,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cidh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #ab1 #bjbe,ms4 
,brownley introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 ,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to    
require the ,bureau of ,safety and      
,environmental ,enforcement to further  
develop1 finalize1 and implement updated
 regulations for offshore oil and gas   
pipelines to address long-standing      
limitations regarding its ability to    
ensure active pipeline integrity and    
address safety and environmental risks  
associated with decommissioning1 and for
 other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,offshore     
,pipeline ,safety ,act4  #b4            
,finalization of regulations related to 
offshore pipelines ,not later than #ah  
months after the date of enactment of   
this ,act1 the ,secretary of the        
,interior1 acting through the ,director 
of the ,bureau of ,safety and           
,environmental ,enforcement1 shall issue

 final regulations relating to ,oil and 
,gas and ,sulphur ,operations in the    
,outer ,continental ,shelf--,pipelines  
and ,pipeline ,rights-of-,way 7#gb ,fed4
 ,reg4 #ef1ddb 7,oct4 #c1 #bjjg774 ,such
 regulations shall require owners of oil
 and gas pipelines subject to such      
regulations--  7#a7 to provide for      
internal and external inspections of    
pipelines by a third-party no less      
frequently than every two years1 unless 
the ,director of the ,bureau determines 
that any such inspection is not         
required2 and  7#b7 to equip such       
pipelines with a leak detection system  
or device that provides continuous      
volumetric comparison between the       
pipeline's product input and output and 
includes alarms and adequate sensitivity
 to detect variations between input and 
discharge volumes to enable any leaks   
from the pipeline to be detected as     
quickly as possible4  #c4 ,addressing   
environmental risks of decommissioning  
pipelines  7a7 ,study on environmental  

risks of decommissioning pipelines      
versus removing pipelines  7#a7 ,study  
,the ,directors of the ,bureau of       
,safety and ,environmental ,enforcement 
and the ,bureau of ,ocean ,energy       
,management shall jointly conduct a     
study to evaluate the environmental     
benefits and risks associated with      
decommissioning oil and gas pipelines in
 place on the sea floor compared to     
removing such pipelines4 ,such study    
shall include-- 7,a7 an evaluation of   
pipelines that have been decommissioned 
in place1 identifying decommissioned    
pipelines at high-risk of causing safety
 and environmental harm1 causing        
obstructions1 or otherwise unduly       
interfering with present or future uses 
of the outer continental shelf2 and     
7,b7 recommendations on the best uses of
 the revenues generated by the annual   
pipelines fees as authorized by         
subsection 7d74  7#b7 ,report ,not later
 than #ah months after the date of      
enactment of this ,act1 the ,directors  

shall transmit a report to the          
,committee on ,natural ,resources of the
 ,house of ,representatives and the     
,committee on ,energy and ,natural      
,resources of the ,senate1 detailing the
 findings and determinations of the     
study1 including any recommendations for
 legislation4  7b7 ,required            
considerations in reviewing             
decommissioning applications ,in        
determining whether to permit an owner  
to decommission an oil or gas pipeline1 
the ,bureau of ,safety and              
,environmental ,enforcement1 shall fully
 consider whether the offshore oil and  
gas pipeline constitutes a hazard to    
navigation and commercial and           
recreational fishing operations1 unduly 
interferes with other uses of the outer 
continental shelf1 or has adverse       
environmental effects4  7c7 ,ongoing    
monitoring of decommissioned pipelines  
,the ,bureau of ,safety and             
,environmental ,enforcement shall       
continually monitor the condition and   

location of all oil and gas pipelines   
that have been decommissioned and remain
 in place1 and shall maintain all       
relevant records of such monitoring4    
7d7 ,annual pipeline owners fee ,not    
later than #ahj after the date of       
enactment of this ,act1 the ,bureau of  
,safety and ,environmental ,enforcement 
shall issue regulations to assess an    
annual fee on owners of offshore oil and
 gas pipelines for the purpose of       
providing the ,bureau with funds to     
decommission or remove such pipelines in
 the event an owner files for           
bankruptcy4 ,such fee shall be no less  
than-- 7#a7 #aj1jjj per mile for such   
pipelines in water with a depth of #ejj 
feet or greater2 and  7#b7 #a1jjj per   
mile for pipelines in water depth of    
under #ejj feet4  #d4 ,requirement      
relating to exposed segments of offshore
 pipelines ,if the ,bureau of ,safety   
and ,environmental ,enforcement         
identifies any exposed segment of any   
active or decommissioned pipeline1 the  

,bureau shall either remove the pipeline
 from the ocean or ensure it is properly
 decommissioned and does not pose a     
threat4 ,if a segment of any active     
pipeline is exposed or shifts1 the      
,bureau shall re-secure such segment to 
the sea floor4  #e4 ,completion of study
 relating to environment risks of       
chemical products used in oil and gas   
operations  7a7 ,completion of study    
,the ,bureau of ,safety and             
,environmental ,enforcement shall       
complete a study addressing the risks to
 the environment of chemical products   
used in oil and gas operations including
 umbilical lines4 ,in conducting the    
study1 the ,bureau shall seek input from
 chemical suppliers and the oil and gas 
industry4  7b7 ,report ,not later than  
two years after the date of enactment of
 this ,act1 the ,bureau shall transmit a
 report of the findings and             
determinations in such study to         
,congress1 including any recommendations
 for legislation4  #f4 ,effective ,date 

,no provision of this ,act shall take   
effect without considering whether such 
action will result in a reduction of    
reef fish habitat4