Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts will introduce federal legislation aimed at increasing gas pipeline safety, in response to explosions and fires in the Merrimack Valley last fall. (View bill draft in PDF format.)
Proposed changes apply to gas distribution pipelines and include subjecting more pipeline projects to approvals by professional engineers and requiring onsite monitoring of gas pressure during pipeline construction work.
The bill includes significantly stiffer penalties for safety violations. Currently, the U.S. Department of Transportation can fine a company $200,000 per day, up to a total of $2 million; Markey and Trahan propose raising those penalties to $20 million and $200 million, respectively.
The bill is named in honor of Leonel Rondon, the Lawrence, Massachusetts teen who died in the September disaster involving a Columbia Gas pipeline.