Sponsors (11)
The bill improves identification and formal consideration of legacy Aldyl–A and other historic plastics—reducing immediate excavation disruption—while shifting assessment work onto operators and potentially limiting regulators' ability to verify safety, which could delay discovery/remediation and raise costs for utilities and ratepayers.
Utilities and pipeline operators will have to identify and report miles of Aldyl–A piping within 3 years, improving system knowledge of potentially unsafe materials and enabling targeted oversight or planning.
States and operators must treat "historic plastics with known safety issues" as part of certification and DIMP processes, causing systematic evaluation of risks from these materials at the state and operator level.
The bill prohibits mandatory excavation for assessments, reducing immediate disruption to communities and lowering short-term excavation and disruption costs for operators and localities.
By prohibiting mandatory excavation, regulators may be less able to verify operator assessments, potentially leaving unsafe Aldyl–A or other problematic piping undiscovered for longer and increasing safety risks for nearby communities.
Reporting and increased visibility of legacy plastics could trigger accelerated replacement or remediation programs, raising costs for utilities and potentially increasing rates or taxes for consumers and taxpayers.
Pipeline owners and operators must perform surveys and reporting within 3 years, imposing additional compliance time and resource burdens on companies (and indirectly on customers via operating costs).
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires gas distribution operators to assess and report Aldyl–A presence and estimated mileage within 3 years, adds 'historic plastics with known safety issues' to state safety and DIMP risk-evaluation lists, and bars mandatory excavation for the assessment.
Requires owners and operators of gas distribution pipelines to identify and report the presence and estimated mileage of Aldyl–A polyethylene within three years of enactment. It prohibits the federal pipeline safety regulator from requiring excavation solely to perform that assessment, while preserving the regulator’s existing statutory authorities. The bill also directs states and federal risk programs to treat Aldyl–A and similar "historic plastics with known safety issues" as a material category to be included in State pipeline safety program certifications and distribution integrity management risk evaluations.
Introduced March 24, 2026 by Christina Houlahan · Last progress March 24, 2026