[House Report 111-473]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress Rept. 111-473
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 1
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IN SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL SAFE DIGGING MONTH, APRIL, 2010
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May 4, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Oberstar, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 1278]
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom
was referred the resolution (H. Res. 1278) in support and
recognition of National Safe Digging Month, April, 2010, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments
and recommend that the resolution be agreed to.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
That the House of Representatives supports the goals and ideals of
National Safe Digging Month, and encourages all homeowners and
excavators throughout the country to call 811 before conducting any
digging or excavation activities.
Amend the preamble to read as follows:
Whereas each year there are over 200,000 incidences of unintentional damage
to underground utility infrastructure (including pipelines, electrical,
telecommunications, water, and sewer lines), many as a result of an
individual who fails to have underground utilities lines located before
digging;
Whereas there are 2,534,000 miles of pipelines, of which 2,036,800 are for
distribution of natural gas, 323,600 for transmission of natural gas, and
173,500 for hazardous materials including oil;
Whereas some utility lines are buried only a few inches underground, making
them easy to strike even during shallow digging projects;
Whereas failure to locate underground utility lines before digging may have
unintended consequences such as service interruption, environmental damage,
property damage, personal injury, and even death;
Whereas State one-call notification programs allow homeowners and
excavators to have underground utilities located and marked before
conducting digging or excavation activities;
Whereas Congress first established minimum standards for State one-call
notification programs and authorized appropriations for Federal grants to
improve State one-call notification programs in the Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century in 1998;
Whereas Congress required a 3-digit, nationwide toll-free number be
established to be used by State one-call systems in the Pipeline Safety
Improvement Act of 2002;
Whereas in 2005, ``811'' was designated as the nationwide one-call number
for homeowners and excavators to call before conducting digging or
excavation activities;
Whereas in the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act
of 2006 Congress authorized the Secretary of Transportation to issue civil
penalties to any owner or operator of a pipeline facility who fails to
respond to a request to mark an underground pipeline facility, any
individual who fails to use a State's one-call system prior to digging or
excavation activities, or any individual who disregards location
information or markings while digging or excavating;
Whereas the one-call system has helped reduce the number of digging damages
caused by failure to locate underground utilities prior to digging from 57
percent in 2004 to 37.5 percent in 2009;
Whereas the 1,400 members of the Common Ground Alliance, who are dedicated
to ensuring public safety, environmental protection, and the integrity of
services by promoting effective damage prevention practices, promote the
national ``Call Before You Dig'' campaign to increase public awareness
about the importance of calling 811 to identify the exact location of
underground utility lines;
Whereas the Common Ground Alliance has designated April as National Safe
Digging month in order to increase awareness of safe digging practices
across the country and to celebrate the anniversary of the designation of
811 as the national ``Call Before You Dig'' number; and
Whereas April is the beginning of the peak of excavation projects around
the Nation: Now, therefore, be it
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
H. Res. 1278, as amended, recognizes April 2010 as National
Safe Digging Month, and encourages all homeowners and
excavators to call 811 before conducting any digging or
excavation activities.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H. Res. 1278, as amended, supports and recognizes April
2010 as National Safe Digging Month, and encourages all
homeowners and excavators to call 811 before conducting any
digging or excavation activities.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), many States, and pipeline damage prevention
stakeholders from across the country are supporting April as
National Safe Digging Month to celebrate the three-year
anniversary of 811, the national call-before-you-dig number.
Throughout April, PHMSA encouraged all homeowners and
excavators to call 811 before they dig to prevent fatalities,
injuries, environmental damage, and loss of critical
infrastructure and services. According to PHMSA, excavation
damage continues to be a leading cause of serious pipeline
incidents. More than 256,000 underground utility lines are
damaged during excavation each year in the United States; 37.5
percent of which are the result of not calling before digging.
In the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA
21) (P.L. 105-178), Congress established minimum standards for
State one-call notification programs and authorized the
Secretary to issue grants to States to improve one-call
notification programs. TEA 21 also required the Secretary of
Transportation to initiate a study of the best practices
employed by one-call notification systems in operation in the
States. PHMSA awarded $6 million in 2001 and 2003 to States to
fund a wide range of education efforts, communications system
improvements, and enforcement of State requirements for damage
prevention.
In the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-
355), Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation, in
conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission,
facility operators, excavators, and one-call notification
system operators, to establish a three-digit nationwide toll-
free telephone number for homeowners and excavators to call
before digging. The law also encouraged States, operators of
one-call notification programs, excavators, and underground
facility operators to adopt and implement the best practices
contained in the report required by TEA 21. Further, the law
authorized States to enforce the one-call notification program,
and established criminal penalties for knowing and willfully
engaging in excavation activities without first using the one-
call notification system or ignoring location information or
markings and subsequently damaging the pipeline and causing
harm to persons or property.
In 2005, the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal
Communications Commission designated ``811'' as the nationwide
one-call telephone number for homeowners and excavators to call
before conducting digging or excavation activities. By dialing
811, excavators can reach a one-call center where, at no cost
to the excavator, companies that may operate underground
utilities in the area they plan to dig will be notified. Those
companies are required to dispatch crews to determine and mark
the exact location of their utilities so that homeowners and
excavators can avoid hitting them when digging.
In the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and
Safety Act of 2006 (PIPES Act) (P.L. 109-468), Congress
established civil penalties for enforcement of ``call-before-
you-dig'' laws. The Secretary of Transportation has the
authority to issue civil penalties to any owner or operator of
a pipeline facility who fails to respond to a request to mark
an underground pipeline facility. The Secretary also has the
authority to issue civil penalties to any homeowner or
excavator who fails to use a State's one-call system prior to
digging or excavation activities or any individual who
disregards location information or markings while digging or
excavating.
The PIPES Act also authorized PHMSA to award grants to fund
improvements in State damage prevention programs as long as the
State authority participates in the oversight of pipeline
transportation pursuant to an annual certification or agreement
with PHMSA and is designated by the State's governor as the
eligible recipient of the grant funding. The purpose of the
grants is to establish comprehensive state programs designed to
prevent damage to underground pipelines in States that do not
have such programs in place and to improve damage prevention
programs in States that do.
The one-call notification system has helped reduce the
number of excavation damages caused by failure to locate
underground utilities prior to digging from 57 percent in 2004
to 37.5 percent in 2009.
This resolution recognizes April 2010 as National Safe
Digging Month, and encourages all homeowners and contractors to
call 811 before conducting any digging or excavation
activities.
SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION
H. Res. 1278, as amended, supports and recognizes April
2010 as National Safe Digging Month. Further, the resolution
encourages all homeowners and excavators to call 811 before
conducting any digging or excavation activities to prevent any
fatalities, injuries, environmental damage, and loss of
critical infrastructure and services that could occur as a
result of damage to an underground utility, such as a pipeline.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On April 20, 2010, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines,
and Hazardous Materials Ranking Member Bill Shuster introduced
H. Res. 1278. This resolution has not been introduced in a
previous Congress.
On April 29, 2010, the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure met in open session to consider H. Res. 1278.
The Committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a
substitute to the resolution by voice vote. The Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure ordered the resolution, H.
Res. 1278, as amended, reported favorably to the House by voice
vote with a quorum present.
RECORD VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires each committee report to include the
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for
and against. There were no recorded votes taken in connection
with consideration of H. Res. 1278, or ordering the resolution,
as amended, reported. A motion to order H. Res. 1278, as
amended, reported favorably to the House was agreed to by voice
vote with a quorum present.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in this report.
COST OF LEGISLATION
With respect to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, H. Res. 1278, as amended, is a
resolution of the House of Representatives, and therefore does
not have the force of law. As such, there is no cost associated
with this resolution for fiscal year 2010, or any fiscal year
thereafter.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(2) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee advises that the resolution contains no measure that
authorizes funding, so no comparison of the total estimated
funding level for the relevant programs to the appropriate
level under current law is required.
2. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee advises that the resolution contains no measure that
authorizes funding, so no statement of general performance and
objectives for any measure that authorizes funding is required.
3. With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee advises that the resolution contains no measure that
authorizes funding, so no cost estimate nor comparison for any
measure that authorizes funding is required.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XXI
Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits, as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. H. Res.
1278, as amended, does not contain any earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits under clause 9(e), 9(f),
or 9(g) of rule XXI.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H. Res. 1278, as amended, is a
resolution of the House of Representatives, and therefore does
not have the force of law. As such, clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII
does not apply.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
H. Res. 1278, as amended, contains no Federal mandates.
PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local,
or tribal law. The Committee states that H. Res. 1278, as
amended, does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the resolution does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (P.L. 104-1).
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
H. Res. 1278, as amended, makes no changes in existing law.