PIPES Act of 2025

This bill amends title 49 of the United States Code to enhance pipeline transportation safety, covering areas such as funding, definitions, workforce, regulations, inspections, standards, public engagement, and studies on new technologies and hazards. It authorizes appropriations from fees for pipeline safety programs, updates definitions to include carbon dioxide pipelines, allows hiring up to 30 additional technical staff for the Office of Pipeline Safety, and requires reports on outstanding rulemaking mandates. It mandates periodic reviews of incorporated industry standards every four years, establishes public inspection and enforcement priorities for fiscal years 2026-2029, and adjusts technical safety standards committee reporting. It expresses congressional intent for stakeholder engagement before rulemaking, renames Community Liaison Services to the Office of Public Engagement, and requires a final rule on class location changes within 90 days. It directs rulemaking on idled pipeline safety requirements, allows alternative rights-of-way maintenance methods, and orders studies on composite materials for hydrogen pipelines and geohazard mitigation. It permits 100% federal shares for small academic institutions, modifies the special permit program, updates excavation damage prevention grants, and mandates a National Academies study on integrity management. It requires studies on hydrogen blending and pipeline failure costs, establishes new criminal penalties for causing defects or disruptions, increases civil penalties from $2,000,000 to $3,412,000, and creates a Liquefied Natural Gas Regulatory Safety Working Group. It establishes a voluntary information-sharing system for pipeline safety data, adds carbon dioxide pipeline provisions, provides for formal hearings in enforcement, and requires reports on state grants, safety information disclosure, and definition assessments. It orders studies on localized emergency alert systems and maximum allowable operating pressure testing records.