US senators renew call for more pipeline inspectors, shutoff valves

Washington (Platts)--1Feb2011/507 pm EST/2207 GMT

California's US senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, have renewed legislative efforts to tighten the US pipeline inspection regime in response to September's fatal Pacific Gas and Electric explosion.

The two Democrats have reintroduced the "Strengthening Pipeline Safety and Enforcement Act," which matches legislation the pair introduced last year, except for a new section ordering pipeline operators to comply with National Transportation Safety Board recommendations issued in January.

The new provision would require pipeline operators to establish records of all pipe components to verify that the "maximum allowable operating pressure" is calibrated for the weakest section. Pipelines with incomplete records must be pressure-tested or replaced and must operate at reduced pressure until testing is completed, the bill says.

"It's a relatively major addition to the bill," Feinstein spokesman Tom Mentzer said Tuesday.

As in the previous version that did not pass before the last Congress ended in December, the bill, introduced Monday, proposes doubling the inspector staff at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, requiring automatic shutoff valves, mandating "smart pig" devices and prohibiting high-pressure lines from operating if they don't use up-to-date inspection technology.

Feinstein and Boxer also want to target old pipelines in earthquake-prone areas for the highest level of scrutiny and direct regulators to set standards for gas leak detection.

"We must make sure the system of pipelines crisscrossing our country is safe," Feinstein said in a statement Monday. "Americans shouldn't have to worry that the pipes beneath their feet will suddenly explode, and no neighborhood should have to endure the tragedy that befell San Bruno."

Boxer added: "While the residents of San Bruno work to recover and rebuild, we must do everything we can to protect our communities by increasing inspections of our nation's pipelines while setting tougher penalties for safety violations."

Last month, seven California Democrats in the House of Representatives refiled a pipeline safety proposal calling for a five-year inspection window, automatic shutoff valves and increased use of smart pigs.

The "Pipeline Safety and Community Empowerment Act of 2011" was introduced by Representative Jackie Speier, whose district includes the San Francisco suburb where PG&E's gas transmission line exploded September 9 and killed eight people.

--Meghan Gordon, meghan_gordon@platts.com

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