The Bellingham, WA-based Pipeline Safety Trust Wednesday named Carl Weimer, a local leader in an environmental advocacy group, as its first executive director. The organization was founded and funded in the aftermath of a petroleum pipeline explosion in 1999 in the state that claimed three lives and drew court-ordered criminal fines of $4 million to establish an endowment. The group was one of the driving forces behind the “SAFE Bellingham” program formed as a result of the 1999 pipeline explosion. The chief executive of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, the state’s pipeline safety agency, Carole Washburn, praised Weimer as an “excellent choice” to head the pipeline safety unit, noting that he has “fostered a good partnership” between the state regulatory commission and SAFE Bellingham. He understands both the rules and the stakeholders’ interests, Washburn said. The Trust was formed from the efforts of SAFE Bellingham and the families of two of the 1999 explosion’s victims, advocating better pipeline oversight and accident prevention programs.

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