Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), ranking Republican of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, made the following statement at this afternoon’s subcommittee hearing on “Pipeline Safety Oversight and Legislation.” The issue is of particular importance to Upton as a rupture occurred in late July in southwest Michigan within Enbridge Inc.’s Lakehead Pipeline System, releasing over 800,000 gallons of oil into Tallmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River.
Upton’s full opening statement is provided:
Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing today. Today’s hearing may be the last of this Congress.
Pipeline safety is an issue that is important to nearly every community in our nation. The United States currently has over 200,000 miles of oil pipelines and 260,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, an often unseen underground labyrinth that allows our communities to function and prosper. The safety, security and integrity of this infrastructure is of the highest importance to our nation and certainly worthy of this committee’s oversight. Unfortunately, as southwest Michigan recently found out first hand, communities cannot fully appreciate the importance of pipeline safety until something goes wrong, and in our case, it was an 800,000-gallon pipeline leak.
We are still waiting on answers. It is vital that we receive answers promptly from the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration as well as Enbridge regarding the Michigan spill. We must continue to work aggressively to ensure there are no delays at the federal level. Thankfully, the emergency response was swift and decisive. Our local emergency responders and volunteers have stepped up to the plate, and I commend them on the wonderful job they continue to do.
Pipelines are the arteries of our nation’s energy infrastructure. Through our hundreds of thousands of miles of pipelines, we transport the energy that fuels our economy, heats our homes, and powers our daily lives. Unfortunately, recent accidents have thrust this vital infrastructure into the headlines for the wrong reasons and perhaps highlighted the need for safety reassessments.
Given the vast size of our pipeline system and the limited resources at our disposal, it is imperative that safety inspections and regulations are as efficient and productive as possible. While today’s hearing is rightly focused on oversight issues, attention should also be given to allocating these finite resources in a more cost effective and efficient manner to assure that we maximize our safety efforts.
Legislation must be sensible and actually improve safety, rather than impose arbitrary mandates that increase costs and only create the appearance of safety. As we are days away from adjournment, I hope an issue as important as PHMSA reauthorization goes through regular and proper order, rather than being jammed through during a lame duck session. This committee does have a vital role to play in the legislative process, and this issue is certainly worthy of more than one hearing. Just ask the folks in southwest Michigan – they will tell you to get the job done right to protect our communities.
Again, pipeline safety is an important bipartisan issue, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today on these issues. I yield back the balance of my time.
