S. 2975, PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025

Bill Summary

S. 2975 would reauthorize the pipeline safety programs of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) through 2030. The bill also would require PHMSA to conduct various regulatory, grantmaking, and inspection activities and would require the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Inspector General within the Department of Transportation (DOT) to evaluate and report on various pipeline safety programs. Finally, S. 2975 would increase civil penalties for certain violations of pipeline safety requirements.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated budgetary effect of S. 2975 is shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation largely fall within budget functions 400 (transportation) and 800 (general government).

Basis of Estimate

For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted early in calendar year 2026, that the specified and necessary amounts will be provided each year, and that outlays will follow historical spending patterns for the affected programs.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

S. 2975 would authorize gross appropriations of $1.8 billion over the 2026-2030 period, which would be partially offset by $1.0 billion in collections of user fees also authorized by the bill, resulting in a net authorization of about $800 million over that period. CBO estimates that implementing S. 2975 would cost $228 million over the 2026-2030 period, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that estimate (see Table 2).

Safety Programs Financed by User Fees. The cost of most safety programs operated by PHMSA are financed by fees collected from the owners and operators of pipelines and natural gas storage facilities. CBO estimates that implementing the provisions related to safety programs would, on net, reduce spending subject to appropriation by $200 million over the 2026-2030 period and would increase such spending by $200 million after 2030 so that there would be no net effect on spending over time, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that estimate.

Authorized Spending for Safety Programs. S. 2975 would authorize the appropriation of specific amounts each year totaling $1.0 billion over the 2026-2030 period for certain safety programs. Assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would cost $800 million over the same period. In 2025, the Congress provided $188 million for those activities.

Offsetting Collections of User Fees. The fees that PHMSA is generally authorized to collect from the natural gas and pipeline industries to cover the costs of certain safety programs are treated as offsets to discretionary spending. For this estimate, CBO assumes that PHMSA would collect fees equal to 100 percent of the authorized amount each year, totaling $1.0 billion in collections over the 2026-2030 period.

Infrastructure Safety and Modernization. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $75 million a year from 2027 through 2030 for PHMSA’s Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization grant program. That program was authorized through 2026 under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help pay for repairs to or the replacement of natural gas pipelines. CBO estimates that implementing the provision would cost $36 million over the 2026-2030 period and $264 million after 2030.

Safety Programs Financed by a Trust Fund. The bill would authorize the appropriation of specific amounts each year totaling $160 million over the 2026-2030 period from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for pipeline safety programs. CBO estimates that implementing that provision would cost $144 million over the same period and $16 million after 2030. In 2025, the Congress provided $30 million for those activities.

Operational Expenses. The bill would authorize the appropriation of specific amounts each year totaling $175 million over the 2026-2030 period for PHMSA’s operational expenses. CBO estimates that implementing that provision would cost $160 million over the same period and $15 million after 2030. In 2025, the Congress provided $32 million for those activities.

Other Activities. CBO estimates that S. 2975 would authorize appropriations totaling $123 million over the 2026‑2030 period for other activities conducted by PHMSA and other agencies. CBO estimates that the bill would authorize the following amounts:

• $50 million for emergency response grants (as specified in the bill);
• $20 million to establish the National Center of Excellence for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Leak Detection;
• $15 million for damage prevention programs (as specified in the bill);
• $15 million for PHMSA’s pipeline integrity programs (as specified in the bill); and
• $3 million for various reports and administrative activities conducted by agencies including the Government Accountability Office and DOT’s Office of Inspector General.

In addition, the bill would require PHMSA to establish a voluntary information system related to pipeline safety and would authorize PHMSA to collect $5 million per year in user fees to support that system. CBO estimates that it would cost $10 million annually to administer that information system starting in 2027. On that basis, CBO estimates that PHMSA would need $5 million in additional appropriations each year to implement the program, totaling $20 million in net authorizations over the 2026-2030 period.

CBO estimates that the net cost of implementing those provisions would be $99 million over the 2026-2030 period.

Revenues

Several sections of the bill would affect collections of civil penalties, which are recorded in the budget as revenues. Section 208 would increase the maximum civil penalty for violations of specific requirements and regulations related to pipeline safety and maintenance. The daily maximum penalty would increase from $273,000 in 2025 to $400,000 in 2026, and the maximum penalty for the sum of daily violations would increase from $2.7 million to $4.0 million.

Under current law, total collections of those civil penalties have averaged $5 million per year. Using information from PHMSA, including the number of penalties assessed near the maximum amount, CBO estimates that enacting section 208 would reduce the number of violations but would increase collections from civil penalties, on net, by $17 million over the 2026-2035 period.

CBO estimates that enacting other sections of S. 2975 would affect revenues by less than $500,000 over the 2026-2035 period.

Uncertainty

The estimated revenue effects of S. 2975 are subject to considerable uncertainty. Projecting the frequency or severity of pipeline safety violations is difficult as is estimating the deterrent effect of larger civil penalties for those violations. Thus, the amount of additional revenue collected under the bill could be larger or smaller than CBO estimates if larger penalties led to more or fewer violations than expected.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in revenues that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 1.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting S. 2975 would not increase on‑budget deficits or net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.

Mandates

S. 2975 would impose private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) on pipeline owners and operators by requiring compliance with new and updated regulations and reporting requirements, reauthorizing user fees, and imposing new fees. CBO estimates that the cost of the private-sector mandates would exceed the private-sector threshold established in UMRA ($206 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).

The bill also would authorize new regulations. If the departments use that authority, the bill also could impose intergovernmental and additional private-sector mandates. Because the cost of those intergovernmental mandates would depend on regulations not yet issued, CBO cannot determine whether they would exceed the intergovernmental threshold established in UMRA ($103 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).

User Fees

The bill would impose private-sector mandates by levying fees on operators of gas and liquid transmission pipelines and underground storage facilities for natural gas.

• DOT would be reauthorized to collect about $200 million each year over the 2026-2030 period for safety programs.
• DOT would be authorized to collect up to $5 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to establish and manage a voluntary information-sharing system.

Regulations

The bill would impose private-sector mandates by requiring two agencies to finalize rules.

DOT would be required to finalize a rule that would establish minimum safety regulations for transporting carbon dioxide in gas, liquid, and supercritical states.[1] That rule would add carbon dioxide to the list of highly volatile liquids that require pipeline owners and operators to meet strict technical and safety requirements. Using information from PHMSA, CBO estimates that the annual cost of compliance for all pipeline owners and operators would be about $20 million.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be required to finalize a rule to strengthen pipeline cybersecurity and resiliency.[2] That rule would require pipeline owners and operators to develop and implement cybersecurity plans and to conduct annual evaluations. Using information from DHS, CBO estimates that the annual cost of compliance for those entities combined would be about $60 million.

Reporting Requirements

The bill would modify or impose new reporting requirements on pipeline owners and operators. CBO expects that the cost of compliance would be small because the necessary information is readily available.

• Pipeline owners and operators would be required to provide Indian tribes with the same operational and safety information they provide to state and local governments.
• Operators would be required to file annual reports on transporting blended gas and to notify DOT if they file for bankruptcy protection.

Safety Standards

S. 2975 would authorize DOT to issue new or revised regulations based on studies required under the bill. Those regulations could impose or expand existing mandates on entities that provide or use natural gas utilities and could update safety standards for pipeline operating pressures and hydrogen gas blends. Because such regulations have not yet been issued, CBO cannot determine whether the cost of compliance would exceed UMRA’s intergovernmental or private-sector thresholds.

Estimate Prepared By

Federal Costs: Aaron Krupkin

Revenues: Nathaniel Frentz

Mandates: Brandon Lever

Estimate Reviewed By

Ann E. Futrell
Chief, Natural and Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit

Joshua Shakin
Chief, Revenue Projections Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

H. Samuel Papenfuss 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis

Chad Chirico 
Director of Budget Analysis

Estimate Approved By