US Senate, House Democrats from Massachusetts offer pipeline bills

April 9, 2019
US Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced a bill on Apr. 8 that would require the use of professional engineers to approve local natural gas delivery system changes and on-site monitoring of pressure regulation stations so that qualified employees could quickly shut off gas flow in an emergency. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) introduced a similar measure, HR 2139, in the US House the same day.

US Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced a bill on Apr. 8 that would require the use of professional engineers to approve local natural gas delivery system changes and on-site monitoring of pressure regulation stations so that qualified employees could quickly shut off gas flow in an emergency. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) introduced a similar measure, HR 2139, in the US House the same day.

The bills were responses to explosions resulting from over-pressurization of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts pipes, which were being replaced in the Merrimack Valley near Boston on Sept. 13, 2018. The blasts destroyed 40 homes, killed one person, and injured five more. The measures also would raise caps on civil penalties to reflect the costs pipeline failures impose on their communities, their sponsors said.

“Without strengthening safety regulations, America’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure remains a ticking time bomb,” Markey said during an appearance in Lawrence, Mass., with Trahan, Merrimack Valley elected officials, and first responders.

“We need to close the regulatory safety holes that exist by taking the lessons from this tragedy and turning them into laws so that we protect all communities in the commonwealth and across the country from the sort of system-wide failures we saw during the Merrimack Valley disaster,” Markey said.

“Congress must act based on the lessons we have learned from this tragedy,” Trahan said.

The bills would direct the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to establish regulations that would improve gas pipeline operators’ risk management plans, improve emergency response coordination with the public and first responders, institute best industry practices for holistic safety management, and mandate use of accurate and reliable maps and records.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].