Washington, DC – The following is the opening statement of U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Ranking Member, from today’s hearing on implementation of the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety Act of 2006 – better known as the PIPES Act.
“This is our first hearing this Congress on pipeline safety and it comes at an interesting time for the pipeline community. PHMSA is in the process of implementing many of the statutory requirements set forth in the PIPES Act.
“The PIPES Act set a very ambitious schedule for PHMSA. The agency was required to finalize most of the regulations required by the bill and transmit reports to Congress on a variety of issues by December 31, 2007 – approximately one year after the bill was signed by the President.
“While PHMSA was unable to meet most of those deadlines, I am happy to see that they are making substantial progress. The agency has transmitted several of the required reports to Congress and has started the process of implementing the key regulatory requirements set forth in the bill.
“One of the success stories for the agency and for the PIPES Act has been in the area of damage prevention. PHMSA and the Common Ground Alliance just celebrated the one-year anniversary of their National 811 – “Call Before You Dig” – Public Awareness Campaign and was recently awarded the Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America.
“In addition, PHMSA is actively involved in advancing state pipeline damage prevention programs. PHMSA is providing the assistance that states need to set up state damage prevention programs that include the nine elements prescribed in the PIPES Act.
“On the issue of pipeline security, I look forward to hearing from all of today’s witnesses on the efforts to better coordinate the responsibilities of TSA and PHMSA in this area. The Inspector General released a report on these efforts in May and I look forward to his summary of that report and PHMSA and TSA’s reaction to that report.”
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