Markey Bill Would Greenlight Criminal Prosecution for Negligent Fossil Fuel Pipeline Operators

Markey Bill Would Greenlight Criminal Prosecution for Negligent Fossil Fuel Pipeline Operators

By Julia Conley, Common Dreams (Sept. 13, 2023)

“As a result, said Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust on Wednesday, ‘for too long Congress has hamstrung PHMSA from being the regulator it needs to be by preventing certain rules from applying to existing pipelines, forcing regulations through two separate and burdensome cost-benefit requirements, and limiting civil penalties to meaningless amounts.'”

“Because of Congress’ meddling, we are not making progress on long-term trends of pipeline failures,” Caram said. “This bill would address these systemic weaknesses and enact commonsense improvements, like making it illegal to spill large amounts of oil. This bill finally gives PHMSA more freedom to enact rules to begin making a difference on pipeline safety.”