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Full House panel agrees to hold pipeline safety hearings Decision spurred by Bellingham accident; under consideration are more penalties for safety violators and additional protection for whistleblowers John Hughes Associated Press Writer
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has agreed to hold a hearing on pipeline safety legislation, which would attempt to avoid accidents like the one a year ago that killed three in Bellingham, Wash.
“It’s just all very, very good news,” Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said June 9. “It’s about time, as they say, because we’ve been working on this for months trying to get to this stage.”
No date has been set for the hearing, though committee officials are reviewing testimony from hearings held last year on the Bellingham accident to prepare for the new hearing.
“We are focusing on what should be done legislatively at the federal level to keep pipelines safe and prevent future Bellinghams,” Rep. Bud Shuster, R-Pa., the committee chairman, said June 8.
Additionally, Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Wash., is discussing the possibility of introducing a new version of the pipeline safety bills he has previously introduced in November and January.
The new version would include some provisions of a pipeline safety bill introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and additional safety measures not included in the previous versions.
Political pressure to move pipeline safety bill “We’re doing everything we can to bring political pressure to move this thing along,” said Jim Troyer, Metcalf’s spokesman.
Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., and Inslee are also involved in the discussions.
Inslee said the additions he is considering include more penalties for safety violators, and whistleblower protections for pipeline employees who inform federal officials of pipeline problems.
One year has passed since an Olympic Pipe Line Co. fuel line gushed 229,000 gallons into Whatcom Creek in Bellingham.
The fuel exploded in a fireball that scorched a 1 1/2-mile swath of forest through a city park and killed Wade King and Stephen Tsiorvas, both 10, and 18-year-old fly fisherman Liam Wood. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Metcalf’s bill would require the testing of pipelines every five years, the federal reporting of all pipeline ruptures and spills of more than 40 gallons, and a study of the effectiveness of external leak detection systems.
No votes have yet been taken on the Metcalf bill or three competing versions of pipeline safety bills in the Senate.
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