Committee will vote on final passage next week
Washington (July 25, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after Sens. Fischer and Duckworth filed the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) reauthorization bill. Title II of the package is comprised of the vast majority of Senator Markey’s provisions from his Leonel Rondon Pipeline Safety Act, legislation that would strengthen pipeline safety by closing regulatory loopholes and increasing safety standards. Senator Markey’s legislation responded to safety gaps uncovered during his investigation with Senator Warren into the September 13, 2018 Merrimack Valley natural gas pipeline explosions and fires that killed Leonel Rondon.
“As the disaster in Merrimack Valley made clear, we need to end the pipeline safety status quo by closing regulatory loopholes and increasing safety standards,” said Senator Markey. “I thank Senators Fischer and Duckworth, and Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Cantwell for their tremendous collaboration to include my bill in the package. We owe it to the memory of Leonel Rondon, the residents of Merrimack Valley, and all of the American people to put in place protections to ensure that no natural gas company is allowed to shortchange safety ever again.”
In April, Senators Markey, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) introduced the Leonel Rondon Pipeline Safety Act, legislation which directs the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to establish regulations that would improve gas pipeline operators’ risk management plans, improve emergency response coordination with the public and first responders, promote best industry practices for holistic safety management, and mandate use of accurate and reliable maps and records. The regulations established by the legislation would also strengthen the protocols around making changes to a pipeline system, including having qualified employees sign off and certify work plans, and require better monitoring of pressure regulation stations so that qualified employees could quickly shut off gas flow in the event of an emergency. These regulator stations would also have to have additional safety features to help avoid dangerous over-pressurizations, like the one that caused the Merrimack Valley disaster. All of these provisions are included in the draft legislation released today by the Committee.
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