US Senate, House Democrats from Massachusetts offer pipeline bills
https://www.ogj.com/articles/2019/04/us-senate-house-democrats-from-massachusetts-offer-pipeline-bills.html04/09/2019
US Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced a bill on Apr. 8 that would require the use of professional engineers to approve local natural gas delivery system changes and on-site monitoring of pressure regulation stations so that qualified employees could quickly shut off gas flow in an emergency. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) introduced a similar measure, HR 2139, in the US House the same day.
The bills were responses to explosions resulting from over-pressurization of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts pipes, which were being replaced in the Merrimack Valley near Boston on Sept. 13, 2018. The blasts destroyed 40 homes, killed one person, and injured five more. The measures also would raise caps on civil penalties to reflect the costs pipeline failures impose on their communities, their sponsors said.
“Without strengthening safety regulations, America’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure remains a ticking time bomb,†Markey said during an appearance in Lawrence, Mass., with Trahan, Merrimack Valley elected officials, and first responders....
