WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, today praised the U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage of the SAFE PIPES Act (S. 2276). The legislation includes a provision supported by Sen. Moran that instructs the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to develop underground natural gas storage standards to keep Kansans and Americans safe.

“The development of standards for natural gas storage facilities is long overdue,” Sen. Moran said. “The provision included in the Senate-passed SAFE PIPES Act is a positive step toward ensuring the integrity of our energy infrastructure system and is a common-sense way to add additional safety measures for Kansans and all Americans. I am thankful my Senate colleagues share my commitment to emphasizing safety, and I am hopeful this issue will be addressed by the House of Representatives very soon.”

In December 2015, S. 2276 was unanimously approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Sen. Moran has sponsored legislation (S. 1768) along with Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) intended to address the lack of federal oversight at underground facilities that cross state lines.

Background

At issue is a 2009 District Court ruling that determined Kansas, through the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), could not monitor its own storage fields if the gas in those facilities is in interstate transportation. In the four years since the ruling, the state has been barred from inspecting storage sites, and the federal government, specifically, PHMSA has failed to act.

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