The Senate voted unanimously Friday to amend its broad energy bill to include previously passed legislation calling for stricter safety standards for natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines.

By a vote of 98 to 0, the Senate folded the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (S. 235), which it passed in February 2001, into the comprehensive energy legislation (S. 517) that is now before it.

The Senate, which adopted pipeline safety legislation last year and in the 106th Congress, hopes its action will send a “strong message” to the House that it considers this a priority issue, and will take “whatever action” is necessary to move the measure to President Bush’s desk for his signature.

A stand-alone pipeline safety measure has not emerged from the House, nor is the issue addressed in the broad energy legislation that the House passed last summer. But by inserting it in its energy bill, the Senate will force the House to tackle pipeline safety when it goes to conference.

The Senate pipeline-safety amendment, which was sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), mandates periodic inspections for pipelines, increases penalties for pipeline-safety violators, requires certification and testing of pipeline operators, gives states an increased role in inspecting pipes, augments pipeline reporting requirements to states and local authorities, increases public access to information about pipelines, and provides for investments in new technology for performing inspections.

The amendment includes a few modifications to S. 235: it funds pipe-safety programs for fiscal years 2003, 2004 and 2005 at $64 million annually; and it addresses the security concerns of pipelines in the wake of Sept. 11. Specifically, the proposal ties the public disclosure requirements for pipes to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) standards, which restrict the release of certain information based on national security and defense concerns; and it authorizes the secretary of the Department of Transportation to help prepare pipe operators, as well as state and local officials, to respond in the event of terrorist attacks or other threats.

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