Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                        RESOLUTION 5-H.F.No. 567 
 A resolution memorializing the President and Congress 
to give states more authority to regulate interstate 
pipelines and to improve federal regulation of 
pipelines. 
    WHEREAS, pipelines in Minnesota carrying hazardous 
substances present a hidden danger to the citizens of the state; 
and 
    WHEREAS, the state currently has very limited authority to 
regulate the safety of pipelines; and 
    WHEREAS, the regulation of pipelines by the United States 
has proved inadequate to prevent injury and death to Minnesota 
residents and damage to property and the environment; NOW, 
THEREFORE, 
    BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
that Congress should speedily enact legislation to give states 
more authority to regulate the safety of pipelines, and to 
mandate more effective federal regulation of pipelines.  This 
legislation should require the Federal Department of 
Transportation to: 
    (1) play an affirmative role in helping states develop 
inspection programs for interstate natural gas and hazardous 
liquid pipelines; 
    (2) increase the number of inspectors to a level sufficient 
to comprehensively inspect each interstate pipeline once per 
year; 
    (3) sponsor or conduct increased research on pipeline 
safety technologies, including standards for pipeline materials; 
    (4) upgrade regulations covering hazardous liquid pipelines 
to be comparable in stringency and thoroughness to regulations 
covering natural gas pipelines; 
    (5) review and update existing standards for pipe 
manufacture, pipeline construction and pipeline operation, and 
incorporate the best available technology into new standards; 
    (6) analyze the effectiveness of double piping or casing 
and incorporate requirements for these systems into required 
standards if the systems are cost-effective; and 
    (7) study the need for additional registration, licensing 
and certification requirements for pipeline design and 
construction personnel. 
    The legislation should require the Federal Department of 
Transportation, or permit the states to: 
    (1) require higher safety margins for operating pressures 
on hazardous liquid pipelines located in populated or 
environmentally sensitive areas; 
    (2) require that pipeline operators periodically submit 
comprehensive reports on the condition of their hazardous liquid 
and natural gas transmission pipelines, and require appropriate 
testing based on concerns indentified in these reports.  These 
requirements should apply much more rigorously to transmission 
pipelines in populated or environmentally sensitive areas; 
    (3) require pipeline operators to establish contingency 
plans for the abandonment or utilization of pipelines that do 
not perform to federal or state standards; 
    (4) require that hazardous liquid pipeline operators 
improve their ability to rapidly locate and isolate pipeline 
leaks or spills through use of remote-control shut-off valves 
and remotely monitored pressure gauges; 
    (5) require emergency response procedures and thorough 
training for shutting down pumps, locating leaks and spills, and 
shutting down appropriate valves as rapidly as possible; 
    (6) conduct on site inspection of pipeline construction 
projects to ensure that standards are being met; 
    (7) require remote shut-off valves on all new pipelines; 
and 
    (8) incorporate technologies that can detect and locate 
pipeline leaks and spills into standards for new pipelines; 
    Finally, the legislation should mandate that the National 
Transportation Safety Board sponsor or conduct increased 
research on pipeline safety technologies and conduct a 
comprehensive study on the extent to which longitudinal seams in 
some electric resistance welded pipelines are prone to 
experience failures; 
    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of 
Minnesota is directed to transmit certified copies of this 
memorial to the President of the United States, the President 
and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and 
the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and to 
Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress. 
    Filed April 30, 1987