To provide communities that rely on drinking water from a source that may be affected by a tar sands spill from the Keystone XL pipeline an analysis of the potential risks to public health and the environment from a leak or rupture of the pipeline.

SA 75. Mr. CARDIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 1, to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ___. COMMUNITY RIGHT TO PROTECT LOCAL WATER SUPPLIES.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) there are 2,537 wells within 1 mile of the proposed
Keystone XL pipeline, including 39 public water supply wells
and 20 private wells within 100 feet of the pipeline right of
way;
(2) 254 miles of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would
traverse over the shallow Ogallala Aquifer, the largest
underground fresh water source in the United States,
underlying 8 States and 2,000,000 people, including 10.5
miles where the groundwater lies at depths between 5 and 10
feet and another 12.4 miles where the water table is at a
depth of 10 to 15 feet;
(3) on July 26, 2010, a pipeline ruptured near Marshall,
Michigan, releasing 843,000 gallons of tar sands diluted
bitumen into Talmadge Creek, flowing into the Kalamazoo
River;
(4) the Talmadge Creek tar sands spill is the costliest
inland oil spill cleanup in United States history, and the
Kalamazoo River continues to be contaminated from the spill;
(5) on March 29, 2013, the first pipeline of the United
States to transport Canadian tar sands to the Gulf Coast, the
ExxonMobil Pegasus Pipeline, ruptured, spilling 210,000
gallons of tar sands diluted bitumen in Mayflower, Arkansas;
and
(6) following the Pegasus Pipeline tar sands spill,
individuals in the Mayflower community experienced severe
headaches, nausea, and respiratory infections.
(b) Petition to Protect Local Water Supplies.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act and prior to construction of the
pipeline described in section 2(a), the President, or the
designee of the President, shall provide to each municipality
or county that relies on drinking water from a source that
may be affected by a tar sands spill from the pipeline an
analysis of the potential risks to public health and the
environment from a leak or rupture of that pipeline.
(2) Notification to governors.--The President shall provide
a copy of the analysis described in paragraph (1) to the
Governor of each State in which an affected municipality or
county is located.
(3) Effect on construction.--Construction of the pipeline
described in section 2(a) may not begin if the Governor of a
State with an affected municipality or county submits, not
later than 30 days after receiving an analysis under
paragraph (2), a petition to the President requesting that
the pipeline not be located in the affected municipality or
county.
(4) Withdrawal.--A Governor may withdraw a petition
submitted under paragraph (3) at any time.
(5) Right of action.--A property owner with a private water
well drilled into any portion of an aquifer that is below the
proposed pipeline described in section 2(a) may sue the owner
of the pipeline for damages if--
(A) the well water of the property owner becomes
contaminated as a result of--
(i) construction activities associated with the pipeline;
or
(ii) a rupture in the pipeline; and
(B) the property owner demonstrates that the well water was
safe prior to construction and operation of the pipeline.
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