Booker, Colleagues Urge DOT to Implement Regulations to Detect and Reduce Methane Leaks

Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide and contributes significantly to climate change

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led a letter with 11 colleagues urging the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to issue strong regulations to help reduce methane leaks within our natural gas pipeline system. Specifically, the Senators urged DOT and PHMSA to require advanced methane leak detection technologies that effectively detect and address harmful greenhouse gas emissions, an important step in implementing the PIPES Act of 2020 which Congress passed last year.

“Leaks in natural gas gathering, transmission, storage, processing and distribution threaten public health and our environment and cost industry substantial amounts in escaped methane,” the Senators wrote to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Methane is more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide and drives near-term greenhouse gas emission trends. A 2018 study published in Science found that the volume of natural gas leaking from across the natural gas supply chain would be enough to fuel 10 million homes and is worth an estimated $2 billion per year – and these estimates do not include the significant air quality and climate benefits associated with abating these methane emissions.”

The Senators continued, “The first step to fixing methane leaks is finding them. Fortunately, effective technologies now exist to detect, locate, and quantify natural gas leaks quickly and accurately. Enabling swift, broad deployment of this technology will keep our communities safer, our air cleaner, and our greenhouse gas emissions lower. That is why in December 2020, Congress reauthorized the PIPES Act and required PHMSA to create minimum performance standards for leak detection and repair that reflect the capabilities of commercially-available advanced leak detection technologies.”

“We are urging the Department of Transportation and PHMSA to take quick action to complete this rulemaking process and issue strong regulations that will enhance pipeline safety and reduce harmful methane emissions throughout the United States,” the Senators concluded.”

The following Senators co-signed this letter: Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Angus King (D-ME), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Tina Smith (D-MN).

The full text of the letter can be viewed here and below:

October 29, 2021

The Honorable Pete Buttigieg

Secretary

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, D.C. 20590

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

We are in the midst of a climate crisis, and we write today to urge the Department of Transportation and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to address methane emissions in our nation’s natural gas pipeline system. Specifically, we request that PHMSA act quickly to issue robust implementing regulations for the deployment of advanced methane leak detection technology, which will both improve safety and address the potent greenhouse gas emissions associated with methane leaks in natural gas pipelines and gathering lines, as called for under the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (PIPES) Act of 2020. 

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that the nation’s three million miles of natural gas pipelines carry over 28 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to almost 77 million customers. Half of this network was built before 1970 and as a result, can be prone to leaks. Leaks in natural gas gathering, transmission, storage, processing and distribution threaten public health and our environment and cost industry substantial amounts in escaped methane. Methane is more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide and drives near-term greenhouse gas emission trends. A 2018 study published in Science found that the volume of natural gas leaking from across the natural gas supply chain would be enough to fuel 10 million homes and is worth an estimated $2 billion per year – and these estimates do not include the significant air quality and climate benefits associated with abating these methane emissions.

The first step to fixing methane leaks is finding them. Fortunately, effective technologies now exist to detect, locate, and quantify natural gas leaks quickly and accurately. Enabling swift, broad deployment of this technology will keep our communities safer, our air cleaner, and our greenhouse gas emissions lower. That is why in December 2020, Congress reauthorized the PIPES Act and required PHMSA to create minimum performance standards for leak detection and repair that reflect the capabilities of commercially-available advanced leak detection technologies. Minimum performance standards for leak detection should require pipeline operators to detect, map, quantify, and remediate natural gas leaks, and to expeditiously report this data in an accessible digital format in order to ensure accountability and progress. Moreover, any rulemaking should reflect PHMSA’s intention to periodically tighten leak detection requirements as commercially available detection technologies continue to improve.

We are urging the Department of Transportation and PHMSA to take quick action to complete this rulemaking process and issue strong regulations that will enhance pipeline safety and reduce harmful methane emissions throughout the United States. We look forward to continuing to work with you and your Administration to achieve these goals.

Sincerely,