Pipeline safety answers still elude our Congress
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, April 17, 2002
This month’s settlement in the Bellingham pipeline explosion lifts the prospect of a long legal battle from the families of two of the victims. Unfortunately, the real answers to improving pipeline safety for the nation continue to elude the U.S. House of Representatives.
Nearly three years after the June 10, 1999 blast claimed three young lives, there have been positive steps to improve safety on many fronts. State lawmakers and Gov. Gary Locke acted in the next legislative session to make improvements in Washington. The federal Office of Pipeline Safety changed from the ultimate industry lap dog into a fairly vigilant regulatory agency.
The Olympic Pipe Line Company’s management changed hands — dramatically improving when BP Amoco took over. That has been a source of some reassurance for residents of Snohomish County and other areas along the Olympic pipeline’s path. Perhaps it will inspire more widespread voluntary changes within the industry.
The broadest improvements to safety, though, will not come from individual states acting in the aftermath of tragedy. Nor will it come from moderately improved enforcement of existing laws or a few instances of excellent corporate citizenship, welcome as those may be. This is an industry whose accidents killed 22 people a year between 1988 and 1998, according to the congressional General Accounting Office report done in 2000. And aging equipment has tended to raise the dangers.
While others have been able to make improvements Congress remains stuck. The past two years, the breakdown has come in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Pipeline safety is not strictly a partisan issue, though. One of the best proposals for safety improvements has come from Republican Rep. Jennifer Dunn of Bellevue and Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen of Lake Stevens. The Senate last month approved a bill authored by Republican John McCain of Arizona and Washington Democrat Patty Murray.
If anything, the divisions tend to be regional rather than partisan. Just as the disaster in Bellingham raised awareness of pipeline problems in the Northwest, a blast that killed 11 campers in New Mexico the following year has increased concerns in the Southwest.
Pipelines may be a good, economical way to transport fuel. Far fewer people die than in barging or trucking accidents. The federal government, however, cannot allow a fuel transportation system to pose continual dangers to unsuspecting neighbors. In New Mexico and Bellingham, people were enjoying camping outings or at a park when disaster struck. Until the House of Representatives acts, those risks remain unacceptably high.
