The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing last week on “The Safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines: Regulated vs. Unregulated Pipelines.” See here. The focus – not surprisingly, given the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico – was on any perceived gaps in existing safety regulations, with much of the related memorandum discussing hazardous liquid pipeline incidents. From one witness’ testimony: “To be clear, however, part of the regulatory oversight problem lies with the law, not with PHMSA. The pipeline safety statute is a relatively weak law from a regulatory standpoint. Changes should be made to the statute’s general provisions to enhance PHMSA’s ability and mandate to protect the public and the environment. In particular, the language in 49 USC 60102(b) ties PHMSA’s ability to regulate to an overly prescriptive, time-consuming, and industry-weighted risk assessment. The Trust recommends that: Congress eliminate or modify 49 USC 60102(b) greatly to permit more effective regulation.” (Emphasis in original).
Will Congress’ focus remain on hazardous liquids, or move to natural gas as well?