Pipeline infrastructure development is an opportunity that the Commonwealth can’t afford to pass up, said State Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-46) earlier today from the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, where leaders in business, industry and labor joined the senator and a bipartisan group of legislators to push the cause.
“The location, the resources and the workforce in southwestern Pennsylvania make the region a prime location for economic growth and I’m thankful that many businesses are coming to that realization,” Bartolotta said, noting that the state has transitioned from producing 20 percent of state consumption to producing 20 percent of the nation’s gas production.
“Combined, the natural gas and oil industries have a nearly $44.5 billion economic impact in Pennsylvania, supporting almost 322,600 jobs and generating almost $23 billion in wages,” said Bartolotta, co-chair of the Senate Gas and Oil Caucus.
One of the biggest considerations for legislators, she said, is ensuring the safe means to transport natural gas and oil so that companies continue to invest and grow in Pennsylvania.
And pipelines are the safest and most-efficient means of doing so, Bartolotta added, particularly compared to trucking.
At the same time, pipelines also could save taxpayers money by removing a million miles of highway traffic.
“It is essential that we support this safe, responsible development of pipeline infrastructure so our Commonwealth can reap the considerable economic benefits of these critical industries in the form of more jobs and lower energy costs to consumers,” Bartolotta said.
Mike Trofa, a business agent and 37-year member of Steamfitters Local 420, a Philadelphia-based trades union whose members work on oil and gas pipeline projects, vouched for that safety.
“I know what our guys do to get the job done safely each and every time,” Trofa said. “Our union has been constructing and installing gas pipelines for over a hundred years. This is nothing new to our business. In fact, our training facility features the most-advanced equipment available.”
Drawing on personal experience, Trofa told press conference attendees that he grew up in Delaware County, Pa., as one of seven children who used to play in their backyard where a gas pipeline was located.
“My mom still lives there today and the pipeline is still there. Everything’s good,” he said, calling these projects “generational transformation.”
Trofa added that Steamfitters Local 420 members “live in the communities where these projects are located so we understand what’s at stake” and the workers are focused on safe installation and responsible operation.
Additionally, according to State Sen. Sharif Street (D-3), pipeline infrastructure development provides not only opportunities to create jobs and bring down heating and fuel costs, but also for the state to build and take advantage of the energy economy in ways that weren’t previously available.
“We have an opportunity to move toward an energy source that will reduce our carbon footprint,” said Street. “If appropriately developed, our electric capacity — what we could develop from natural gas — would have the ability to move us toward electric vehicles, which are 75 percent cleaner than using gasoline-powered automobiles and would shift us away from dependence on foreign oil to dependence on domestic, Pennsylvania-produced energy.”
And don’t forget about the demand side benefits of developing pipeline infrastructure, said State Sen. John Blake (D-22), also co-chair of the Senate Oil and Gas Caucus.
“I have a senate district now where two-thirds of it has no access to natural gas,” Blake said. “They’re living on propane or oil. And that’s a function of the difficulty in deploying infrastructure to provide access to our business community and to our citizens.”
Blake said lawmakers “have to keep in mind the value of this industry and the demand side of this equation in giving safe access to an abundant resource where it’s needed.”
Pennsylvania Rep. Eric Nelson (R-57), co-chair of the House Gas and Oil Caucus, added that such environmentally responsible pipeline infrastructure development also would positively impact thousands of downstream jobs in manufacturing-related products.
“If the ‘antis’ would have their way and we would end and cease pipeline development, those products still have to get to market,” Nelson said. “So there’s a very clear choice: when we talk about pipelines that are safe, reliable and consistent [versus] trucking those same products.”
For example, Nelson said, the state should want to keep the roads clear and its families safe by reducing trucks on the road. “Do you want trucks riding beside your school buses and your caravans and riding through your communities?” he asked.
Industry leaders also offered other benefits related to state development of pipeline infrastructure, and called on legislators to quickly and effectively adopt bipartisan policy to get the ball rolling.
For instance, Kevin Sunday, director of government affairs at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, said the state needs new and expanded infrastructure beyond just roads and bridges to include water systems, 5G telecommunications, and autonomous vehicles, among other elements.
A key component to such expansion is a well-functioning regulatory environment, Sunday said.
“Unfortunately, time and again, in this building we have not taken a holistic view of how to build out a rational energy policy in this state,” said Sunday. “At the federal level, it can take the better part of a decade to permit new transmission and pipeline projects. And our neighboring states are not doing us any favors supporting obstructionist tactics at regulatory agencies that hamper our ability to grow the economy.”
Such an “obstructionist tone,” Sunday warned lawmakers, “cannot carry the day here in Harrisburg and we are committed to supporting a pro-growth agenda that makes sure the environment is protected as we build out this infrastructure and the assets themselves are protected from vandalism and ecoterrorism through legislation that we hope is again reintroduced this session.”
David Taylor, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association (PMA), called manufacturing the engine that’s driving the state’s economy, adding $85 billion worth of value every year directly employing over a half million Pennsylvanians on the plant floor and sustaining millions of additional jobs in supply chains, distribution networks and vendors of industrial services.
“Manufacturers need energy to make the most of Pennsylvania’s energy opportunity,” Taylor said. “We need energy infrastructure to deliver that resource from where it’s harvested to where the downstream industrial, commercial and residential consumers can benefit from it.”
Pipeline development has been PMA’s top priority for several years, he said, adding that it must be deployed in a timely manner or the state will suffer economically.
“My message is: We are burning daylight,” Taylor said. “If we want the fullness of this prosperity for Pennsylvania, we need to expedite expanded energy infrastructure for Pennsylvania.”
Sen. Bartolotta concluded that the state is uniquely positioned to be a national leader in the gas and oil industries for decades into the future, particularly based on its rich deposits of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region, coupled with its skilled workforce.
“What happens over the next several months and years will determine whether we will be a leader in these industries for a generation,” Bartolotta said. “The future of these industries hinges on our willingness to support pipeline projects that show the greatest promise in terms of economic development and public safety.”