American Gas Association applauds new pipeline safety legislation proposal
The American Gas Association (AGA) on Thursday applauded the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s draft of the reinstatement of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
“The most important thing that natural gas utilities do is deliver essential energy to our customers safely and reliably,” AGA President and CEO Dave McCurdy said. “Regulatory certainty is a key part of that process. We appreciate every step towards getting a final pipeline safety reauthorization bill on the President’s desk this year.”
The Senate passed the Securing America’s Future Energy: Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act (SAFE PIPES Act), S. 2276, by unanimous consent on March 3. In response, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power drafted its own version of the pipeline safety reauthorization on March 16. The two House committees must jointly create a final draft and present it for vote on the House floor before the law can be passed.
Natural gas utilities have historically supported several congressional initiatives to improve the safety of the country’s pipeline network, including the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation act of 2011 and the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006. The AGA stands behind the SAFE PIPES Act as well.
