PIPES Act of 2016

Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 or the PIPES Act of 2016 This bill reauthorizes through FY2019 the gas and hazardous liquid pipeline and related programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT), including Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) operational expenses, one-call notification programs, community pipeline safety information grants, and the pipeline integrity program. The DOT Inspector General shall report to DOT, PHMSA, and Congress a list of each statutory pipeline safety mandate contained in the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, as well as those pipeline safety statutory mandates contained in this Act and other prior Acts, that have not been implemented. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall report to Congress on the natural gas integrity management and hazardous liquid integrity management programs. After completion of any PHMSA pipeline safety inspection, the PHMSA, or the certified state authority, shall: conduct a post-inspection briefing with the gas or hazardous liquid pipeline owner or operator outlining any concerns, and give the owner or operator written preliminary findings of the inspection. GAO shall study improving existing damage prevention programs through technological improvements in location and communications practices to prevent excavation damage to a pipe or its coating. DOT's Inspector General shall review PHMSA staff resource management. DOT shall convene a working group to consider development of a voluntary information sharing system to encourage collaborative efforts to improve inspection information feedback and information sharing regarding natural gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipeline integrity risk analysis. DOT shall: establish a national integrated pipeline safety regulatory inspection database to improve communication and collaboration between the PHMSA and state pipeline regulators, and issue minimum safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities. The bill imposes a fee on the operator of an underground natural gas storage facility, and establishes the Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility Safety Account in the Pipeline Safety Fund to receive such fees. Each hazardous liquid pipeline owner or operator shall provide safety data sheets on any spilled oil to the designated federal On-Scene Coordinator and state officials within six hours of notice of a spill to the National Response Center. DOT may issue an emergency order, without prior notice or hearing, for violations of pipeline regulations, or an unsafe condition or practice, or combination thereof, constituting or causing an imminent hazard. Each hazardous liquid pipeline owner or operator required to prepare a response plan shall consider the impact of a discharge into or on navigable waters or adjoining shorelines, including those covered by ice. DOT shall revise certain regulations to state explicitly that the Great Lakes and any marine coastal waters (including coastal estuaries) are USA ecological resources for purposes of determining whether a pipeline is in a high consequence area. DOT's Inspector General shall report to Congress on the community pipeline safety technical assistance grants program. GAO shall study materials and corrosion prevention technologies used in pipeline transportation.