Dear ,
Nearly three million miles of gas pipelines crisscross communities throughout the United States. Unfortunately, many of these pipelines are allowing leaks to linger for years without being fixed, wasting resources and causing unnecessary damage to our communities — from harmful health side effects to detrimental climate pollution.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed new standards that will improve pipeline operations and leak management practices. However, this rule, which was first proposed in May of 2023, is far behind schedule. That is why we are urging U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to act immediately and finalize this critical rule. There is no time for further delay!
Will you join us and leave your own personalized comment today urging Secretary Buttigieg to finalize this badly needed rule?
Peer-reviewed research estimates that potent greenhouse gas methane emissions from leaks on gas distribution systems are five times greater than currently estimated. Recent analysis finds that gas pipelines nationwide are leaking as much as 2.7 million tons of methane each year, which has about the same climate impact as nearly 50 million passenger cars driven for a year.
The goal of the proposed rule is to dramatically reduce emissions of methane, the most climate destructive greenhouse gas, while also addressing a significant source of air pollutants that disproportionately impact the health and safety of low income and communities of color. This rule, once finalized, would help more effectively protect our climate and waterways, while greatly improving the health and safety of our communities.
We will never meet our climate goals while undetected and unaddressed pipeline leaks – which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates comprise a third of the U.S. fossil fuel industry’s methane emissions – continue to poison our atmosphere.
Leave your own comment today in favor of healthier communities and waterways. We ask that you personalize the first sentence of your public comment.
With thanks,
Thomas Hynes
