In a week witnessing three major pipeline spills, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the entity supposed to be our first line of defense, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), is not up to the task. The size of the gap between what it is supposed to do and what it actually does is the subject of a lawsuit filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
There are enough pipelines carrying natural gas and high-hazard liquids, such as oil and propane, under U.S. soil and waters to wrap around the equator more than 100 times – an estimated 2.5 million miles with thousands more dropped each year. In a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, PEER has sought to demonstrate whether the agency fulfills its mandated duties but PHMSA –