Dear Chairman Shuster and Chairman Upton,
On behalf of the members of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), I
am writing to express our support for S. 2276, the PIPES Act of 2016. INGAA represents
interstate natural gas transmission pipeline operators in the U.S. and Canada. We
appreciate your bipartisan efforts to enact pipeline safety reauthorization legislation.
Overall, S. 2276 meets INGAA’s goals for the current reauthorization of the Pipeline Safety
Act. These goals include: reasonable authorization levels; a focus on PHMSA completing
the regulatory mandates under the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation
Act of 2011; and a requirement that PHMSA set minimum federal safety standards for
underground natural gas storage facilities.
The bill also includes new emergency order authority for PHMSA. We appreciate the
interest in creating this new authority, but feel strongly that such potentially broad and
open‐ended authority must include strong due process protections. Several additional
changes were made to this section since committee markups, and INGAA strongly supports
these modifications.
Finally, we hope Congress will continue its oversight of the pipeline safety program, and
especially the recent natural gas transmission Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposed by
PHMSA in March, to implement some of the mandates from the 2011 reauthorization.
INGAA members are resolutely committed to enhancing the safety of natural gas pipeline
transportation and look forward to working with you to ensure that the benefits of this and
past reauthorizations are realized.
Please let us know if you have questions.
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