1) and (b)–(f) of this title;
has the capability to sufficiently review and evaluate the adequacy of the plans and manuals described in section 60109(e)(7)(C)(i); and
has a sufficient number of employees described in paragraph (3) to ensure safe operations of pipeline facilities, updating the State Inspection Calculation Tool to take into account factors including—
the number of miles of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in the State, including the number of miles of cast iron and bare steel pipelines;
the number of services in the State;
the age of the gas distribution system in the State; and
environmental factors that could impact the integrity of the pipeline, including relevant geological issues.
Each certification submitted under subsection (a) of this section shall include a report that contains—
the name and address of each person to whom the certification applies that is subject to the safety jurisdiction of the State authority;
each accident or incident reported during the prior 12 months by that person involving a fatality, personal injury requiring hospitalization, or property damage or loss of more than an amount the Secretary establishes (even if the person sustaining the fatality, personal injury, or property damage or loss is not subject to the safety jurisdiction of the authority), any other accident the authority considers significant, and a summary of the investigation by the authority of the cause and circumstances surrounding the accident or incident;
the record maintenance, reporting, and inspection practices conducted by the authority to enforce compliance with safety standards prescribed under this chapter to which the certification applies, including the number of inspections of pipeline facilities the authority made during the prior 12 months; and
any other information the Secretary requires.
The report included in the first certification submitted under subsection (a) of this section is only required to state information available at the time of certification.
A certification in effect under this section does not apply to safety standards prescribed under this chapter after the date of certification. This chapter applies to each applicable safety standard prescribed after the date of certification until the State authority adopts the standard and submits the appropriate certification to the Secretary under subsection (a) of this section.
The Secretary may monitor a safety program established under this section to ensure that the program complies with the certification. A State authority shall cooperate with the Secretary under this subsection.
If after receiving a certification the Secretary decides the State authority is not enforcing satisfactorily compliance with applicable safety standards prescribed under this chapter, the Secretary may reject the certification, assert United States Government jurisdiction, or take other appropriate action to achieve adequate enforcement. The Secretary shall give the authority notice and an opportunity for a hearing before taking final action under this subsection. When notice is given, the burden of proof is on the authority to demonstrate that it is enforcing satisfactorily compliance with the prescribed standards.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1309; Pub. L. 104–304, § 20(a), Oct. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 3804; Pub. L. 109–468, § 2(b)(1), Dec. 29, 2006, 120 Stat. 3487; Pub. L. 116–260, div. R, title II, § 202(b)(1), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2239.)
- 1994Enacted · Pub. L. 103-272 · 108 Stat. 1309
- 1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-304 · 110 Stat. 3804
- 2006Amended · Pub. L. 109-468 · 120 Stat. 3487
- 2020Amended · Pub. L. 116-260 · 134 Stat. 2239
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 103-272 on 1994-07-05.
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