[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 19, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H6564-H6565]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PIPELINE SAFETY REGULATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Metcalf) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, on June 10, 1999, a liquid gasoline 
pipeline owned by the Olympic Pipeline Company ruptured and spilled 
over 200,000 gallons of gasoline at Whatcom Falls Park, a 241-acre park 
in the city of Bellingham in my district.
  Gasoline was carried into Whatcom Creek, where the spilled fuel was 
inadvertently ignited by two 10-year-old boys, Wade King and Stephen 
Tsiorvas,

[[Page H6565]]

who were playing by the creek. The resulting fireball raced down the 
length of the creek for a mile and a half, killing King, Tsiorvas and 
an 18-year-old fly fisherman named William Wood. Swaths as wide as 200 
feet along the creek were burned within minutes.
  The explosion of June 10 caused millions of dollars in property 
damage and did immeasurable damage to the families and friends of Wade 
King, Stephen Tsiorvas, and William Wood.
  I have long held reservations about our system of pipeline safety 
regulations. In 1996, I voted against the pipeline deregulation bill 
because I felt it removed too many essential safeguards.
  Since the tragedy, I have redoubled my effort to improve the 
regulatory climate. I have been in close contact with industry, public 
interest groups, local officials, and Federal regulators and 
constituents and have emerged with significant concerns.
  To name a few, pipelines are not required to be inspected thoroughly 
enough to ensure safety. Rules for training pipeline employees are 
woefully inadequate. Industry is not required to report spills under 
2,100 gallons. Forty-five States have almost no role in regulating 
interstate pipelines which run through their jurisdictions.
  Earlier this year I introduced H.R. 3558, the Safe Pipelines Act of 
2000, which was cosponsored by the entire Washington State House 
congressional delegation as well as the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Lewis) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich). Thus I am pleased 
that today a bipartisan group of legislators gathered in front of the 
Capitol to talk about pipeline safety.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Franks) for 
introducing the new pipeline safety legislation, which I have 
cosponsored. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Franks) is the chairman 
of the subcommittee that oversees pipeline safety. So this is a very 
important step forward.
  Just last month, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) 
committed to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Dunn) and myself to 
hold a hearing fully exploring this vital safety issue before the full 
Committee on Transportation. In addition, Senator McCain has marked up 
a pipeline safety bill in his committee which is now ready for a vote 
in the full Senate.
  I will continue to work for additional safety provisions on the bill 
as it moves through the committee process in the House. I will push for 
measures like hydrostatic testing, greater State participation, Federal 
safety certification for pipeline employees, and a 5-year time period 
for internal pipeline inspections.
  Too many people have already been lost in tragic pipeline accidents. 
We must ensure pipeline safety now.

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