PIPES Act of 2025
The Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety Act of 2025 (PIPES Act of 2025) is a comprehensive update to federal pipeline safety law (Title 49, U.S. Code) that expands funding, strengthens regulatory oversight, and broadens the scope to cover natural gas, hazardous liquids, and carbon dioxide pipelines (including CO2 transport and CO2 pipeline facilities). The bill aims to upgrade safety through increased agency staffing, enhanced rulemaking transparency, incorporation-by-reference of industry standards, more robust public engagement, and several new programs and studies. It also introduces new authorities and grant programs intended to modernize pipeline safety practices, address geohazards, improve rights-of-way practices, and explore the use of advanced materials (such as composites) for hydrogen pipelines. In short, the bill seeks to modernize enforcement and safety programs, expand and coordinate funding for pipeline safety, encourage workforce growth at PHMSA, increase stakeholder engagement, and sponsor research and pilot programs related to emerging energy pathways (notably hydrogen and carbon dioxide pipelines) and geohazard mitigation. Note: The provided text ends partway through Section 17, so the outline above captures sections up to that point. Some details in the final portion of the bill are not included in the excerpt.
Key Points
- 1Substantive funding and resource increases
- 2- Significant authorized appropriations for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs through 2029, including grant-making and dedicated trust-fund allocations.
- 3- New funding streams for underground natural gas storage facility safety and a separate account for recruitment and retention of personnel.
- 4Expanded coverage and definitions
- 5- Adds carbon dioxide pipelines and determining terms (including interstate and intrastate CO2 facilities) to the jurisdiction and definitions used by PHMSA. Also creates terms for non-public vs. public safety data and expands the scope to carbon dioxide transport.
- 6Workforce development and regulatory staffing
- 7- Allows PHMSA to add up to 30 high-skill full-time positions for pipeline safety policy development and rulemaking, with a required Congress-wide report within a year on progress and workforce challenges.
- 8Regulatory updates, oversight, and transparency
- 9- Creates a systematic process to update and publish the status of outstanding mandates every 30 days, with mandatory notification to Congress when a rule is published.
- 10- Requires public lists of industry standards considered for incorporation by reference, along with reasons for non-adoption, and periodic GAO reviews.
- 11Public engagement and stakeholder access
- 12- Establishes an Office of Public Engagement (renaming the former Community Liaison Services) to proactively engage stakeholders and improve accessibility to safety information and programs.
- 13- Requires public-facing communication and a reporting timeline on implementation.
- 14Class location, operating status, and rights-of-way
- 15- Directs a rulemaking to address class location change standards and requires updates to pipeline operating status rules, including consideration of industry consensus standards.
- 16- Adds a new rights-of-way management provision allowing voluntary, safer alternative maintenance methods that incorporate habitat and pollinator-friendly practices.
- 17Studies and pilot programs for new technologies and infrastructure
- 18- Study on the use of composite materials for pipelines to transport hydrogen and hydrogen blends, with public participation and a rulemaking timeline to enable use if appropriate.
- 19- Geohazard mitigation study by the Comptroller General to evaluate standards, implementation, and discrepancies related to geohazards in pipeline design and operation.
- 20Programs to support education and local impact
- 21- Competitive Academic Agreement Program: allows a 100% federal share for small and mid-sized institutions under certain conditions.
- 22- New grant program for communities: “Safe Energy for Communities Updating and Replacing Infrastructure for Natural Gas Systems” to fund safety-focused upgrades in municipal or tribal gas distribution systems.
- 23Emerging energy safety considerations
- 24- Expanded focus on hydrogen and carbon dioxide pipelines, including new definitions and considerations for safety and integrity of these systems.