'Nobody Wants That': Randy Weber Highlights High Safety Risk of Transporting Natural Gas by Highway

Pipeline Safety vs. Other Transport Methods

• 💡 Pipelines are presented as the safest way to move natural gas, with a 2018 PHMSA report indicating they are 13 times safer than trains and trucks.
• 🎯 Incident data shows pipelines have one incident per 720 million gallons delivered, compared to rail's one incident per 50 million gallons.
• ⚠️ Rejecting a major pipeline and opting for rail transport could increase the risk of oil release by over 800 times.

Highway Transport Risks

• 🚗 In 2024, 39,000 people lost their lives in traffic accidents, highlighting the inherent dangers of highway transportation.
• 🚚 Moving the same amount of product as the Keystone pipeline (830,000 barrels/day) by 18-wheeler trucks would require over 5318-wheelers daily, significantly increasing highway risks.
• 💔 The phrase "Nobody wants that" is repeatedly used to emphasize the shared desire to prevent fatalities from accidents, whether on highways or from pipeline incidents.

Regulatory Modernization and Innovation

• 📈 Pipeline incidents have decreased by 13% over the last five years, with ongoing efforts to reach zero incidents.
• 🛠️ Congress is urged to ensure PHMSA is equipped to modernize regulations by reforming the special permit program and reauthorizing the pipeline safety technology demonstration program.
• 🔬 Funding R&D is crucial to keep PHMSA focused on pipeline safety and to align regulations with industry innovation without hindering progress.

Risk-Based Safety Regulations

• 📊 Performance-based or risk-based measures can facilitate smarter safety regulations that achieve desired outcomes.
• ✅ Updates to regulations for monitoring LNG pipelines for corrosion, aligned with risk-based industry standards, can help facilities save millions annually.
• 🤝 There is agreement that safety is first, and the industry is committed to preventing harm to the public and its own workers.