Pipeline Safety: Overdue Statutory Mandates (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised July 27, 2018 |
| Report Number |
IN10942 |
| Report Type |
Insight |
| Authors |
Paul W. Parfomak |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The safety of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in the United States is regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT). For decades, Congress has
reauthorized DOT's pipeline safety program in stand-alone legislation. In addition, Congress has used reauthorizations
to impose on PHMSA various mandates regarding standards, studies, and other elements of pipeline safety regulation—
usually in response to major pipeline accidents. The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of
2011 (P.L. 112-90) and the PIPES Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-183) together included 61 such mandates. As of June 21, 2018,
the agency had fulfilled 47 of these. Some in Congress are concerned that key mandates remain unfulfilled, in some
cases years beyond the deadlines specified in statute.
