Floor Statement- Comprehensive One-call Notification Act

Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, I introduce the Comprehensive One-call Notification Act. I am very pleased to have as cosponsors of this bill Senator SPECTER, Senator LAUTENBURG, and the ranking member of the Commerce Committee's Transportation Subcommittee, Senator EXON.

The bill we are introducing today will create new assurance that accidents involving pipelines and underground utilities won't occur. Every year, multiple fatalities and tens of millions of dollars worth of damage occur simply because people dig where they shouldn't. These third-party incidents are the single leading cause of accidents involving pipelines. According to the Department of Transportation, these accidents result in over half of the fatalities and half of the property damage caused by all pipeline failures. The Comprehensive One-Call Notification Act will create a mechanism to prevent the inadvertent injury and the potential tragedy.

Last March 23, just before midnight, an explosion ripped through the community of Durham Woods in Edison, NJ. Within minutes, eight apartment buildings were ablaze. Soon they were gone, wiped out by a fireball that lit up the sky over hundreds of square miles. One life was lost. Hundreds lost their homes. Many more were evacuated.

The injuries were miraculously low. But who knows how many others still lie awake at night, wondering whether it could happen again and fearing the future.

Reflecting on the accident today, it seems hard to fault anyone for their response to the tragedy. The community pulled together to help out those in need. Food, emergency shelter, general support and financial assistance were offered amply and unconditionally in the hours and days following the accident.

However, great as this response was, this is not what is most striking about this accident. What is most striking about the accident is how lucky we were. Who would ever think that, given the timing and the magnitude of the explosion, so many people-many fleeing with just the clothes they had on-would escape without serious injury? Few who have walked around that crater, seen the charged cars and the empty building foundations would disagree with the conclusion that many there were saved only by a miracle.

Unfortunately, miracles are a poor basis for public policy. You can't count on them. I am not about to count on them. The fact is that there is no margin for error in today's pipeline industry. The natural gas industry does have an excellent safety record, especially when you consider that 25 percent of the energy we consume moves by these pipelines. For example, there are seven major pipelines that cross my home State, and hundreds of smaller ones. But the Edison accident never should have happened.

We need to acknowledge Edison for what it is: a breakdown in the regulatory and safety program. When the National Transportation Safety Board testified before the Energy Committee in April, their analysis pointed nearly conclusively to multiple gouges on the pipeline as the probable cause of the disaster. These marks appeared to be due to some powerful machinery, such as a backhoe, that struck the pipeline repeatedly.

At this point, we don't know whether the damage was unintentional or on purpose. We don't know who struck the pipeline or whether they might have been aware of the possibility. We do know, however, that there was no requirement of utility notification prior to the excavation. And we know that there is no penalty for digging in the vicinity of the pipeline without notifying the utility operator.

This is simply wrong, and represents a failure of public policy. At the hearing before the Senate Energy Committee, every witness agreed that we need a new national program of utility notification. If someone is excavating or grading a site, there has to be proper notification and it has to be mandatory-not voluntary-with penalties for negligence or noncompliance. This national program will be created by the comprehensive legislation we are considering today.

Right now, the gas industry is making plans for a rapid expansion into new markets, particularly in the areas of natural gas vehicles and electric power production. The Department of Energy has predicted that the gas market will expand by a third over the next 15 years. If accidents occur-regardless of who is at fault or how the industry follows up-this growth will not. It is that simple.

The telecommunications industry is likewise spending billions to expand its infrastructure and capabilities. If this investment, however, is held hostage by every backhoe operator in every State, without serious controls and oversight, we won't see a lot of traffic on this information superhighway.

In one sense, this bill is unnecessary. Sooner or later, I predict, every State will adopt one-call provisions like those identified in this legislation. The reason is simple: sooner or later, every State will experience a major accident involving third-party damage to underground utilities. Then, just as has happened in New Jersey, one-call provisions will be introduced or strengthened. This is not an issue of cost. Most States have these programs already. The problem is that, absent sufficient political motivation, these programs are just not as effective as they need to be.

We shouldn't have to wait for another disaster to understand the importance of this modest bill. This comprehensive one-call legislation represents a necessary step if we are to do everything reasonable and appropriate to protect the public from the kind of tragedy that struck Edison.

This bill, obviously, won't guarantee that another Edison will never occur. But mandatory, truly comprehensive one-call programs, based on a national model, are a good place to start.

Passage of this legislation will send a message to the public that our concern is serious and the risks are real. A national program will create a new level of awareness and this awareness would be a powerful ally in our fight for increased safety.

Mr. President, last Congress, this legislation was passed twice by the House of Representatives and was passed unanimously by the Senate Commerce Committee. This bill was on the verge of final approval when the Senate adjourned last October.

It is clearly time to pass this legislation. I believe that there is no substantive reason why we cannot and should not act. It is endorsed very broadly by industry. It is needed by the general public. I urge all my colleagues to consider this bill carefully and approve it without delay.