Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
Issues
Pipeline Safety
House Passes Pipeline Safety Legislation
23 July 2002
The U.S. House of Representatives voted tonight to pass improved pipeline safety legislation that contains a number of stronger regulations proposed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Since the 1999 pipeline explosion that killed three youths in Bellingham, WA, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee has been actively involved in Congress working to pass strong pipeline safety legislation, having previously introduced his own legislation to address these important concerns. Of tonight's pipeline safety vote, Inslee said the following:
"It appears that our decision to fight for a stronger bill than was offered in the last Congress has paid off. We have been successful in obtaining required inspections and mapping assistance to local emergency responders. I am pleased that we will be taking up what is primarily the House Energy and Commerce Committee bill, which includes important improvements over the bill that the House considered in the last Congress. This is the first time the full House will have an opportunity to vote on a bill that mandates inspections and moves us toward worker certification. I support continuing work on the legislation to include a stronger community right to know requirement, which I hope will be added in the final conference bill. I am glad Congress had the prescience to wait for improved, stronger legislation. I commend U.S. Representative Rick Larsen's and Senator Patty Murray's hard work in advancing this needed legislation."
Inslee has worked hard to include provisions in this legislation that mandate inspections and provide pipeline mapping assistance to local emergency responders. The final pipeline safety legislation has increased penalties for violations, significant improvements in the areas of enforcement by the Dept. of Justice, integrity management, funding for technical assistance to communities, and increased funding for the Office of Pipeline Safety and state pipeline officials. The legislation also contains a pipeline repair permitting provision needed to ensure that safety and environmental protections are not placed in conflict.
More importantly, the legislation excludes the repair permitting language found in the bill passed by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which would have eviscerated the permitting authorities of federal environmental agencies. Although the bill lacks a community right to know section, due primarily to terrorism concerns, the bill represents a compromise, and it is viewed as one of the first bills in years to have a significant chance of passage. Inslee is optimistic that a reasonable right to know provision will be included in the final conference bill once negotiations are completed with the Senate.