49 U.S.C. § 60117 : US Code - Section 60117: Administrative

Search 49 U.S.C. § 60117 : US Code - Section 60117: Administrative

(a) General Authority. - To carry out this chapter, the Secretary
of Transportation may conduct investigations, make reports, issue
subpenas, conduct hearings, require the production of records, take
depositions, and conduct research, testing, development,
demonstration, and training activities and promotional activities
relating to prevention of damage to pipeline facilities. The
Secretary may not charge a tuition-type fee for training State or
local government personnel in the enforcement of regulations
prescribed under this chapter.
(b) Records, Reports, and Information. - To enable the Secretary
to decide whether a person owning or operating a pipeline facility
is complying with this chapter and standards prescribed or orders
issued under this chapter, the person shall -
(1) maintain records, make reports, and provide information the
Secretary requires; and
(2) make the records, reports, and information available when
the Secretary requests.
The Secretary may require owners and operators of gathering lines
to provide the Secretary information pertinent to the Secretary's
ability to make a determination as to whether and to what extent to
regulate gathering lines.
(c) Entry and Inspection. - An officer, employee, or agent of the
Department of Transportation designated by the Secretary, on
display of proper credentials to the individual in charge, may
enter premises to inspect the records and property of a person at a
reasonable time and in a reasonable way to decide whether a person
is complying with this chapter and standards prescribed or orders
issued under this chapter.
(d) Confidentiality of Information. - Information related to a
confidential matter referred to in section 1905 of title 18 that is
obtained by the Secretary or an officer, employee, or agent in
carrying out this section may be disclosed only to another officer
or employee concerned with carrying out this chapter or in a
proceeding under this chapter.
(e) Use of Accident Reports. - (1) Each accident report made by
an officer, employee, or agent of the Department may be used in a
judicial proceeding resulting from the accident. The officer,
employee, or agent may be required to testify in the proceeding
about the facts developed in investigating the accident. The report
shall be made available to the public in a way that does not
identify an individual.
(2) Each report related to research and demonstration projects
and related activities is public information.
(f) Testing Facilities Involved in Accidents. - The Secretary may
require testing of a part of a pipeline facility subject to this
chapter that has been involved in or affected by an accident only
after -
(1) notifying the appropriate State official in the State in
which the facility is located; and
(2) attempting to negotiate a mutually acceptable plan for
testing with the owner of the facility and, when the Secretary
considers appropriate, the National Transportation Safety Board.
(g) Providing Safety Information. - On request, the Secretary
shall provide the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or
appropriate State authority with information the Secretary has on
the safety of material, operations, devices, or processes related
to pipeline transportation or operating a pipeline facility.
(h) Cooperation. - The Secretary may -
(1) advise, assist, and cooperate with other departments,
agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government,
the States, and public and private agencies and persons in
planning and developing safety standards and ways to inspect and
test to decide whether those standards have been complied with;
(2) consult with and make recommendations to other departments,
agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, State and
local governments, and public and private agencies and persons to
develop and encourage activities, including the enactment of
legislation, that will assist in carrying out this chapter and
improve State and local pipeline safety programs; and
(3) participate in a proceeding involving safety requirements
related to a liquefied natural gas facility before the Commission
or a State authority.
(i) Promoting Coordination. - (1) After consulting with
appropriate State officials, the Secretary shall establish
procedures to promote more effective coordination between
departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government and
State authorities with regulatory authority over pipeline
facilities about responses to a pipeline accident.
(2) In consultation with the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, the Secretary shall establish procedures to notify
the Administration of any pipeline accident in which an excavator
that has caused damage to a pipeline may have violated a regulation
of the Administration.
(j) Withholding Information From Congress. - This section does
not authorize information to be withheld from a committee of
Congress authorized to have the information.
(k) Authority for Cooperative Agreements. - To carry out this
chapter, the Secretary may enter into grants, cooperative
agreements, and other transactions with any person, agency, or
instrumentality of the United States, any unit of State or local
government, any educational institution, or any other entity to
further the objectives of this chapter. The objectives of this
chapter include the development, improvement, and promotion of one-
call damage prevention programs, research, risk assessment, and
mapping.
(l) Safety Orders. - If the Secretary decides that a pipeline
facility has a potential safety-related condition, the Secretary
may order the operator of the facility to take necessary corrective
action, including physical inspection, testing, repair,
replacement, or other appropriate action to remedy the safety-
related condition.