WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Two Michigan lawmakers said they've introduced proposals for new measures concerning the integrity of oil and gas pipeline infrastructure.
U.S. Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the energy and commerce committee, and John Dingle, D-Mich., a former chairman, in an article in the Kalamazoo Gazette said they've introduced plans to "make vital, long overdue improvements" to the 2.5 million-mile U.S. pipeline network.
The measure would tighten existing safety measures and increase penalties on pipeline operators in the event of a spill.
"Energy demand continues to increase and as we seek to responsibly meet that growing demand with our increased production, the importance of ensuring the safe transportation of those vital resources becomes even greater," they wrote.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week called on Canadian pipeline company Enbridge to take further steps to clean the Kalamazoo River system polluted by a July 2010 oil spill. The company faces civil penalties if it doesn't submit its plans for 2012 to the EPA by Oct. 20.
The EPA estimated more than 23,000 barrels of heavy oil from Alberta tar sands spilled from the pipeline into the Kalamazoo River and nearby Talmadge Creek.
The EPA recovered about 18,000 barrels of oil from the surface. Oil from the 2010 spill has soaked sediment along the river bottom.
