Frank Pallone Questions Trump Administration's Pipeline Safety Rule Repeal

Repeal of Leak Detection Rule

• 📌 Representative Frank Pallone expressed concern over the Trump administration's decision to pull back a finalized leak detection rule.
• 💡 The rule, which was required by a bipartisan law signed by President Trump, aimed to establish standards for leak detection and repair.
• ⚠️ Pallone highlighted that the Trump administration instructed the Federal Register not to publish the rule and subsequently clawed it back, despite it being finalized.

Impact on Pipeline Safety

• 📉 Executive Director Bill Caram stated that the Trump administration's decision did not make pipelines safer, as incidents from known leaks continue.
• 🎯 The repealed rule would have established clear standards for grading leaks and determining repair urgency, which are currently vague in existing regulations.
• 🩹 Caram believes the rule would have significantly improved pipeline safety by standardizing these procedures.

Duplicative Cost-Benefit Analysis

• ⚖️ Pallone pointed out that FIMSA's safety rules are subjected to a duplicative cost-benefit analysis beyond the standard executive order requirement.
• 🚫 This duplicative analysis has been used by industry groups, like GPA Midstream, to challenge and kill pipeline safety rules in court.
• 📉 Caram explained that this requirement hamstrings FIMSA from making safety progress, especially for low-frequency, high-consequence failures, where benefits often involve human lives.

Path Forward for Pipeline Safety Reauthorization

• 🤝 Pallone stressed that a bipartisan bill on pipeline safety must solely focus on increasing safety.
• 🚧 He criticized previous Republican-led bills for including partisan provisions on pipeline sighting, which he believes undermine bipartisanship.
• 🗣️ Pallone called for a more collaborative process this year to ensure any reauthorization bill prioritizes safety effectively.