Senate committee advances bills aimed at protecting residents of communities affected by natural gas pipelines

The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee approved Wednesday two bills designed to protect the residents of communities affected by natural gas pipelines.

Senate Bill 284, introduced by Sen. Tom Killion (R–Chester/Delaware), would require pipeline operators to provide current Emergency Response Plans to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) which could be responsibly and confidentially shared with county emergency services agencies to coordinate a response to a pipeline incident. Recent news stories reported that approximately 95 percent of an emergency management plan that Energy Transfer Partners recently submitted to Chester County for its Mariner East II pipeline was redacted.

“There must be no bureaucratic barrier between those responsible for county emergency services and the information they need ensure our first responders are following through on effective and well-informed plans to keep our communities in Pennsylvania safe,” Killion said.

Senate Bill 258, introduced by Sen. Andy Dinniman (D–Chester), would require pipeline operators to meet annually with county emergency management officials to provide, at minimum, vital and specific pipeline safety information, including identification of facilities, products and pressure transported, emergency contact information for the operator and information on how to recognize, report and respond to a product release.

The bill also allows county emergency management officials to share that information with nearby entities, such as hospitals, prisons, schools, day-care facilities, and retirement or assisted living facilities.

“These two bills work hand-in-hand to better protect our communities by ensuring that emergency response officials have the accurate and up-to-date information they need to adequately respond to a pipeline rupture and potentially avert disaster and save lives,” Dinniman said.