On the heels of two high-profile oil- pipeline leaks in Michigan and Illinois and a high-pressure gas-pipeline explosion that killed at least four people and destroyed a neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif., U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Sept. 15 sent to Congress proposed legislation to beef up federal regulatory oversight and increase penalties for violations of pipeline safety rules.
The legislation the proposed bill would strengthen is scheduled for reauthorization in late September, according to Peter Lidiak, pipeline director for the American Petroleum Institute (API), an association that represents the U.S. petroleum and natural-gas industry.