BELLINGHAM, WA – Yesterday, Rep. Rick Larsen and Sen. Maria Cantwell sent a letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Deputy Administrator Ben Kochman expressing their strong opposition to purported plans to withhold funds for a 2025 Technical Assistance Grant to the Pipeline Safety Trust (PST). PST was created in the aftermath of the Olympic pipeline disaster in Bellingham, Washington on June 10, 1999. The explosion killed two young boys and a young man.

This Congressionally-mandated grant was authorized by the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (PIPES 2020) and signed into law on December 27, 2020 by President Trump. Funds for the grant have been appropriated by Congress every year since the law’s enactment.

“PST is the only national education and advocacy organization in the country dedicated to advancing all aspects of pipeline safety and protecting the public. On its face, your action to rescind the Technical Assistance Grant notice of funding opportunity appears like an attempt to silence an organization that seeks to hold the pipeline industry and regulators accountable to the public,” Rep. Larsen and Senator Cantwell wrote in the letter. “Please submit, in writing, to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation the legal reasoning behind your plans.”

The letter further expresses that the need for PST’s work is greater than ever—2023 and 2024 were the deadliest two years due to pipeline accidents in more than a decade. The number of pipeline safety incidents in 2024 was worse than 2023.

To read the full letter, click here.

Larsen Participated in Hearing on Pipeline Safety
On Tuesday, February 25^th, the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials  a hearing on “Promoting and Improving Safety and Efficient Pipeline Infrastructure” at 10.00 AM Eastern Time. Bill Caram, the Executive Director of Pipeline Safety Trust, testified at the hearing. Additional hearing details, including written testimony and a recording, can be found here.

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