Work to Reauthorize 2012 Law now Underway
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, yesterday joined his colleagues on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power in unanimously approving a Discussion Draft of the Pipeline Safety Act of 2016. The Discussion Draft contains spending authorizations for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and targeted mandates to increase transparency and accountability, complete overdue regulations, and improve safety.
“We can do a better job to improve pipeline safety,” said Upton. “It’s particularly important to tighten inspection requirements for certain underwater oil pipelines such as Line 5, which runs cross the Straits of Mackinac. An accident there would be beyond the worst-case scenario, which is why every precaution must be pursued. This draft bill is an important step forward, but we still have more work to do towards improving pipeline safety and increasing the public confidence in our nation’s energy infrastructure. We have to do better, and we will.”
Background: In the wake of the 2010 oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, Upton and former U.S. Representative John Dingell, D-Michigan, championed bipartisan pipeline safety legislation, which was signed into law by President Obama in 2012.
Source: Congressman Fred Upton
Contact: Tom Wilbur/Lynn Turner (202 225 3761/269-385-0039)
