U.S. Sen. Bob Casey visits Allentown to call for greater transparency on pipeline safety information

Visiting the site of last year’s massive gas explosion in Allentown, U.S. Sen.Bob Casey, D-Pa., announced he was pushing for Pennsylvania to improve public transparency regarding pipeline safety information. In a letter he sent today to the chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Casey said improving that transparency will help reduce the amount gas pipeline incidents and [...]

$67 million requested for pipeline safety

Federal pipeline safety programs would get an extra $67 million and nearly 120 new employees under a proposal President Obama announced Monday that brought cheers from safety advocates pushing to address accidents and growing safety concerns. The request, part of the president’s $3.8 trillion plan, would almost double the number of enforcement agents nationwide, according [...]

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission plans to expand oversight rules on natural gas pipelines

State regulators are moving toward stricter oversight of natural gas pipelines, though officials say that effort began before the Allentown explosion that killed five people one year yesterday. “We’ve been really taking a close look, partly because of some of the tragic incidents, but also because of the expansion of Marcellus Shale in the state,” said [...]

Allentown, UGI differ over whether pace of gas pipeline replacement is enough

The gas pipe that leaked and is believed to have caused a massive gas explosion in Allentown nearly one year ago was first installed in 1928. Eighty-three years old at the time, the pipe was slightly below the average age of the cast-iron pipelines running through the city. Out of about 72 miles of cast-iron pipe in Allentown, [...]

Pennsylvania Public Utility posts new rules for replacing aging pipelines

Noting the Feb. 9 natural gas explosion that killed five Allentown residents, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission last week proposed requiring gas utilities to file plans outlining how much aging underground pipelines leak and when the utilities intend to replace them. The PUC unanimously agreed without discussion to seek comments on the proposal, which was [...]

Valley residents want old pipelines out

Poll shows most customers willing to pay more to replace aging pipes. Lehigh Valley residents think the state should push utilities to get aging natural gas lines out of the ground, and they’re willing to help shoulder the cost. A new Morning Call-Muhlenberg College Quality of Life poll shows that more than 80 percent of [...]

Senate pipeline safety bill includes some measures sought by watchdogs

As the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation takes up pipeline safety legislation today, watchdog groups say that the measure contains good elements to address recent pipeline disasters — such as the San Bruno, Calif., gas explosion and the Marshall, Mich., oil spill –but could still use some improvement. The Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement Act [...]

Danger underground: Aging natural gas lines a concern

More than 120 miles of cast-iron natural gas lines still lie beneath streets and byways in Northeast Pennsylvania, an aging infrastructure UGI Utilities Inc. says it is already aggressively replacing amid growing pressure on utilities nationwide to step up the pace. With the investigation into a deadly gas explosion two months ago in Allentown squarely [...]

Feds call on industry to repair aging pipelines

  ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Federal transportation officials demanded Monday that pipeline companies speed up efforts to repair and replace aging oil and gas lines, saying recent deadly explosions in Pennsylvania and California highlight the urgent need for safety improvements. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced plans to strengthen oversight of companies that operate a 2.5 million-mile [...]