In yet another chapter in the unfolding saga of Enron Corp., Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) has called on the Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) to look into whether the company’s questionable practices extended to cutting corners on the safety and security of its pipeline operations.

It “certainly would be unwise to trust that their creative management practices extended only to some of the company’s transactions but not to others…I am concerned that the apparent lack of veracity by Enron and its officials may extend into the conduct of its natural gas transportation business, and question whether the company has devoted adequate resources to the maintenance of its natural gas facilities,” wrote Dingell, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a Jan. 2 letter to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.

“While most pipeline operators probably understand that maintaining their physical assets is critical…, Enron’s apparent behavior suggests that, not only did they not understand what was important to the company’s performance, but that the physical well being of their pipelines may have been a minor concern compared to its other business ventures,” the outspoken House lawmaker said.

Dingell asked Mineta to quickly provide him with all the safety records for Enron’s gas transmission facilities dating back to 1989. The company’s pipelines include Northern Natural Gas, Transwestern Pipeline, Florida Gas Transmission and Northern Border Partners L.P. Enron could very well lose Northern Natural to Dynegy Inc. due to the failed merger agreement between the companies.

He also called on the OPS to “begin immediately an investigation of all Enron’s natural gas facilities and the business transactions of the companies that manage those facilities. This may be the only way to assure the public that it is not being placed in harm’s way by Enron’s seemingly unscrupulous business practices.”

Moreover, Enron’s questionable activities underscore the need for the OPS to review its existing regulatory practice of allowing gas pipeline companies to design their own inspection programs, said Dingell, who has been a long-time critic of the risk-management regulations of OPS. The Enron case “shows that at a minimum the potential exists that a company’s other interests may unduly influence decisions on safety expenditures.” He questioned how pipeline operators could be trusted to make the “right decisions to protect the public” if they see their business only as a “resource for elaborate and risky schemes.”

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