Senator Cantwell Calls for Increased Pipeline Safety
WASHINGTON, DC - Statement of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) on the anniversary of the Bellingham pipeline explosion:
"On the second anniversary of the Bellingham pipeline explosion, we must remember the victims of this tragedy by ensuring that it is never repeated. In the two years since the explosion in Bellingham, no legislation has been signed into law addressing pipeline safety.
"I am deeply concerned about the safety of our existing national pipeline system. For years, the National Transportation Safety Board has warned that many of these pipelines are old, poorly maintained and operated by under qualified people. According to a June 2000 General Accounting Office report on the nation's 2 million miles of pipeline, the number of major pipeline accidents between 1989 and 1998 increased four percent annually -- leading to 226 deaths, more than 1,030 injuries, and $700 million in property damages.
"Those figures don't include the tragic deaths of three children in Bellingham, Washington who were killed when a pipeline exploded, in June 1999, nor does it include the 12 people killed two months later by a pipeline explosion at a campground near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
"The McCain Bill, which passed the Senate this year and is presently awaiting action in the House of Representatives, includes multiple provisions to improve monitoring of the pipeline system's structural integrity. It also ensures state and local community involvement by instructing the Secretary of Transportation to include the input of state advisory committees in establishing pipeline safety improvements, and creating a process by which state and local officials can provide input to operators on safety and management issues. I hope similar action will pass the House soon.
"The Administration should not build new pipelines without first putting stronger safety measures in place. Passing and signing the McCain Bill would be a good first step."
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