Pipeline Safety Bill Mandates Real Estate Disclosure and Hits Operators with $2.5M Annual Accident Fine

The “Wojnovich Pipeline Safety Act of 2025” is a serious attempt to upgrade the country’s hazardous liquid pipeline infrastructure and hold operators accountable when things go wrong. It establishes a five-year, $100 million-per-year federal grant program to help municipalities and community-owned utilities modernize their aging pipes (Section 2). Think of it as federal seed money to replace the rusty pipes under your town before they become a problem. To get this money, projects will be judged not just on safety risk but also on their potential for local job creation and economic growth.

Knowing What’s Under Your Feet: The Real Estate Catch

For anyone buying or selling a home, Section 4 introduces a major change. To qualify for federal pipeline modernization grants, states must require real estate contracts to disclose any known hazardous liquid pipeline easements within a half-mile of the property line. This isn't just a basic heads-up; the disclosure has to include the operator's contact info, the substance the pipeline carries, and a list of any leaks or incidents the operator has had in that state over the last 10 years. This is huge for transparency. If you’re a prospective homeowner, you’ll finally have the full safety history of the infrastructure next door, letting you make a truly informed decision.

The Cost of a Leak: Serious Financial Accountability

This bill introduces a financial penalty structure that will make pipeline operators feel the pain immediately and continuously (Section 5). If an operator has a leak, accident, or failure, the Secretary of Transportation must impose a $2.5 million penalty, applied every year until the problem is certified as fully fixed. If the operator tries to hide the incident and fails to report it within 15 days, that annual penalty doubles to $5 million. This isn't a one-time fine; it’s an ongoing financial drain designed to incentivize the fastest possible cleanup and repair. The money collected from these penalties goes directly into a new Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Community Trust Fund (Section 7), which is then used to fund the grants and emergency reimbursements.

Faster Help for First Responders and the Public

One of the most practical sections of the bill deals with emergencies. Local fire departments and law enforcement often incur massive costs responding to pipeline incidents, sometimes damaging their own equipment. Section 6 creates an emergency reimbursement program that promises to get funds to these eligible entities within 30 days of the operator declaring an incident. This covers overtime pay, replacement of contaminated gear, and other operational costs. For the general public, operators must now establish a localized emergency alert system to notify residents within one mile of a pipeline about any incident, or they must contract with the state to use existing alert systems (Section 4). This means faster, more targeted warnings when a leak happens.

Finally, the bill requires operators to step up their testing game. Pipelines older than 50 years, or those that have had significant sleeve repairs, must now undergo annual in-line inspection tests. Crucially, if there’s a suspected leak, operators must perform in-person testing of water, soil, or air. For water wells within a half-mile of the incident, they must sample both the top and bottom of the well. If contamination is found, they are required to notify the impacted residents and landowners immediately (Section 4).