Many observers have interpreted the recent US midterm elections as reflecting a public grown weary of the manner in which the nation’s business is being conducted. Time will tell to what degree and how broadly this was actually the case.
In the meantime, business-governmental and otherwise-still needs to get done, and get done safely.
Bills reauthorizing the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 for 4 additional years starting in 2007 have been introduced in both houses of Congress. The House Energy and Commerce and Transportation and Infrastructure committees have reported out, in versions that will have to be reconciled, reauthorization legislation introduced by Don Young (R-Alas.; OGJ, Oct. 9, 2006, Newsletter).
In September, Senate Commerce Committee Chairmen Ted Stevens (R-Alas.) and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Ha.), the committee’s chief minority member, introduced legislation reauthorizing the Pipeline Safety Act, as the original law is called. The Senate bill, still in committee, also increases the US Department of Transportation’s pipeline inspection staffing to 135 from 90, includes civil enforcement authority against excavators and pipeline operators responsible for third-party damage, provides grants to states that have damage-prevention programs in place, and applies DOT standards to all low-stress pipelines.
Hope for passage
Oil and gas pipeline associations and safety groups hope to see renewing legislation passed before Congress adjourns. “We remain optimistic that the bipartisan nature of this legislation will allow passage during Congress’ current session,” said Ben Cooper, executive director of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, adding that pipeline safety is a “universal good” and as such would merit the prompt attention of the next session even if no agreement can be reached with the current Congress.
Despite the progress made toward reauthorization over the course of the year, however, concern has emerged that the current session of Congress might not pass pipeline safety legislation before the end of its term and that the effort to do so might stall.
New leaders in the House and Senate might seek new approaches to the regulatory oversight of industries such as oil and gas pipelines. New relationships will need to be built and new trust established.
Even in purely practical terms, it would be easier to pass legislation already advanced than start the process over in 2007. But if renewal of the Pipeline Safety Act does have to wait until the next congressional session, the groundwork is in place.
In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, Katherine Siggerud, director of physical infrastructure issues for the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, said, “The overall framework laid out in the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act is improving the safety of gas transmission pipelines.” She noted that incremental improvements rather than major restructuring were all that the act required.
Initial results of inspections completed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and states under the Pipeline Safety Act show that operators are “doing well in implementing the assessment and repair requirements of [PHMSA’s] integrity management program,” according to the GAO, which also noted that documentation of program processes need to improve.
Inspections completed
As of June 2006, PHMSA had completed 20 of 100 inspections scheduled, with states having completed 117 of 670 as of January 2006. The remaining inspections are expected to be completed by 2009, within the term that would be covered by renewed pipeline safety legislation, according to the GAO report entitled “Integrity Management Benefits Pipeline Safety, but Consistency of Performances Measures Should Be Improved.”
Pipeline operators, regulators, and legislators will doubtless find many bones of contention in the years ahead. Finding common ground surrounding the safety of their shared customers and constituents could provide the beginnings of the cooperation that will be required to face whatever other hurdles await them.
