By a vote of 98-0, the Senate yesterday voted out apipeline-safety bill that essentially mirrors the legislation thatwas passed last year, with one “significant” change – it wouldrequire natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines to undergosafety inspections every five years. But, as with any Capitol Hilllegislation, it would allow waivers under certain circumstances.

The Senate approved the bill after reaching a “compromise” on anamendment, offered by Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ), which sought toreplace the “periodic” inspections called for in the original billwith mandatory pipeline inspections every five years. As a resultof the last-minute compromise worked out Thursday, pipes would beexempt from the five-year review under certain conditions, such asif the technology isn’t available to perform a safety inspection,or if an inspection would significantly interfere with a pipeline’sability to deliver gas or liquids.

The inclusion of this “compromise” amendment in the legislationrepresents a partial defeat for interstate natural gas pipelinesbecause it sets a specific time limit for inspections.

The legislation (S. 235), which was co-sponsored by Sens. JohnMcCain (R-AZ) and Patty Murray (D-WA) and a number of othersenators, “does not go far enough to ensure the safety andintegrity of natural gas pipelines” in New Jersey and elsewhere inthe nation, said Corzine, as he offered the amendment, along withthree others.

Corzine also sought to add provisions calling for strictercommunity right-to-know laws with respect to pipelines,certification of pipeline personnel and additional liabilitypenalties for pipeline-safety violators, but these were defeated.

Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) backed his colleague, even thoughhe voted for the McCain-Murray bill last year. That bill was and isa “good first step” in strengthening pipeline-safety regulations,but “we’re going to insist” that these amendments be included, hesaid.

Prior to the compromise, McCain said he “could not support them[amendments] at this time,” but he agreed to “examine anyrecommendations [and] proposals” during conference of the Senateand House bills. Murray called Corzine’s amendments “excellentprovisions,” and said they should be included in the finalpipeline-safety bill “regardless of what happens here today.”

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and others also urged the Senate topass a “clean bill,” minus any amendments. “This issue is tooimportant to be cluttered by hasty changes,” he said.

The Senate-approved bill includes a couple of amendments thathave nothing to do with pipeline safety. One calls for a federalstudy to be conducted into the gas price spikes and shortages thiswinter, while another would require a study of the gas pipelinecapacity situation in New England.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) used the debate on pipeline safetyto announce new legislation that would direct the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission to impose cost-based rates on wholesale powertransactions when it finds that energy suppliers are charging”unjust and unreasonable” rates.

The bill would be an alternative to the legislation she proposedlast month, which seeks to give the Energy Secretary the authorityto impose either a regional price cap or cost-based rates whenwholesale power rates are found to be “unjust and unreasonable.”

Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) said he favored Feinstein’s alternativemeasure, noting that eight western governors had written PresidentBush to urge the federal government not to go in the direction of aregional price cap.

Feinstein said she had planned to offer her proposal as anamendment to the McCain-Murray pipeline safety bill, but agreed tointroduce it as a stand-alone measure after Sens. Frank Murkowski(R-AK) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) promised to schedule a hearing onthe bill before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committeeby the end of the month.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) offered up an amendment — whichreceived bipartisan support — calling for the National Academy ofSciences to conduct a 60-day study to examine the high gas pricesand supply shortages that the nation has experienced this winter.It directs the Academy to review a “range of solutions,” such asestablishing a reserve for natural gas. The Senate also adopted anamendment, sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), to study thecapacity of natural gas pipelines serving the New England region.

Murray expressed concern about President Bush’s energy policyproposal that advocates streamlining the pipeline certificationprocess. She urged him “not to do this at the expense of safety orthe environment,” adding that he would be replacing an “energycrisis with a safety crisis.”

She called on Bush not to undo the progress the Senate has madeon the issue of pipeline safety. “I would hope President Bush willreconsider the energy proposal that’s being talked about.”

Murkowski, however, said the pipeline-safety legislation, whichhe called the “strongest and most comprehensive” such bill everpassed by Congress, “will complement a national energy policyrather than thwarting it.”

In addition to requiring more inspections, the Senatelegislation would increase penalties for pipeline-safety violators,require certification and testing of pipeline operators, givestates an increased role in inspecting pipelines, augment pipelinereporting requirements to states and local authorities, and providefor investments in new technology for performing inspections.

On the House side, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) earlier this weekintroduced a pipeline-safety bill, which Murray said containedprovisions that were similar to the Senate measure. “….[T]his isnot the end of the discussion on pipeline safety. It’s just thebeginning,” she said yesterday.

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