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EDITOR
Elizabeth Corner
MANAGING EDITOR
James Little
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Stephanie Roker
ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR
Rod Hardy
ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER
Chris Lethbridge
ADVERTISEMENT SALES EXECUTIVE
Will Pownall
PRODUCTION
Stephen North
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Victoria McConnell
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Laura Cowell
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Jo Repton
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Tom Fullerton
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Callum O’Reilly
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Joseph Green
PUBLISHER
Nigel Hardy
AGENCY AND URGENCY
T
he first episode of the first season
of HBO’s ‘The Newsroom’, which
premiered in 2012, focused on
fictionalised breaking news
coverage of the tragic Deepwater Horizon
blowout and oil spill in 2010. The coup for
Will McAvoy’s news team is tracking down
an employee of the Minerals Management
Service (MMS – now defunct). On air, Will
extricates from the employee an admission
that only 56 inspectors were in charge of
overseeing the 35 591 oil wells in the Gulf:
‘“That’s 635 wells for each inspector. The
wells are required to be inspected once a
month – is that
correct?”
“The drilling wells,
yes.”
“Is it possible with
so few inspectors and
so many wells, to
properly inspect each
platform as
scheduled?”
“Our – our budget’s
very limited.”
“A single inspector
would have to
thoroughly review two
wells a day, six days a
week for a year.”
“I know.”’
I was reminded of this grilling when I read
reports about the recent questioning of Stacy
Cummings, the interim Director of the Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety Agency
(PHMSA). PHMSA is the US Department of
Transport agency responsible for the
approximately 2.5 million miles of oil and gas
pipeline in the US. Cummings has been under
fire about the slow rollout of new
congressionally ordered safeguards. In 2011,
Congress gave PHMSA 42 mandates
concerning the use of leak detection systems
on pipelines, the use of automatic and remote-
control shut-off valves and new directions on
how quickly pipeline operators must notify
the authorities in the event of a spill.
The regulator is yet to carry out all of
the mandates; in fact, Cummings is facing
criticism for the agency’s failure to enact a
full 16 out of the 42 measures.
At a hearing in mid July, members of the
House Energy and Power Subcommittee
(part of the Energy and Commerce
Committee) questioned Cummings on the
delays. “How do you grade your
performance?” Rep David McKinley asked.
“Do you think it’s a passing grade? Is it a ‘C’? a
‘B’? ... Did you do what you were asked to
do? What’s the schedule? Are you going to
finish at the end of this year?” and it goes on.
Cummings testified in writing that the
PHMSA is on the case: “we share your
concern and sense of urgency... we have a
plan to complete every one of these
mandates.”
Concerns about reporting and pipeline
safety are particularly under the spotlight in
the US this summer, following a spill from a
Plains All American pipeline in California on
19 May that leaked some 340 000 l of oil,
some of which
reached the Pacific
Ocean. The House
Energy and
Commerce
Committee has
asked for Plains to
provide detailed
information on the
maintenance of the
failed pipeline.
One member of
the committee
expressed concern
that some of the
un-implemented
parts of the 2011 mandate could have made a
difference in the recent California spill – for
instance, the requirement that pipeline
operators notify the National Response
Center within one hour of confirming the
existence of a spill. Records seem to show
that Plains called almost three hours after a
spill was detected.
It’s PHMSA’s sense of urgency that is
being called into question at the moment: is
the agency pushing through new regulations
quickly enough and is it reacting to growing
public concern over pipelines?
Pipeline operators are asked to take
voluntary steps to promote safety while
PHMSA works on implementing reports and
regulatory framework, and this can be hit
and miss: operators can be hesitant to
commit to new rules in light of short
reauthorisation terms. Why follow through
with proposed rulemaking if you think the
goalposts might have moved by the time you
finish?
Here’s one reason why: news teams are
always watching.
For more on PHMSAs integrity
verification process, turn to the T.D.
Williamson article on p.109.
CUMMINGS IS
FACING CRITICISM
FOR THE
AGENCY’S
FAILURE TO
ENACT A FULL
16 OUT OF THE
42 MEASURES
