Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s pipeline safety bill is moving through the legislature. The measure passed by the House Judiciary Committee Friday.
The bill would increase fines the state Public Service Commission can hand out in connection with pipeline safety violations. The current fine levels have been the same since 1969.
The move is in response to last December’s natural gas line explosion near Sissonville in Kanawha County
The PSC only has power to issue civil penalties on pipelines that begin and end in West Virginia
West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association President Robert Orndorff spoke to the judiciary committee before it voted on the bill. He says it’s incumbent upon the industry to operate safe pipelines.
“The pipeline industry in West Virginia
The Sissonville explosion destroyed homes and a section of Interstate 77. The NTSB is continuing its investigation into the blast.
The governor’s bill raises the state’s civil penalties to the same level as federal penalties.
Fines for violations cannot exceed $200,000 per day per violation under the terms of the bill. The current fine level is up to $1,000 a day. The bill says the maximum civil penalty can be up to $2 million for a series of violations. The cap is currently $200,000.
The judiciary committee approved an amendment that would keep gas companies from passing the cost of the fine on to customers through PSC-approved rates.
Orndorff said he couldn’t see a company trying to do that.
“If we were to have an accident and it would be perceived it was the company’s fault my assumption is the company would assume that as a cost against the profits of operating that company,” he said.
The bill now heads to the full House of Delegates for consideration.
