Legislation to give the U.S. Dept. of Transportation broader authority for oil and gas pipeline safety has cleared Congress and will soon be on President Obama's desk. Final action came on June 13, when the Senate unanimously approved the measure, just five days after the House had passed it, also unanimously.
The bipartisan Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety, or PIPES, Act, directs DOT to write the first federal “minimum safety standards” for underground natural-gas storage facilities.
It also gives DOT the ability for the first time to impose “restrictions, prohibitions and safety measures” on multiple pipelines in the case of an “imminent hazard.”
In addition, the bill reauthorizes DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), providing $605 million over four years.
Moreover, the legislation takes steps to prod PHMSA to complete regulations mandated by the last major pipeline bill, enacted in 2011, a provision that industry endorsed.