On Tuesday morning, PUCA Alternate Board Member Emanuel A Paris IV, traveled down to Washington, DC to testify in front of the House T&I Subcommittee on Railways, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Administration. He was accompanied by PUCA's Federal Lobbyist, Eben Wyman and Executive Director, Tess Stevenson. Please read on for a recap from Eben, who was the driving force in getting Emanuel in front of our lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Tuesday’s hearing was a home run, and Emanuel sent some important messages to the House T&I Subcommittee on Railways, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Administration. This link will bring you to the archived video:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jti9bLHLY3s&t=3247s

Witnesses included:

Liquid Energy Pipeline Association (LEPA)

Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA)

Distribution Contractors Association (DCA) with Pennsylvania Utility Contractors Association (PUCA)

Pipeline Safety Trust (PST)

First, it’s very positive they’re talking about a pipeline safety bill so early in the new Congress, especially considering the uncertainty going on with regard to government personnel. This was originally intended to be part of the committee’s “Build America” series about safety and delivering effective pipeline infrastructure, but it really turned into a pipeline safety hearing.

Have to say up front, Emanuel was outstanding. Great delivery and active participation in the Q&A period. The goal was to support the committee bill that main points were:

·       Full support for last year’s pipeline safety reauthorization bill (PIPES Act), that sailed through committee but never saw a floor vote in the House

·       Focus on damage prevention language from the past bill

           o   ID/eliminate exemptions

           o   require locating all lines/laterals

           o   robust training for locate professionals 

           o   encourage use of modern techs to locate, specifically GIS

           o   reiterated need and support for GIS several times 

·       Support for provision increasing criminal penalties for physical attacks on pipeline infrastructure (10-years in prison)

Emanuel spent some time on exemptions from one-call participation, clarifying that ‘participation’ means:

·       All excavators contact 811 prior to digging, and

·       All underground facility operators belong to their respective 811 center and respond to locate requests.

We reference both CGA’s 2023 DIRT
Report, which states that excavators have a 50/50 chance of starting work on time due to unmarked, mismarked, or lines marked late.

The Q&A went very well, and Emanuel fielded questions from five of six lawmakers on questions on exemptions, mapping and locating technologies, cybersecurity, 811 enforcement, construction of gathering lines in Penn, and impacts permit delays have on workers.

It was good to see the subcommittee didn’t engage in a holy war over climate issues, as they did in the last congress. It was actually encouraging and hopefully we should see a bill in the first half of the year.

I’ll follow up with more feedback/updates as they come in, but wanted to again thank Emanuel and Tess for making the trip and making such a strong statement on behalf of the industry.