skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Government shutdown looms after Trump-backed bill fails; Environmental groups sue CA Air Resources Board over biogas credits; NY elected officials work to electrify municipal buildings; Need a mental health boost? Talking hot dog is here.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress passes a last-minute budget stopgap. Trump's second-term tariffs could harm farmers and, future budget cuts could reduce much-needed federal programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Comment Period Closing for New Gas Pipeline Regulations

play audio
Play

Thursday, July 7, 2016   

ALBANY, N.Y. - The public comment period ends today for a major overhaul of the nation's gas pipeline safety rules. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, began the process almost six years ago after a fire killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in San Bruno, California. Holly Pearen, senior attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, said if adopted, the rules will apply to more than 300,000 miles of existing transmission pipelines.

"The integrity assessments that are proposed would be incredibly helpful from a public safety standpoint and from an environmental standpoint. So the benefits of this rule are really tremendous," she said.

Pipelines that leak are not just a safety problem. Transmission and storage facilities emit more than one-and-a-quarter-million tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, every year.

According to Pearen, many of those emissions come from faulty equipment, leaking pipelines, valves and fittings that can be repaired or replaced.

"So more regular assessments will not only provide public-safety benefits from averting incidents like in San Bruno, but also will help these operators curtail methane emissions," she added.

Another major component of the new rules would be the repeal of exemptions for so-called gathering lines that run from gas wells to processing facilities.

Pearen said the scale of these lines and the pace of their construction has increased rapidly with the boom in gas drilling.

"And they're largely unregulated," she said. "Operators are constructing gathering lines at the size and pressure of transmission lines."

While full testing of existing pipelines could take years, environmentalists say the new regulations, if adopted in full, will be a massive improvement.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A survey from the American Heart Association revealed 79% of respondents neglect their health during the holidays. Many say they find this time of year more stressful than income tax season.
(deagreez/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Holiday travel is in full swing and for many, so is the stress. The American Heart Association of Missouri has health tips for anyone with heart …


Health and Wellness

play sound

By Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collabo…

Health and Wellness

play sound

With Christmas less than a week away, experts are giving advice on how seniors and the community can fight against social isolation. A United Health …


Environment

play sound

Three environmental nonprofits filed suit Wednesday against the California Air Resources Board to oppose the expansion of a program allowing oil and g…

Ithaca, New York, is the first city in the world to commit to electrifying all its buildings. The city is aiming to accomplish the goal by 2030. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

New York lawmakers are focusing on electrifying municipal buildings. Buildings statewide make up 32% of New York's greenhouse gas emissions and …

Social Issues

play sound

North Dakota is expected to rejoin the debate over whether all school children, regardless of their family income, should have access to no-cost …

Social Issues

play sound

This month, an Arizona grand jury indicted two out-of-state residents for cheating the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account program out of more …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021