FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 22, 1999
Contact: Patricia Klinger
Telephone: 202-366-4831
RSPA 30-99
PUBLIC MEETING TO ADDRESS ENHANCED SAFETY,
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FOR PIPELINES
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) will host a public meeting on Nov. 18-19, 1999, in Washington, D.C., on the need for new safety requirements for pipelines where failures could have the greatest consequences to the public or the environment.
"This meeting underscores once again our commitment to safety, which is President Clinton’s highest transportation priority, and will provide an opportunity to listen to all involved so that we can make the best decisions both for safety and protecting the environment," U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said.
The purpose of the meeting is to help RSPA determine whether it would be appropriate to establish special standards for pipelines to ensure safety and environmental protection in areas of high population density and in areas unusually sensitive to environmental damage.
RSPA’s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) believes that current pipeline safety regulations have been effective but additional improvements in safety and environmental protection are possible when companies adopt integrated processes for addressing risks in high consequence areas. At the public meeting, OPS hopes to learn the extent to which companies have already adopted such processes, and why programs that integrate internal inspection data with other surveillance and operating information have proven effective in addressing the most significant risks.
"We must work together to ensure pipeline integrity and a safe and reliable pipeline transportation system for the 21st century," RSPA Administrator Kelley S. Coyner said. "We encourage wide participation at this meeting so that any new requirements we adopt are based on the most comprehensive information available."
The public meeting will be on Nov. 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel, 23 Dulles Corner Boulevard, Herndon, Va. A notice in yesterday’s Federal Register includes questions to be addressed at the meeting, provides instructions for registering to speak at the meeting, and directs interested parties to the DOT dockets facility to provide written comment. The notice can be found by using the Internet site at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html.
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