Heinrich, Peters Lead Dozens of Lawmakers in Urging Department of Transportation to Reduce Methane Emissions & Protect Families’ Health, Finalize Strong Gas Pipeline Leak Rule

WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led 40 lawmakers in a bicameral letter to Secretary Pete Buttigieg calling for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to swiftly finalize a strong Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Rule.

The rule, which PHMSA is required to establish under the bipartisan Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act of 2020, is needed to reduce methane pollution and protect public safety. It does so by strengthening protective standards for the use of advanced leak detection technologies and faster leak repairs on U.S. natural gas pipelines.

In their letter, the lawmakers write: "The rule is urgently needed to improve community safety and reduce methane emissions from millions of miles of pipelines across the United States, and we are concerned to see further delays in the projected finalization schedule."

The lawmakers continue: "This rulemaking is already far behind schedule. Congress directed PHMSA in the bipartisan PIPES Act of 2020 to finalize advanced leak detection standards by the end of 2021. After the proposed rule was released in May 2023, the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) was expected to complete its review of the proposed rule in December 2023, but the process was extended to provide for an additional meeting in March 2024. Now that GPAC has completed review of the rule, PHMSA should act promptly to finalize the rule, consistent with the agency's authority to set minimum pipeline standards designed to meet the need for pipeline safety and environmental protection."

The lawmakers conclude: "We urge the Department of Transportation and PHMSA to finalize, as soon as possible, the proposed protective standards to improve public safety and cut methane pollution from gas pipelines."

In addition to Heinrich and Peters, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and U.S. Representatives André Carson (D-Ind.), Hank Johnson, Jr. (D-Ga.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), John Sarbanes (D-Md.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.).

The lawmakers' letter is endorsed by Environmental Defense Fund, Pipeline Safety Trust, League of Conservation Voters, Evangelical Environmental Network, Earthworks, Sierra Club, and Western Organization of Resource Councils.

"Strong safeguards are needed to protect public safety and the environment from pipeline leaks which cause methane pollution, accelerate climate change and put communities at risk. PHMSA must act rapidly to finalize strong standards for gas pipeline leak detection and repair as quickly as possible. We applaud Sen. Heinrich, Rep. Peters and the over 30 other members of Congress who signed onto this letter for their support of finalizing this urgently needed action," said Erin Murphy, Environmental Defense Fund Senior Attorney for Energy Markets & Utility Regulation.

Previously, in October 2023, Heinrich led an additional letter to Secretary Buttigieg, alongside U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and U.S. Representative Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), calling on PHMSA to quickly finalize its Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Rule and strengthen the rule by requiring more accurate measurement standards and effective performance metrics that reflect the capabilities of commercially available advanced methane leak detection technologies.

The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below:

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

We are writing to urge swift and strong finalization of the proposed rule, "Pipeline Safety: Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair," from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The rule is urgently needed to improve community safety and reduce methane emissions from millions of miles of pipelines across the United States, and we are concerned to see further delays in the projected finalization schedule. The White House Methane Action Plan has already identified the Advanced Leak Detection & Repair rulemaking as a key priority, and the White House again prioritized these much-needed standards in its December 2023 Methane Plan Update.

The proposed rulemaking includes the use of advanced leak detection technologies, strengthened surveying and reporting, and faster leak repairs for U.S. gas pipelines, underground gas storage facilities, and liquefied natural gas facilities. Natural gas is composed primarily of methane, and any leakage or operational releases from natural gas pipelines threaten the safety of nearby communities and contribute to the climate crisis by increasing harmful methane emissions.

This rulemaking is already far behind schedule. Congress directed PHMSA in the bipartisan PIPES Act of 2020 to finalize advanced leak detection standards by the end of 2021. After the proposed rule was released in May 2023, the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) was expected to complete its review of the proposed rule in December 2023, but the process was extended to provide for an additional meeting in March 2024. Now that GPAC has completed review of the rule, PHMSA should act promptly to finalize the rule, consistent with the agency's authority to set minimum pipeline standards designed to meet the need for pipeline safety and environmental protection.

We urge the Department of Transportation and PHMSA to finalize, as soon as possible, the proposed protective standards to improve public safety and cut methane pollution from gas pipelines. We look forward to working with you and your Department to achieve these objectives.

Sincerely,

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