Support for H.R. 5301 – Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act of 2025

September 15, 2025

The Honorable Sam Graves
Chairman
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
2165 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Daniel Webster
Chairman
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
2184 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Rick Larsen
Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
2165 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Dina Titus
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
2370 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Chairman Webster and Ranking Member Titus:

The Damage Prevention Action Center (DPAC) is writing to express its support for the PIPES Act of 2025, the bipartisan legislation which will advance pipeline safety and encourage states to adopt policies that will help reduce excavation damages to our Nation’s pipeline infrastructure and other vital underground utilities.

DPAC is a coalition of energy, utility and construction industry leaders advocating for public policies and industry practices that protect America’s critical underground utility infrastructure and those who work and live near these important assets.[1]

According to the Common Ground Alliance’s (CGA) Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report,[2] the annual rate of damages to buried infrastructure in the U.S. has remained stagnant for most of the last decade and costs our communities a staggering $30 billion every year. Each of the hundreds of thousands of dig-ins to underground utilities disrupts businesses and communities, cuts off essential utility service, and can result in injuries and fatalities. As America’s infrastructure continues to expand, it is crucial that Congress pass the PIPES Act of 2025 to safeguard our critical buried utilities and pipelines.

The PIPES Act of 2025 would require states to demonstrate that they have adopted or can show progress toward adoption of leading practices in their damage prevention programs as part of the criteria PHMSA considers when states apply for damage prevention grant dollars. These leading practices include (but are not limited to):

• Directing state one-call programs to examine and limit exemptions to prevent common excavation damage incidents, including municipal exemptions;
• Requiring newly installed underground facilities to be locatable; and
• Requiring the use of commercially available technologies to locate underground facilities, such as geographic information systems (GIS) and enhanced positive response.

Critically, the PIPES Act of 2025 also requires PHMSA to consider whether state damage prevention programs have “effective, active, and consistent enforcement of State one-call laws” in grant awards, as well as a resource and penalty structure that is applied equally to all stakeholders (operators, locators, and excavators).[3] The Common Ground Alliance’s most recent DIRT Report notes that enforcement of state damage prevention laws is needed to reduce dig-ins to buried infrastructure.

The PIPES Act of 2025 has strong bipartisan support, and we encourage Congress to consider this important legislation as soon as possible. The legislation provides an efficient, effective framework to advance the safety and integrity of our Nation’s energy infrastructure and buried utilities.

DPAC looks forward to continuing our collaboration with this committee and Congress to pass the PIPES Act of 2025, and enhance and improve our industry’s safety while delivering quality and safe underground utility infrastructure projects to America.

Sincerely,

Sarah K. Magruder Lyle
Executive Director, Damage Prevention Action Center

[1] Damage Prevention Action Center members: https://damagepreventionactioncenter.com/members/

[2] CGA’s 2024 DIRT Report: https://dirt.commongroundalliance.com/Portals/9/Common-Ground-Alliance-DIRT-Report-2024.pdf

[3] CGA’s 2024 DIRT Report – Recommendations for Breaking Through the Damage Prevention Plateau: https://dirt.commongroundalliance.com/2024-DIRT-Report/Recommendations-for-Breaking-Through-the-Damage-Prevention-Plateau#mainContentAnchor