§ 60126. — Risk management.
[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 7, 2003 and December 19, 2003]
[CITE: 49USC60126]
TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
SUBTITLE VIII--PIPELINES
CHAPTER 601--SAFETY
Sec. 60126. Risk management
(a) Risk Management Program Demonstration Projects.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish risk management
demonstration projects--
(A) to demonstrate, through the voluntary participation by
owners and operators of gas pipeline facilities and hazardous
liquid pipeline facilities, the application of risk management;
and
(B) to evaluate the safety and cost-effectiveness of the
program.
(2) Exemptions.--In carrying out a demonstration project under
this subsection, the Secretary, by order--
(A) may exempt an owner or operator of the pipeline facility
covered under the project (referred to in this subsection as a
``covered pipeline facility''), from the applicability of all or
a portion of the requirements under this chapter that would
otherwise apply to the covered pipeline facility; and
(B) shall exempt, for the period of the project, an owner or
operator of the covered pipeline facility, from the
applicability of any new standard that the Secretary promulgates
under this chapter during the period of that participation, with
respect to the covered facility.
(b) Requirements.--In carrying out a demonstration project under
this section, the Secretary shall--
(1) invite owners and operators of pipeline facilities to submit
risk management plans for timely approval by the Secretary;
(2) require, as a condition of approval, that a risk management
plan submitted under this subsection contain measures that are
designed to achieve an equivalent or greater overall level of safety
than would otherwise be achieved through compliance with the
standards contained in this chapter or promulgated by the Secretary
under this chapter;
(3) provide for--
(A) collaborative government and industry training;
(B) methods to measure the safety performance of risk
management plans;
(C) the development and application of new technologies;
(D) the promotion of community awareness concerning how the
overall level of safety will be maintained or enhanced by the
demonstration project;
(E) the development of models that categorize the risks
inherent to each covered pipeline facility, taking into
consideration the location, volume, pressure, and material
transported or stored by that pipeline facility;
(F) the application of risk assessment and risk management
methodologies that are suitable to the inherent risks that are
determined to exist through the use of models developed under
subparagraph (E);
(G) the development of project elements that are necessary
to ensure that--
(i) the owners and operators that participate in the
demonstration project demonstrate that they are effectively
managing the risks referred to in subparagraph (E); and
(ii) the risk management plans carried out under the
demonstration project under this subsection can be audited;
(H) a process whereby an owner or operator of a pipeline
facility is able to terminate a risk management plan or, with
the approval of the Secretary, to amend, modify, or otherwise
adjust a risk management plan referred to in paragraph (1) that
has been approved by the Secretary pursuant to that paragraph to
respond to--
(i) changed circumstances; or
(ii) a determination by the Secretary that the owner or
operator is not achieving an overall level of safety that is
at least equivalent to the level that would otherwise be
achieved through compliance with the standards contained in
this chapter or promulgated by the Secretary under this
chapter;
(I) such other elements as the Secretary, with the agreement
of the owners and operators that participate in the
demonstration project under this section, determines to further
the purposes of this section; and
(J) an opportunity for public comment in the approval
process; and
(4) in selecting participants for the demonstration project,
take into consideration the past safety and regulatory performance
of each applicant who submits a risk management plan pursuant to
paragraph (1).
(c) Emergencies and Revocations.--Nothing in this section diminishes
or modifies the Secretary's authority under this title to act in case of
an emergency. The Secretary may revoke any exemption granted under this
section for substantial noncompliance with the terms and conditions of
an approved risk management plan.
(d) Participation by State Authority.--In carrying out this section,
the Secretary may provide for consultation by a State that has in effect
a certification under section 60105. To the extent that a demonstration
project comprises an intrastate natural gas pipeline or an intrastate
hazardous liquid pipeline facility, the Secretary may make an agreement
with the State agency to carry out the duties of the Secretary for
approval and administration of the project.
(e) Report.--Not later than March 31, 2000, the Secretary shall
transmit to the Congress a report on the results of the demonstration
projects carried out under this section that includes--
(1) an evaluation of each such demonstration project, including
an evaluation of the performance of each participant in that project
with respect to safety and environmental protection; and
(2) recommendations concerning whether the applications of risk
management demonstrated under the demonstration project should be
incorporated into the Federal pipeline safety program under this
chapter on a permanent basis.
(Added Pub. L. 104-304, Sec. 5(a), Oct. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 3798.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 60118 of this title.
