Happy Monday! Welcome back to another of ESC News Blog!
Did anyone happen to
read The Houston Chronicle on January 14, 2024, their article
titled, “Pipeline oversight divides Congress – Increased funding for watchdog
at issue as incidents continue and sector installs more”? The
article was about how two committees in the House have differing views on the funding
of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
PHMSA has been short on funds since its inception in 2004 and in
addition with more pipelines being built to support hydrogen, carbon capture,
and other fossil fuels this will be issue in the coming years. The House’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
with bipartisan support and support from the pipeline industry has proposed increasing
their funding every year until 2027 by 25 million a year until they hit the
ceiling of $207 million in an effort to help us have the safest pipelines anywhere.
On the other hand, the House’s Energy
and Commerce Committee has suggested stagnating their funding and curbing
states powers on slowing pipeline projects which are already on current right
of ways by environmental reviews. The
two committees’ thoughts are on the number of incidents per mile have reduced in
recent years, yet the past leader of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) believed they are underfunded for the task at hand and requested
some new rules be implemented. The NTSB suggested the PHMSA make policy
for pipelines to inspect inside the pipe for cracks and to require automatic shutoff
valves, if a leak is sensed. The
industry has implemented these suggestions and believe the number of injuries
and deaths are down in population dense areas even if leak incidents still are
the same. Hopefully, Congress will come
up with a plan to protect Americans and the industry which will help make us have
the safest pipelines anywhere. If you
would like to read more of The Houston Chronicle’s article, please
click the link: Congress at odds over pipeline safety funding as ruptures continue(houstonchronicle.com).
If you would like help in looking into
how to make improvements in your liquid pipelines and terminals, contact us via
the email in the blog and check out our ESC's
website!
We hope you have a wonderful evening! Keep dry!
**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee
to read The Houston Chronicle’s article. **