WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- A bill targeting oil and natural gas pipeline safety in the United States adds a layer of protection from serious accidents, a lawmaker said.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee moved a bill through that increases fines for safety violations on the nation's pipeline infrastructure. The U.S. Transportation Department under the new measure is called on to develop rules for shut-off valves in the event of an accident.
An oil spill in Marshall, Mich., and deadly accidents in Allentown, Pa., and San Bruno, Calif., last year prompted a review of the nation's aging pipeline infrastructure.
"As we've seen this past year, most vividly in the San Bruno disaster, pipeline explosions are deadly and destructive," U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the committee, said in a statement. "More needs to be done to strengthen oversight and address safety vulnerabilities."
The full Senate must pass the measure before it can move on to the House of Representatives. U.S. President Barack Obama would then have to sign the bill into law.
Regulations would be enforced by the Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in April he adopted a plan to make sure operators know the age and condition of their pipelines. He said serious pipeline accidents were down by almost half during the past two decades, however.
