U.S. Regulator Grants $64.4 million to Improve Pipeline Safety

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Wednesday announced $64.4 million in funding to states to improve the safety of pipeline and underground natural gas (UNGS) operations.

“These grants provide states with resources to inspect pipelines and UNGS facilities, ensuring they are complying with federal and state regulations,” the PHMSA said in a release.

The grant comes days after the PHMSA issued a corrective order to Canada’s TC Energy directing it to operate its pipelines in parts of Virginia at reduced pressure following an incident that prompted its Columbia Gas Transmission line to declare a force majeure.

The U.S. pipeline regulator had said that initial observations suggest the failure of the pipeline could have been caused by “environmental cracking.”29dk2902l

“State pipeline inspectors oversee more than 80 percent of our nation’s 3.4-million-mile pipeline system, and we want to ensure they have the resources they need to carry out their vital work,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release.