According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 449,463 million cubic feet of natural gas were consumed in Massachusetts in 2017, an increase of 28,462 million cubic feet from 2013. Last year, 130,084 million cubic feet alone were used for residential purposes, such as heating, air conditioning, and cooling. The pipelines that carry this gas have been under particular scrutiny as the natural gas market expands, with increasing calls for safety regulation from citizens and lawmakers. In Harvard, 2018 saw nine natural gas leaks, seven of which went unrepaired during that calendar year, as reported by the nonprofit organization Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET).
To address pipeline safety concerns, Harvard’s U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan introduced the Leonel Rondon Pipeline Safety Act (H.R.2139) in April, named for the teenager who died in the September 2018 Merrimack Valley pipeline explosion. While the act was not passed in its entirety, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey ushered large parts of it through in the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) reauthorization bill (S.2299). The legislation passed in the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in July and now goes to the Senate and House for approval.
The new provisions introduce multiple levels of preventive safety measures, including mandated on-site pressure monitoring, technologically safeguarded regulator stations, and closer oversight of initial gas engineering plans or proposed changes. They also seek to improve emergency response efforts by requiring written protocols for responding to over-pressurization, accurate maps and records of the pipeline system, and better coordination with first responders and the community.
As the reauthorization act stalled in Congress, the city of Lawrence found itself evacuating residents again Friday, Sept. 27, due to a gas leak just one year after gas fires and explosions wracked the community. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that “deficiencies in management and oversight” on the part of Columbia Gas, the managing utility, were to blame for the leak.
In the wake of this latest incident, Rep. Trahan told WGBH that she would continue pushing for passage of safety legislation on the federal level, calling the lack of preventive controls on the Lawrence pipeline “unconscionable.”
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge has also taken up this issue, introducing An Act Relative to Ensuring Gas Safety and Consumer Fairness (S.1959) in January. The bill would strengthen laws related to the repair of gas leaks near schools and those that cause serious environmental damage, as well as mandate winter surveillance by gas companies when freezing temperatures put cast iron pipes at greater risk of leakage. When leaks are identified, the act would require gas companies to communicate with local fire departments and law enforcement within an hour and disallow the charging of ratepayers for gas unaccounted for as a result of the leak. The legislation has been referred to the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy where it awaits passage.
