Commentary: Thirty people have been killed as a result of pipeline incidents in the last two years.
The essays, analyses and opinions presented as Community Voices express the perspectives of their authors on topics of interest and importance to the community, and are not intended to reflect perspectives on behalf of the Salish Current.
The last two years have been the deadliest for pipeline safety in nearly 15 years. Communities across the country continue to reel from pipeline tragedies as the current administration moves full steam ahead with an agenda focused on energy dominance, development and deregulation.
It’s hard to swallow that in the 26 years since the June 10, 1999, Olympic Pipeline Tragedy, where the Olympic Pipeline ruptured and spilled nearly a quarter million gallons of gasoline into Whatcom Creek ultimately igniting and killing Wade King (10), Stephen Tsiorvas (10) and Liam Wood (18), that innocent lives are still lost to pipeline failures. While one can say that since 1999 progress has been made on pipeline safety, it’s clear it hasn’t been enough.
‘In the United States, we continue to average
nearly one significant pipeline incident every day.’
In addition to stealing lives, pipeline tragedies and their immense impact decimate families and completely alter entire communities. Events like June 10, 1999, change people forever. Fast forward to 2025 and we’re still losing lives to preventable pipeline incidents. There is a goal of zero incidents, an idea shared by Pipeline Safety Trust, the government regulators and the pipeline industry, but that goal seems to be nowhere in sight. In the United States, we continue to average nearly one significant pipeline incident every day. Yes, hundreds of significant pipeline incidents every year.
In 2023, seven people lost their lives in West Reading, Pennsylvania, when a chocolate factory exploded. Last fall in South Jordan, Utah, 15-year-old Logan Hansen was killed when his house blew up. This year we have seen spills from hazardous liquid pipelines foul environments throughout our country, such as when an Energy Transfer pipeline in Pennsylvania was discovered to have been leaking jet fuel. Evidence suggests this pipeline may have been leaking for at least 16 months, possibly much longer, after many complaints about the taste and smell of residents’ water.
To reverse this trend and more effectively protect communities, we need stronger enforcement and regulations at the federal level. The federal pipeline regulator, U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is a small, underfunded agency with the enormous responsibility of overseeing the safety of the nations over 3.3 million miles of pipelines (which is more mileage than the total amount of paved roads in the U.S.). However, due to the current administration’s recent efforts in government downsizing, PHMSA has experienced a reduction in its already small workforce. As the shadow of the two most fatal years for pipeline incidents in over a decade hangs over us, our focus should be on increasing PHMSA’s capacity and funding to make it a more effective regulator to save lives and protect the environment, not diminishing it.
One month ago, on May 15, Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram testified in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety, where he told those in power in Washington this simple truth: in the last five years there have been 1,500 significant pipeline incidents. We’re a long way from zero.
So how can we improve pipeline safety? What are ways we can protect our communities so no more dinner table seats become forever empty?
Two ways that Congress could immediately make the public safer are by mandating the requirements of two critical pieces of safety equipment. The first of those is in-home methane detectors; functioning similar to a smoke alarm, methane detectors would alert the occupants of a building to the presence of gas, providing them time to evacuate before a potentially catastrophic situation occurs. We believe that all residential and commercial buildings receiving gas service should have these types of detectors installed. Multiple National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) home explosion investigations have determined that methane detectors could have mitigated the consequences.
A second solution that could have immediate safety results is the requirement of fire shutoff valves on all gas distribution systems, or the gas lines that feed businesses and homes. In the case of a structural fire where the building also receives natural gas, the pipe supplying the gas can be compromised and feed the fire with extra fuel. When exposed to heat, fire shutoff valves would activate and automatically close the valves, preventing an already dangerous situation from getting worse.
There is no reason that 2025 should join 2023 and 2024 as another notable year for pipeline fatalities. As mentioned, there are actions that can get us closer to achieving that goal of zero incidents and make a meaningful impact on pipeline safety. Again, the current trend we’re seeing can be reversed, but Congress must act.
To learn more about how we can advance pipeline safety, read Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram’s full testimony to the Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate.
— By Kenneth Clarkson
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