WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Subcommittee hearing today titled Ensuring the Safety of Our Nation's Pipelines.

Witness List:

Panel I

The Honorable Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

The Honorable Deborah A.P. Hersman, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board

Panel II

Mr. Tim Felt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Colonial Pipeline Company, representing the Association of Oil Pipelines

Mr. Rocco D’Alessandro, Executive Vice President of Operations, Nicor Gas, representing the American Gas Association

Mr. Gary Sypolt, Chief Executive Officer, Dominion Energy, representing the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America

Mr. Carl Weimer, Executive Director, the Pipeline Safety Trust

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“Over the past month we have seen natural gas pipeline explosions in Texas and oil pipeline spills in Alaska and Utah. These are not insignificant developments. In the northern panhandle of my state West Virginia, seven people were injured when a crew drilling a natural gas well in an abandoned coal mine struck and ignited a pocket of methane gas. This last accident did not involve a pipeline, they were drilling a well, but each incident underlines just how absolutely crucial it is to make safety a chief priority in industries that carry such inherent dangers—like those where natural gas and other hazardous liquids are involved.”

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV 

“The fact is, while pipelines are by and large a safe form of transportation—when there is an accident, the consequences can be deadly. There are 2.5 million miles of pipelines today, moving oil and gas within states and across the country. We must do all we can to keep these pipelines safe and to reduce the frequency of accidents. As we work to reauthorize the PIPES Act, we must take advantage of this opportunity to improve and strengthen our nation's pipeline safety regulations.”

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Chairman, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security

“PHMSA has made significant progress in fulfilling the statutory requirements of the PIPES Act, which has resulted in safer communities today. The number of serious pipeline incidents – those involving death or injury – has declined by 50 percent over the last twenty years. Yet over the same period, all the traditional measures of risk exposure have risen – population, energy consumption, pipeline ton-miles. We aim to continue the downward long-term trend in pipeline incidents.”

The Honorable Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

“PHMSA has made great strides in addressing a number of matters mandated by Congress in the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, as well as the Pipeline, Inspection, Protection, Enforcement and Safety Act of 2006. The NTSB believes more can be done in these areas and looks forward to a constructive dialogue with PHMSA and DOT as we advance the interests of pipeline safety, and thus the safety of people living and working near, and receiving service from, our nation’s pipelines.”

The Honorable Deborah A.P. Hersman, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board

“America depends on the network of more than 170,000 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines to safely and efficiently move energy to fuel our nation’s economic engine. Hazardous liquid pipelines transport more than 17 percent of freight moved in America, yet pipelines account for only 2 percent of the country’s freight bill. Approximately 2.5 cents of the cost of a gallon of gasoline to an end-user can be attributed to pipeline transportation, resulting in a low and predictable price for pipeline customers.”

Mr. Tim Felt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Colonial Pipeline Company, representing the Association of Oil Pipelines

“Many of the mandates within the 2006 PIPES Act have just become regulation, and government and industry are working to implement these regulations. AGA believes that Congressional passage of pipeline safety reauthorization this year will send a positive message that the current law is working, and emphasize the commitment that Congress and all the industry stakeholders have to securing the safety of the nation’s pipeline system.”

Mr. Rocco D’Alessandro, Executive Vice President of Operations, Nicor Gas, representing the American Gas Association

“Given the importance of natural gas in America’s energy future, the construction and operation of a safe transportation system for natural gas is critical. INGAA and its members will not be satisfied without continuous safety improvement, but we have worked hard in implementing the Congressional goals articulated in the PIPES Act and in the PSIA.”

Mr. Gary Sypolt, Chief Executive Officer, Dominion Energy, representing the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America

“What is always needed is constant vigilance so pipeline safety does not once again return to a system where the regulated control the regulators, and where what is easy takes precedence over what is safe.”

Mr. Carl Weimer, Executive Director, the Pipeline Safety Trust

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