To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a confidential voluntary information-sharing system to encourage the sharing of pipeline safety data, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · December 1, 2023
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security.
The Voluntary Information-Sharing System Act would establish a confidential system run by the Transportation Department to collect and share pipeline safety information voluntarily from companies and other stakeholders in the natural gas, carbon dioxide, and hazardous liquid pipeline industries. The system would be managed by a governing board made up of government officials, industry representatives, and public safety advocates who would oversee data collection, analysis, and the sharing of safety lessons learned across the industry without revealing individual company identities. Participation would be completely voluntary, and information shared through the system would be protected from being used in lawsuits, regulatory enforcement actions, or disclosed under freedom of information requests, with limited exceptions for criminal violations and information that operators are already required to report to regulators. The bill authorizes $1 million for fiscal year 2024 and $10 million annually for 2025 through 2027 to establish and operate the program, and requires the Transportation Department to report back to Congress within two years on implementation costs, timeline, and funding recommendations.
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