Oil and gas industry groups try to block implementation of rule to better protect the Great Lakes 

Oil and gas industry groups try to block implementation of rule to better protect the Great Lakes 

by Lester Graham, Michigan Radio (March 6, 2022) “Unusually Sensitive Areas fall under stricter regulations as to how an operator has to maintain the integrity of the pipe, which would lower the possibility of a failure,” explained Bill Caram, executive director of the watchdog group Pipeline Safety Trust. Caram said the filing by the industry groups came as a surprise for many because it was clear that the Great Lakes should have been better protected all along. “I certainly didn’t expect it. This [the previous rule] was an obvious shortfall of the definition. Senator [Gary] Peters and other lawmakers mandated the federal agency that that this loophole be fixed. PHMSA, the regulator, did that in a relatively straightforward manner, and so this definitely took us by surprise.”