Pipeline hearing hones in on safety, emissions concerns

Two House committees have approved pipeline safety reauthorization bills. A final deal remains elusive.

May 08, 2024

A House subcommittee on Tuesday revisited concerns about pipeline safety and fossil fuel emissions as it works to add finishing touches to a bipartisan reauthorization bill for the nation’s pipeline regulator.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials met for its latest hearing on the “Promoting Innovation in Pipeline Efficiency and Safety (PIPES) Act,” H.R. 6494, which would renew safety programs at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for four years.

The subcommittee also named Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida the panel’s new ranking member. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey, the subcommittee’s top Democrat since 2021, died last month.

The "PIPES Act" — sponsored by full committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.), ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), subcommittee Chair Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Payne — cleared committee last year with unanimous support.

It takes what leaders have called an “all-of-the-above” energy approach, implementing new safety standards and moving PHMSA closer to finalizing new rules for carbon storage and hydrogen service.

“These and other provisions in the PIPES Act of 2023 will ensure the safety and reliability of the United States’ pipeline network and the transportation of our critical energy resources,” Nehls said Tuesday.

He noted that the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which also has PHMSA under its jurisdiction, passed its own pipeline safety reauthorization bill in March and said the two committees would work together. He and other Republicans fired shots at the Senate for not releasing its own version.

“The House, of course, produced an outcome, and we’re still waiting on the Senate to take action, which for many of us is not only concerning, it’s just a consistent waste of time and resources when there’s major advancements that need to happen," said Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.).

Democrats on the subcommittee raised a number of concerns around pipeline safety, pointing to recent pipeline leaks and explosions as evidence of the need for more robust safety standards in the bill.

Some also suggested that the oil and gas industries’ influence on pipeline regulations is perpetuating the use of fossil fuels that produce planet-warming emissions.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) lamented the “inherent dangers and risks of this spiderweb of combustible infrastructure that we rely on to power the fossil fuel economy.”

“I feel like by passing a bill that doesn't do nearly enough to acknowledge this, much less do anything about it, we are sleepwalking further into the climate crisis and further and further into tragedies and disasters,” he said.

Republicans pressed PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown on the agency’s lengthy timelines for finalizing and implementing certain rules or programs.

Brown, who is performing the duties of administrator, responded that the PIPES Act of 2020 had twice as many directives for PHMSA as the PIPES Act of 2016, and that complex interagency reviews and staffing shortages have compounded the issue.

“We’ve set a record number of rules in the first year that we got here, but there’s still a backlog, and so we appreciate the committee’s support for additional resources, for additional rulemaking team members,” he said.


By:  Andres Picon
Source: E&E Daily