116 STAT. 3008 PUBLIC LAW 107-355—DEC. 17, 2002 "(2) to preempt applicable Federal, State, or local environmental law. " (d) INTERIM OPERATIONAL ALTERNATIVES.— Deadline. "(1) IN GENERAL. —Not later than 30 days after the date Regulations. of enactment of this section, and subject to the limitations in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Transportation shall revise the regulations of the Department, to the extent necessary, to permit a pipeline operator subject to time periods for repair specified by rule by the Secretary to implement alternative mitigation measures until all applicable permits have been granted. "(2) LIMITATIONS.—The regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to this subsection shall not allow an operator to implement alternative mitigation measures pursuant to paragraph (1) unless— "(A) allowing the operator to implement such measures would be consistent with the protection of human health, public safety, and the environment; "(B) the operator, with respect to a particular repair project, has applied for and is pursuing diligently and in good faith all required Federal, State, and local permits to carry out the project; and "(C) the proposed alternative mitigation measures are not incompatible with pipeline safety. "(e) OMBUDSMAN.—The Secretary shall designate an ombudsman to assist in expediting pipeline repairs and resolving disagreements between Federal, State, and local permitting agencies and the pipeline operator during agency review of any pipeline repair activity, consistent with protection of human health, public safety, and the environment. " (f) STATE AND LOCAL PERMITTING PROCESSES. —The Secretary shall encourage States and local governments to consolidate their respective permitting processes for pipeline repair projects subject to any time periods for repair specified by rule by the Secretary. The Secretary may request other relevant Federal agencies to provide technical assistance to States and local governments for the purpose of encouraging such consolidation.". (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 601 is amended by adding at the end the following: "60133. Coordination of environmental reviews.". SEC. 17. NATIONWIDE TOLL-FREE NUMBER SYSTEM. Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall, in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission, facility operators, excavators, and one-call notification system operators, provide for the establishment of a 3-digit nationwide toll-free telephone number system to be used by State one-call notification systems. SEC. 18. IMPLEMENTATION OF INSPECTOR GENERAL RECOMMENDA- TIONS. (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise required by this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall implement the safety improvement recommendations provided for in the Department of Transportation Inspector General's Report (RT-2000-069). Deadlines. (b) REPORTS BY THE SECRETARY. — Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter 49 USC 60114 note.
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