49 U.S.C. § 60133 — Coordination of environmental reviews

Page 1801 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 60133 Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 112–90, § 11(b), added subsec. (f). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries INFORMATION TO EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES Pub. L. 112–90, § 6(b), Jan. 3, 2012, 125 Stat. 1910, pro- vided that: ‘‘(1) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 3, 2012], the Sec- retary shall issue guidance to owners and operators of pipeline facilities on the importance of providing sys- tem-specific information about their pipeline facilities to emergency response agencies of the communities and jurisdictions in which those facilities are located. ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—Before issuing guidance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with owners and operators of pipeline facilities to determine the ex- tent to which the owners and operators are already pro- viding system-specific information about their pipeline facilities to emergency response agencies.’’ [Terms used in section 6(b) of Pub. L. 112–90, set out above, have the meaning given those terms in this chapter, see section 1(c)(1) of Pub. L. 112–90, set out as a note under section 60101 of this title.] § 60133. Coordination of environmental reviews (a) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.— (1) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this section, the President shall establish an Interagency Committee to develop and ensure implementation of a coordinated environ- mental review and permitting process in order to enable pipeline operators to commence and complete all activities necessary to carry out pipeline repairs within any time periods speci- fied by rule by the Secretary. (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (or a des- ignee of the Chairman) shall chair the Inter- agency Committee, which shall consist of rep- resentatives of Federal agencies with respon- sibilities relating to pipeline repair projects, including each of the following persons (or a designee thereof): (A) The Secretary of Transportation. (B) The Administrator of the Environ- mental Protection Agency. (C) The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. (D) The Assistant Administrator for Fish- eries of the National Oceanic and Atmos- pheric Administration. (E) The Director of the Bureau of Land Management. (F) The Director of the Minerals Manage- ment Service. (G) The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. (H) The Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (3) EVALUATION.—The Interagency Com- mittee shall evaluate Federal permitting re- quirements to which access, excavation, and restoration activities in connection with pipe- line repairs described in paragraph (1) may be subject. As part of its evaluation, the Inter- agency Committee shall examine the access, excavation, and restoration practices of the pipeline industry in connection with such pipeline repairs, and may develop a compen- dium of best practices used by the industry to access, excavate, and restore the site of a pipe- line repair. (4) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—Based upon the evaluation required under paragraph (3) and not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the members of the Interagency Committee shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to provide for a coordinated and expedited pipeline repair permit review process to carry out the purpose set forth in paragraph (1). The Interagency Committee shall include provisions in the memorandum of understanding identifying those repairs or categories of repairs described in paragraph (1) for which the best practices identified under paragraph (3), when properly employed by a pipeline operator, would result in no more than minimal adverse effects on the environment and for which discretionary administrative reviews may therefore be mini- mized or eliminated. With respect to pipeline repairs described in paragraph (1) to which the preceding sentence would not be applicable, the Interagency Committee shall include pro- visions to enable pipeline operators to com- mence and complete all activities necessary to carry out pipeline repairs within any time pe- riods specified by rule by the Secretary. The Interagency Committee shall include in the memorandum of understanding criteria under which permits required for such pipeline re- pair activities should be prioritized over other less urgent agency permit application reviews. The Interagency Committee shall not enter into a memorandum of understanding under this paragraph except by unanimous agree- ment of the members of the Interagency Com- mittee. (5) STATE AND LOCAL CONSULTATION.—In car- rying out this subsection, the Interagency Committee shall consult with appropriate State and local environmental, pipeline safe- ty, and emergency response officials, and such other officials as the Interagency Committee considers appropriate. (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days after the completion of the memorandum of un- derstanding required under subsection (a)(4), each agency represented on the Interagency Committee shall revise its regulations as nec- essary to implement the provisions of the memorandum of understanding. (c) SAVINGS PROVISIONS; NO PREEMPTION.— Nothing in this section shall be construed— (1) to require a pipeline operator to obtain a Federal permit, if no Federal permit would otherwise have been required under Federal law; or (2) to preempt applicable Federal, State, or local environmental law. (d) INTERIM OPERATIONAL ALTERNATIVES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this section, and sub- ject to the limitations in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Transportation shall revise the regulations of the Department, to the extent necessary, to permit a pipeline operator sub- ject to time periods for repair specified by rule by the Secretary to implement alternative mitigation measures until all applicable per- mits have been granted. Page 1802 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 60134 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to this subsection shall not allow an operator to implement al- ternative mitigation measures pursuant to paragraph (1) unless— (A) allowing the operator to implement such measures would be consistent with the protection of human health, public safety, and the environment; (B) the operator, with respect to a par- ticular repair project, has applied for and is pursuing diligently and in good faith all re- quired Federal, State, and local permits to carry out the project; and (C) the proposed alternative mitigation measures are not incompatible with pipeline safety. (e) OMBUDSMAN.—The Secretary shall des- ignate an ombudsman to assist in expediting pipeline repairs and resolving disagreements be- tween Federal, State, and local permitting agen- cies and the pipeline operator during agency re- view of any pipeline repair activity, consistent with protection of human health, public safety, and the environment. (f) STATE AND LOCAL PERMITTING PROCESSES.— The Secretary shall encourage States and local governments to consolidate their respective per- mitting processes for pipeline repair projects subject to any time periods for repair specified by rule by the Secretary. The Secretary may re- quest other relevant Federal agencies to provide technical assistance to States and local govern- ments for the purpose of encouraging such con- solidation. (Added Pub. L. 107–355, § 16(a), Dec. 17, 2002, 116 Stat. 3006.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of enactment of this section, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (4) and (d)(1), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 107–355, which was approved Dec. 17, 2002. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS The Minerals Management Service was abolished and functions divided among the Office of Natural Re- sources Revenue, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage- ment, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental En- forcement. See Secretary of the Interior Orders No. 3299 of May 19, 2010, and No. 3302 of June 18, 2010, and chap- ters II, V, and XII of title 30, Code of Federal Regula- tions, as revised by final rules of the Department of the Interior at 75 F.R. 61051 and 76 F.R. 64432. § 60134. State damage prevention programs (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make a grant to a State authority (including a munici- pality with respect to intrastate gas pipeline transportation) to assist in improving the over- all quality and effectiveness of a damage preven- tion program of the State authority under sub- section (e) if the State authority— (1) has in effect an annual certification under section 60105 or an agreement under sec- tion 60106; (2)(A) has in effect an effective damage pre- vention program that meets the requirements of subsection (b); or (B) demonstrates that it has made substan- tial progress toward establishing such a pro- gram, and that such program will meet the re- quirements of subsection (b); and (3) does not provide any exemptions to mu- nicipalities, State agencies, or their contrac- tors from the one-call notification system re- quirements of the program. (b) DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— An effective damage prevention program in- cludes the following elements: (1) Participation by operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of methods for estab- lishing and maintaining effective communica- tions between stakeholders from receipt of an excavation notification until successful com- pletion of the excavation, as appropriate. (2) A process for fostering and ensuring the support and partnership of stakeholders, in- cluding excavators, operators, locators, de- signers, and local government in all phases of the program. (3) A process for reviewing the adequacy of a pipeline operator’s internal performance meas- ures regarding persons performing locating services and quality assurance programs. (4) Participation by operators, excavators, and other stakeholders in the development and implementation of effective employee training programs to ensure that operators, the one-call center, the enforcing agency, and the excavators have partnered to design and implement training for the employees of oper- ators, excavators, and locators. (5) A process for fostering and ensuring ac- tive participation by all stakeholders in public education for damage prevention activities. (6) A process for resolving disputes that de- fines the State authority’s role as a partner and facilitator to resolve issues. (7) Enforcement of State damage prevention laws and regulations for all aspects of the damage prevention process, including public education, and the use of civil penalties for violations assessable by the appropriate State authority. (8) A process for fostering and promoting the use, by all appropriate stakeholders, of im- proving technologies that may enhance com- munications, underground pipeline locating capability, and gathering and analyzing infor- mation about the accuracy and effectiveness of locating programs. (9) A process for review and analysis of the effectiveness of each program element, includ- ing a means for implementing improvements identified by such program reviews. (c) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—In making grants under this section, the Secretary shall take into consideration the commitment of each State to ensuring the effectiveness of its damage preven- tion program, including legislative and regu- latory actions taken by the State. (d) APPLICATION.—If a State authority files an application for a grant under this section not later than September 30 of a calendar year and demonstrates that the Governor (or chief execu- tive) of the State has designated it as the appro- priate State authority to receive the grant, the