Report: 90% of Pipeline Blasts Draw No Financial Penalties

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Byย Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch. Reposted with permission from EcoWatch.

A striking report has revealed that 90 percent of the 137 interstateย pipelineย fires or explosions since 2010 have drawn no financial penalties for the companiesย responsible.

The article fromย E&E Newsย reporter Mike Soraghan underscores the federal Pipelineย and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) weak authority over theย fossil fuelย industry for theseย disasters.

The government levied a mere $5.4 million in fines for the 13 pipeline explosion and fire cases in the last eight years, the analysisย found.

โ€œThat’s less than one day of profits for one major pipeline company,ย TransCanada. It’s $2 million less than what [TransCanada CEO Russ Girling] made last year,โ€ Soraghan explained in aย tweet.

One of the country’s largest natural gas pipeline accidentsโ€”the 2010 San Bruno, California pipeline explosion that resulted in eight deathsโ€”fell under state jurisdiction rather than PHMSA. California authorities imposed a record $1.6 billion fine against Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).

Although serious pipeline incidents are relatively rareโ€”at least when you consider how much natural gas is transported every day by the country’sย 3 million milesย of mainline and other pipelinesโ€”it’s little solace to the people who have suffered from pipelineย accidents.

Citing PHMSA data, theย Washington Postย reported that more than 300 people have died and 1,200 have been injured due to natural gas pipeline incidents in the last 20 yearsโ€”and the nation’s aging gas distribution network further increases theseย risks.

But new gas pipelines explode, too. TransCanada’s Leach XPress project, which was placed in-service on Jan. 1,ย exploded in Marshall County, West Virginiaย in June. A 24-inch natural gas line, owned by Texas-basedย Energy Transfer Partnersย and its subsidiaryย Sunoco, exploded inย Beaver County, Pennsylvaniaย in September a week after it wasย activated.

These risks have prompted calls from environmentalists and concerned citizens to halt new fracked gas projects such as theย Atlantic Coast Pipelineย andย Mountain Valley Pipeline, which have both lost key permits in recentย weeks.

โ€œThose who disregard the public’s widespread opposition to fracked gas pipelines seemingly always point to how safe they are and closely watched they’ll be. Nothing could be further from the truth,โ€ theย Sierra Club‘s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign director Kelly Martin said in anย online statementย in response to the E&E Newsย article.

โ€œWe know we can’t expect corporate polluters to look out for our health, but we should be able to count on our enforcement agencies to protect us. Stories like these show exactly why we should never build another fracked gas pipeline, especially when clean, renewable energy sources are abundant and affordable,โ€ Martinย concluded.

Main image: PG&E received a maximum sentence for the 2010 San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion.ย Credit:ย MisterOh,ย CC BYSAย 3.0

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