Washington, D.C. - Pipeline safety will be at the center of attention in a Congressional oversight hearing next week in Washington, D.C. Bellingham resident Marlene Robinson will testify at the hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday, February 13 from 10:00 a.m. to noon in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.
Rep. Rick Larsen explained, “This hearing has been a long time coming. The U.S. House of Representatives has yet to have a hearing on pipeline safety since the accident in Bellingham more than two years ago. This hearing is long overdue.”
The initial witness list for the hearing did not include any Bellingham residents. Larsen worked with other Committee Members to include Marlene Robinson on the witness list. Robinson’s son, Liam Wood, was killed while fly-fishing on June 10th, 1999 after a gas leak from a ruptured pipeline ignited in flames.
Larsen said, “It is important to me that victims of pipeline accidents have a voice in Congress.”
Time is of the essence. According to the General Accounting Office, the rate of pipeline accidents is increasing by four percent each year. Earlier this morning, a man was killed in Perry, Oklahoma after a pipeline ruptured and caused an explosion.
Larsen has pushed for a hearing on the issue since his arrival to Congress in January 2001 and has worked with Members on both sides of the aisle to introduce strong pipeline safety legislation. Last fall, Chairman Don Young told Larsen that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee would take up the issue of pipeline safety. The Committee oversees the Office of Pipeline Safety.
Below is the witness list for Wednesday’s hearing:
PANEL I The Honorable Ellen G. Engleman Administrator Research & Special Programs Administration Accompanied by Stacey Gerard OPS Associate Administrator U.S. Department of Transportation
Mr. Robert J. Chipkevich Director Office of Railroad, Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Investigations National Transportation Safety Board
Mr. Mark Dayton Office of Inspector General U.S. Department of Transportation
PANEL II
Mr. Herman Morris, Jr. President Memphis Light, Gas and Water American Gas Association/ American Public Gas Association
Mr. William J. Haener Vice President - Natural Gas CMS Engineer Corporation Interstate Natural Gas Association of American
Mr. Bill Shea President and CEO Buckeye Pipe Line Company, L.P. Association of Oil Pipe Lines/ American Petroleum Institute
Dr. Nirmal Chatterjee Vice President EHS & Corporation Engineers Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Mr. Ryan P. Berg President General Workers Committee PACE International Union
The Honorable Chuck Mosher Chairman Washington State Citizen’s Committee on Pipeline Safety
Ms. Lois N. Epstein Senior Engineer Cook Inlet Keeper
Mrs. Marlene Robinson SAFE Bellingham |