SIGN THE PETITION TO SEC. PETE: PHMSA Must Take Action Now on CO2 Pipeline Safety
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Thousands of impacted landowners, Tribal Nations, individual counties, cities and other communities across the U.S. have voiced major concerns about the terrifyingly large gaps in regulations on pipelines carrying carbon dioxide (CO2).
Right now, developers are proposing a significant number of new interstate CO2 pipelines that would cross Midwest states including Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois. While none of these projects has yet obtained any necessary state agency permits, developers have already begun to use eminent domain to sue landowners who refuse to sell their land for these proposed pipelines.
CO2 pipeline concerns:
CO2 is an asphyxiant that can be dangerous and even lethal in the event of a pipeline rupture.
CO2 pipelines are susceptible to ductile fractures, which can, like a zipper, open up and run down a significant length of the pipe, they can release immense amounts of CO2, hurl large sections of pipe, expel pipe shrapnel, and generate enormous craters.
Lower levels of CO2 leakage can contribute to dangerous climate change.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) existing regulations, however, do not address the above concerns, and apply only to pipelines carrying CO2 in a supercritical fluid phase. But these developers are also planning to move CO2 in other phases such as “subcritical liquid,” or gas. While PHMSA is developing new regulations for CO2 pipelines, they aren't due until next year, meanwhile several carbon pipelines are projecting they will begin construction before the rules are even released.
Impacted communities need assurances that safety regulations apply to all CO2 pipelines.
We call on U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and PHMSA to:
Issue a ruling that assures current regulations apply to pipelines carrying CO2 in all phases.
Issue a new letter like PHMSA’s 2014 letter to TransCanada “Re: Role of U.S. Local Governments in Pipeline Safety,” to clear up the confusion and misinformation being spread by CO2 pipeline developers on what actions states, counties, and municipalities may undertake to protect their communities against the dangers of a CO2 pipeline rupture and other concerns.