REPLACEMENT OF CAST IRON PIPELINES.

SEC. 107. REPLACEMENT OF CAST IRON PIPELINES. Section 13 of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 U.S.C. App. 1680) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(c) Replacement of Cast Iron Pipelines.— The Secretary shall publish a notice as to the availability of the industry guidelines, developed by the Gas Piping Technology Committee, for the replacement of cast iron pipelines. Within 2 years after the industry guidelines become available, the Secretary shall conduct a survey of operators with cast iron pipe in their systems to determine the extent to which each operator has adopted a plan for the safe management and replacement of cast iron, the elements of the plan, including anticipated rate of replacement, and the progress that has been made. Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (relating to coordination of Federal information policy), shall not apply to the conduct of such survey. Nothing in this section shall preclude the Secretary from developing such Federal guidelines or regulations with respect to cast iron pipelines as the Secretary deems appropriate”.