New Leak Detection Rules for Pipelines Proposed.(PGJ) - The federal pipeline safety agency has proposed major changes to its leak detection, based not on concerns about safety but rather in order to reduce methane emissions based on their contribution to climate change. The move to comply with a provision in 2020 Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety(PIPES)Act broadens the agency's mission to environmental concerns which may turn out, congressional authorization aside, to be a very controversial move. Part of PHMSA's rational for this proposed rule, aside from injecting environmental concerns into the agency's mandate, is the belief that although the pipeline industry has made some headway with voluntary industry efforts to reduce methane leaks, "those efforts generally exhibit shortcomings (including meager participation, limited application to different pipeline () facilities, absence of meaningful leak reduction targets, or a lack of transparency, limited application to natural gas pipelines), underscoring the need for timely federal regulatory intervention."
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