Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Act of 2025
Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Act of 2025 codifies and gives effect to a final rule issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) titled “Pipeline Safety: Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair.” The bill provides that the PHMSA final rule shall take effect on the date of enactment, effectively making the rule federal law immediately upon enactment. It also preserves the Secretary’s authority to update regulations to be more stringent than the rule or any other rule in effect as of enactment. The rule in question is PHMSA’s final rule from January 17, 2025 (Docket PHMSA-2021-0039; RIN 2137-AF51). In short, the bill ensures the leak-detection and repair standards become law and can be tightened further in the future.
Key Points
- 1The final PHMSA rule “Gas Pipeline: Leak Detection and Repair” takes effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
- 2The provision uses “notwithstanding any other provision of law” to ensure the rule cannot be blocked or delayed by conflicting laws.
- 3The Secretary may update regulations to provide protections or standards more stringent than the enacted rule or any other rule in effect as of enactment.
- 4The act references the specific PHMSA rule (PHMSA-2021-0039; RIN 2137-AF51) and its date of finalization (January 17, 2025).
- 5The bill is introduced in the 119th Congress with a coalition of senators as sponsors.