HR6187-119

What This Bill Does

The Wojnovich Pipeline Safety Act creates a detailed hazardous liquid pipeline safety and community response framework. PHMSA must establish a safety and modernization grant program for municipalities and community-owned nonprofit utilities in States that require pipeline disclosure in real estate contracts, with $100 million authorized annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030, a 12.5 percent per-recipient cap, administrative cost limits, and DOT Inspector General oversight transfers. PHMSA’s website must be updated for easier public access to accident and incident details, and operators must provide remediation status updates at least every 90 days until remediation is complete. To qualify for grants, States must require real estate contracts to disclose known hazardous liquid pipeline easements within one-half mile of the property, including operator contact information, pipeline substance, repairs in the prior 10 years, and State leak or incident history. Pipeline operators must add community involvement strategies, localized emergency alerts within one mile of leaks or incidents, timely in-person water, soil, or air testing, well testing within one-half mile of events, annual in-line inspections for pipelines older than 50 years or sleeve repairs, and resident and landowner contamination notices. Operators that declare a leak, accident, incident, or failure owe a $2.5 million annual penalty until certified remediation, or $5 million if they do not declare within 15 days of knowing about the event. DOT must reimburse State and local emergency responders within 30 days for equipment, overtime, operational costs, and related response costs. Penalties fund a Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Community Trust Fund for grants and emergency reimbursements. PHMSA must report quarterly to Congress on industry safety knowledge and rename Community Liaison Services as the Office of Public Engagement.

Who Benefits and How

Municipalities with hazardous liquid pipeline infrastructure benefit from modernization grants and trust-fund disbursements. Community-owned nonprofit utilities benefit because they are eligible grant recipients and can use public-private partnerships. Home buyers near hazardous liquid pipelines benefit from mandatory easement, operator, substance, repair, and incident disclosures in real estate contracts. Landowners near hazardous liquid pipelines benefit from emergency alerts, community involvement strategies, testing, and contamination notices. Fire departments benefit from reimbursement for equipment replacement, overtime, and operational response costs after pipeline events. Pipeline construction contractors benefit from grant-funded modernization work for leak-prone hazardous liquid infrastructure.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Hazardous liquid pipeline operators must provide incident data, remediation updates, emergency alerts, testing, inspections, resident notices, and community involvement strategies. Pipeline operators that declare events face $2.5 million annual penalties until remediation is certified. Pipeline operators that fail to declare known events within 15 days face $5 million penalties. Real estate sellers near hazardous liquid pipeline easements must provide contract disclosures in grant-eligible States. PHMSA staff must administer grants, website updates, public data, rules, testing requirements, quarterly reports, and public engagement duties. DOT program staff must reimburse emergency response costs and administer the pipeline community trust fund.

Key Provisions

• Authorizes $100 million per year from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 for hazardous liquid distribution infrastructure safety and modernization grants.
• Requires PHMSA website upgrades with accident details and 90-day remediation status updates from operators.
• Requires grant-eligible States to mandate real estate disclosures for known hazardous liquid pipeline easements within one-half mile of a property.
• Requires localized emergency alerts, water-soil-air testing, well testing, annual inspections for older or sleeve-repaired pipelines, and resident contamination notices.
• Imposes $2.5 million annual penalties for declared pipeline events and $5 million penalties for late declarations.
• Creates emergency-response reimbursement and a Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Community Trust Fund financed by penalties.
• Requires quarterly PHMSA reports on industry safety knowledge and creates an Office of Public Engagement.