Imagine letting a water pipe in your home leak for YEARS, John. Even the smallest leak would cost you thousands of dollars extra on your water bill and that’s not even including the damage done to your home.

Across the United States, about 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines run through our communities to deliver gas to neighborhoods and businesses. And just like your water pipes, these natural gas leaks waste a precious resource and cause damage to our communities — from harmful health side effects to detrimental climate pollution.

Natural gas pipelines are currently letting leaks linger for years without being fixed. However, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) have proposed new standards that will improve pipeline operations and leak management practices.

This is where you come in, John — we need you to reach out to PHMSA. Let them know you support their push to better manage natural gas pipelines and underground natural gas storage facilities to help protect our communities, conserve our resources and reduce emissions. Reach out to them now!

There are a lot of great things in this proposal including:

• Requiring better leak detection programs to find leaks faster and more accurately;
• Requiring leaks to be repaired within two years, instead of letting them linger;
• And minimizing intentional releases like venting and flaring, pushing operators to find new ways to relieve pressure in the pipelines.

Not only do these new standards save us money by reducing the amount of natural gas we waste, but it also reduces methane emissions. This means that communities around natural gas pipelines will be protected from many of the harms of methane pollution and the climate will get a little relief from one of the more potent greenhouse gasses.

In the words of Bill Nye, decreasing methane emissions isn’t rocket science John, it’s plumbing science. But it takes all of us to push against the status quo to make big, positive changes — especially in the realm of natural gas and energy. 

Take action now by reaching out to the PHMSA and letting them know you support these pipeline protections and want to ensure the strongest possible safety and environmental standards!

Thanks for taking action with us, John.

Erin Murphy
Utility Regulation Attorney