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Based on discussions with Jeff Keehler, Dave Johnson and Mike Terraso last=
=20 week, we agreed that it would not be prudent for individual pipelines=20 representatives to attend the coalition meetings Sunday & Monday. The tone = of=20 the meeting announcements made it clear that this grass roots group is not= =20 receptive towards receiving information on pipeline safety records. Terry= =20 Boss of INGAA attended the meeting. =20 Included in the audience were the parents of the Bellingham?victims and=20 members of Safe Bellingham, and the speeches were not surprisingly politica= l=20 in tone -- the inadequacy of OPS and the need for funds for state safety=20 measures; OPS should be restructured: FERC should be restructured; the EIS= =20 process is a joke. Here are samples of some newspaper articles that INGAA= =20 forwarded. Just because we didn't take an active role in the Coalition meeting doesn't= =20 mean we aren't moving forward at developing our legislative Enron &=20 recommended INGAA strategy. Dave, Phil, Jeff and I met on Monday. Jeff=20 reports that while pipeline oversight legislation is unlikely this year, we= =20 will absolutely have to deal with the appropriations issue (added user=20 fees). Jeff is outlining a compromise position that he thinks could be=20 politically feasible -- something along the lines that we can live with add= ed=20 user fees directed towards one call and public education programs. We'll g= et=20 this outline out shortly. I want to get it in Bob Hill's hands before the= =20 INGAA Board meeting. Pipeline officials hear hard questions=20 SUMMIT: Parents of Wade King, Stephen Tsiorvas speak to panel.=20 Stephen Power, The Bellingham Herald =20 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The nation's top pipeline regulator and a White House= =20 environmental aide came under sharp questioning Monday when the parents of= =20 two children killed in a Bellingham pipeline blast confronted them at a=20 conference of safety activists. =20 With more than four dozen audience members watching, one of the parents, = =20 Frank King, handed a picture of his 10-year-old son, Wade, to White House= =20 aide Gabrielle Tenzer and asked her to deliver it to President Clinton. = =20 "Ask him what he would have done if Chelsea had been standing by that=20 creek," King said, referring to Whatcom Creek, where his son was playing= =20 last June 10 when the explosion occurred in the pipeline of Olympic Pipe= =20 Line Co. =20 Another parent, Katherine Dalen, drew applause when she stood and told =20 federal pipeline regulator Richard Felder that the concept of safety "means= =20 something different to me than it does to you." She later handed Tenzer a = =20 funeral program with the picture of her 10-year-old son, Stephen Tsiorvas,= =20 who died along with Wade and 18-year-old Liam Wood. =20 The tense exchanges occurred on the second day of the National Pipeline =20 Safety Reform Conference, a gathering of environmentalists, local governmen= t =20 leaders and citizens who want tougher regulations on underground fuel=20 pipelines. Administration officials who attended the conference Monday --= =20 Tenzer, Felder and Assistant Attorney General Lois Schiffer -- outlined=20 their efforts to prevent pipeline accidents and told participants that the= =20 federal Transportation Department planned to propose safety reforms. =20 But audience members chortled at some of the panelists' remarks and=20 expressed frustration with the performance of the U.S. Office of Pipeline= =20 Safety, the federal agency that regulates the nation's pipelines. =20 "We're really chagrined that there was no one here (from the administration= ) =20 the past two days taking notes," said Susan Harper, executive director of = =20 Cascade Columbia Alliance, a Seattle group that helped block Olympic Pipe= =20 Line's proposed cross-Cascades fuel pipeline in Washington last year. "Tha= t=20 was a big oversight on your part." =20 As part of the U.S. Transportation Department, the Office of Pipeline Safet= y =20 regulates more than 157,000 miles of hazardous liquid lines and more than= =20 2.2 million miles of natural gas lines throughout the country. But with on= ly=20 55 inspectors to cover more than 2 million miles of pipe nationwide, criti= cs=20 have questioned the agency's effectiveness. =20 The agency has also drawn attention for sharply limiting the role states ca= n =20 play in policing interstate pipelines -- a trend that delights oil and gas = =20 interests but worries some local governments. =20 Felder said his agency has allowed Olympic Pipe Line to continue operating = =20 because the company has performed "appropriate testing" of its lines. But h= e =20 acknowledged the agency wouldn't know the cause of the Bellingham accident= =20 until the National Transportation Safety Board completes its probe. The=20 board's investigation has stalled in recent months because some Olympic=20 employees have refused to cooperate, fearing their testimony could be used= =20 by prosecutors in a potential criminal case. =20 "We'd also like to know more about how (the Bellingham) accident occurred. = =20 ... In the end, we will have some of these answers," said Felder, who is th= e =20 pipeline office's associate administrator. But, he said, "the less=20 information we have, the more cautious we are and the more conservative we= =20 are." =20 Felder's comments drew an angry response from Frank King, who waved a =20 newspaper clipping about a day-care center in his state that was shut down = =20 immediately when a child in its custody died of undetermined causes. =20 "I find it outrageous," King said. "This is the only time I've ever seen = =20 where one person is allowed to continue operating after murdering three =20 children." =20 Felder said he is encouraging states to focus on intrastate lines, such as = =20 natural gas lines that heat homes. The vast majority of pipeline accidents= =20 -- about 80 percent -- involve such intrastate systems, according to=20 federal records. He also said most accidents occur as a result of third=20 parties, such as construction crews that dig without checking for fuel=20 lines. =20 "We're very interested in state input," he said. "But you've got to look at= =20 where the risks are. They aren't in the big lines. They're in the small=20 lines." =20 Tenzer did not respond directly to King when he approached her, but told a = =20 reporter afterward that she would make sure Clinton received the picture.= =20 She declined to answer when a reporter asked her for the White House's vie= w=20 of the Office of Pipeline Safety's performance. =20 Reach Stephen Power at spower@gns.gannett.com or call (703) 276-5806. ? =20 Pipeline Reform Summit in Washington, D.C. Industry lobbyist takes notes for OPS=20 GOVERNMENT: Official shrugs off potential conflict of interest. =20 Khurram Saeed, The Bellingham Herald =20 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Just when it looked like it couldn't get any worse for= =20 the federal Office of Pipeline Safety, it did. =20 The head of OPS told a reporter Monday that a lobbyist for a natural gas = =20 association had been taking notes about pipeline safety reform on OPS'=20 behalf for the past two days at a national pipeline conference. =20 OPS, the agency responsible for overseeing the nation's interstate=20 pipelines, has been at the center of fierce criticism by pipeline activist= s=20 over the years for being too close to the fuel industry. That cozy=20 relationship has put corporate profits above public safety, pipeline=20 reformers contend. =20 Some conference speakers laughed out loud and shook their heads in disbelie= f =20 when told that Richard Felder was relying on the Interstate Natural Gas =20 Association of America for information about the conference. =20 "It's perfect," said Virginia attorney Jim Pates, an outspoken and longtime= =20 critic of OPS. "It reflects not only the closeness of the relationship, but= =20 the insensitivity of how it appears to the public." =20 Felder dismissed any potential for conflict of interest even though his =20 agency monitors companies that belong to the gas association. He said he=20 knew half of the 50 people in the room and was familiar with their concern= s,=20 thus the notes wouldn't tell him something he didn't already know. =20 "I'm not worried about getting the issues, because there's a roomful of =20 people who'll send them to me," Felder said after speaking at the=20 conference. =20 Earlier in the day, several speakers publicly questioned why OPS hadn't sen= t =20 a representative, such as a note taker or public relations person, to the = =20 meeting that covered such topics as improving pipeline safety standards, = =20 protecting whistleblowers and granting more authority to local governments.= =20 "It's a professional organization that should be listening to us," said=20 Susan Harper, head of a Puget Sound environmental group that fought Olympi= c=20 Pipe Line Co.'s proposed Cascade pipeline. "Whether they like us or not,= =20 they should be here." =20 Terry Boss, vice president of safety and operations for the natural gas =20 association, said he was taking notes on his organization's behalf and=20 offered to share them with OPS. =20 "I'm just doing a favor," Boss said. "Would it be better for OPS to have = =20 someone here or for OPS not to have someone here?" =20 Frank King, whose 10-year-old son was killed in last June's Bellingham =20 pipeline explosion, said it was ironic that officials from the agency that= =20 needs to learn about pipeline safety the most weren't there in person for= =20 the two-day conference. =20 "Their arrogance is evident everywhere we go," he said. =20 "It's perfect. It reflects not only the =20 closeness of the relationship, but the =20 insensitivity of how it appears to the =20 public." =20 ? Chances dim this year for pipeline laws=20 POLITICS: Keep pushing, pipeline activists at conference are told.=20 Khurram Saeed, The Bellingham Herald =20 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two congressional bills seeking to reform the nation's= =20 pipeline industry might not become law until next year, two Washington sta= te=20 pipeline reformers said Monday. =20 In itself, the announcement wasn't all that surprising, given that change = =20 comes slowly here -- particularly for industries with powerful connections= =20 and lots of money to spend on lobbying. =20 What was unexpected was the concession from pipeline reformers, who have = =20 stated in the past that the current political climate -- an election year= =20 with lingering shockwaves from the Bellingham tragedy and pending=20 reauthorization of the federal Office of Pipeline Safety -- was ideal for= =20 immediate change. =20 Two proposed laws -- Senate Bill 2004, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray, =20 D-Wash., and House Bill 3558, brought forward by Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Langl= ey=20 -- would impose strict standards on pipeline operators. Both bills are sti= ll=20 in committee. =20 The committee chair must support the bill to send it for a full vote. That'= s =20 not likely to happen this session, considering there are 47 bills ahead of = =20 Murray's bill in the Senate Commerce Committee. =20 And Metcalf said he is having a hard time getting colleagues interested in = =20 buried pipelines. =20 "The phrase out of sight, out of mind, certainly applies when pipelines are= =20 concerned," he told conference attendees in a speech. =20 "Even if we don't get a bill out this year, we need to keep working on=20 this," said Carl Weimer, executive director of SAFE Bellingham, a local=20 pipeline activist group that has gained national stature. =20 David Bricklin, the Seattle attorney who has represented several cities, = =20 including Bellingham, against Olympic Pipe Line Co., said the delay could b= e=20 a blessing in disguise. =20 "Sometimes in a rush to get any bill through, you settle for less than if= =20 you waited a little bit longer," he said. =20 Although people attending the national pipeline conference here agree eithe= r =20 bill would be an improvement, they are proposing several changes. The=20 pipeline reformers want to amend the two congressional bills in order to: = =20 =01=07 Broaden a state's power so OPS could reject safety regulations and = =20 environmental protection programs only if they compromise safety. =20 =01=07 Mandate use of leak-detection devices. =20 =01=07 Require water-pressure testing of pipelines every five years. =20 =01=07 Require use of fail-safe pipeline devices that don't rely on comput= ers or=20 human intervention. =20 =01=07 Upgrade safety management rules. =20 =01=07 Create pipeline oversight committees made up of citizens and local = elected=20 officials. =20 Rick Kessler, an aide to Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., long a champion of =20 pipeline reform, said the national pipeline coalition has provided an=20 impetus never before seen in Washington, D.C. Momentum for the bills won't= =20 wane if activists remain vigilant, he said. =20 "Don't stop pushing," Kessler said. "Once you do, there'll be a void on one= =20 side. There are people here full-time paid to keep pushing on the other=20 side." =20 Weimer said pipeline reformers need to come up with the cash to hire their = =20 own lobbyist to track pipeline happenings in the nation's capital. =20 "When we all go away, we need someone here in D.C. to tell us what's going = =20 on," he said. =20 The Associated Press contributed to this article. ?
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