EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS.

SEC. 203. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS. Section 60102 of title 49, United States Code (as amended by section 113), is amended by adding at the end the following: “(r) Emergency Response Plans.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall update regulations to ensure that each emergency response plan developed by an operator of a distribution system under subsection (d)(5), includes written procedures for— “(1) establishing communication with first responders and other relevant public officials, as soon as practicable, beginning from the time of confirmed discovery, as determined by the Secretary, by the operator of a gas pipeline emergency involving a release of gas from a distribution system of that operator that results in— “(A) a fire related to an unintended release of gas; “(B) an explosion; “(C) 1 or more fatalities; or “(D) the unscheduled release of gas and shutdown of gas service to a significant number of customers, as determined by the Secretary; “(2) establishing general public communication through an appropriate channel— “(A) as soon as practicable, as determined by the Secretary, after a gas pipeline emergency described in paragraph (1); and “(B) that provides information regarding— “(i) the emergency described in subparagraph (A); and “(ii) the status of public safety; and “(3) the development and implementation of a voluntary, opt-in system that would allow operators of distribution systems to rapidly communicate with customers in the event of an emergency.” .